A teens battle against National Assembly library

By Lee Hyo-sik

The National Assembly Library has drawn complaints from elementary and secondary students over the years for its user policy banning those under 18 from gaining access to its books and other printed materials.

Officials from the library claim the minors’ entry would hinder lawmakers and their aides from carrying out research and legislative work.

However, they may find it hard to keep the doors of the library closed to them, following the National Human Rights Commission’s recent decision against the library’s “discriminative” policy.

The fight to lift the age restrictions was initiated by a 14-year-old middle school girl backed by a 22-year-old collegian. In October last year, Shin Hye-rim, a senior at the law department of Soonchunghyang University in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, and Ahn Min-ah whom the university student tutored at the time visited the National Assembly Library for research materials.

But Ahn was stopped from entering the facility by library officials because she was only 14. The middle school student had to wait outside, while Shin researched the library books.

They found it odd because the library is a public facility and run by taxpayers’ money, thinking that it should be open to the public, regardless of age.

On behalf of Ahn, Shin filed a complaint with the human rights commission over the library’s user policy.

“It makes no sense to prevent minors from using the library just because the facility is mainly for supporting legislative work by lawmakers and their staff. If so, not only minors but also adults should be banned from using the facility,” Shin said.

She added that the age restriction was just designed to make jobs easier for those working at the library.

Shin noted there are many elementary and secondary students who would like to visit the National Assembly Library and the National Library of Korea, which also bans those under 16 from entering, insisting that the libraries funded by taxpayers’ money should scrap age restrictions.

“In this sense, I am not 100 percent satisfied with the commission as it only asked for the easing of the user policy. I think it should have demanded the National Assembly Library abolish its age limit,” she stressed.

No decision yet

Acknowledging their complaint was reasonable, the commission issued a recommendation May 11 that the library change its rules concerning who is allowed to enter and use its materials.

“The National Assembly Library’s user policy discriminates against people under 18. The chief of the library should ease user restrictions to permit more people to benefit from reading its books and other material,” the commission said.

In response to the recommendation, the library said its main purpose was to help lawmakers and their staff members carry out legislative work.

“If the facility was filled with minors, it could make it difficult for us to achieve that purpose. There is not much educational material suitable for teenagers either,” said a public relations manager, who declined to be named.

She said if students receive a recommendation letter from a school principle, they are allowed to use the facilities for research purposes.

“We are currently reviewing the commission’s suggestion. But nothing has been decided yet on how we are going to reflect it in our policy.”