▲ The exterior of Haesong Law Library. Photographed by Jung Woo Jae.

 

Students who used Haesong Law Library during the 2014 fall semester were baffled when they visited to study this semester—the former reading rooms were replaced with law book rooms and a law serial room, thus more than 200 seats disappeared. Although taking into account the fact that the decision was made with haste during the vacation, and that it was difficult to communicate with students during this period, the news came as shock to Korea University (KU) students, who had never heard about the news before they paid a visit to the library themselves.

The Haesong Law Library underwent renovation over the last winter vacation. After it, the former law book room which was located on floor B2 reached the second floor, and the law serial room, which was on B1, reached the third floor. As a result, the former reading rooms on the second and third floors of the library disappeared. KU claims that the renovation was inevitable since the former law preservation stack could not accommodate the recently increased law books. In addition, since the College of Health Science moved to the Anam Campus this year, the six thousand books formerly located on the Health Sciences Campus had to be moved. Moreover, since the renovation plan was decided during break, the chances to communicate with students were also inevitably limited.
 
   
▲ Law Books room in Haesong Law Library, which took place of the former reading room area.Photographed by Jung Woo Jae.
 
 
However, the misconduct and selfish behavior regarding the securing of seats in libraries like double booking, are still prevalent, especially during the examination period, and many students complain about the matter. Thus, it cannot be said that the reading rooms in KU are sufficient enough. Considering that the assurance of enough space for studying is critical in universities, the recent action of reducing the reading rooms seem unsatisfying for many. Lee Chae Eun (’14, Geography Education) claimed that “Students especially in the Business School and College of Education took advantage of Haesong because it is situated near our buildings, and the facility in Haesong was satisfactory to us.”
 
The Head of KU Library claims that the reading room in the basement area which was formerly only allowed for law school students is now open to other students, and there are seats available for studying in the law search room on B1 and first floor, so that the inconvenience for KU students would be minimized. However, this does not mean that the same number of reading rooms formerly offered is available. Yet the KU Student Association (KUSA), Jieum, has not taken any significant action about this matter at the moment. Jieum said in an interview that the issue will be thoroughly discussed by the library steering committee, although no action can be taken to compensate for the loss.
 
It is true that the renovation done to Haesong met its fundamental role as a law school library, and that such measures were inevitable. Yet it could have been less shocking if KU had attempted to deliver the news more timely to students and offered opportunities to communicate with them.
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