It is quite common these days for universities to open their libraries to the public; however, views on this practice vary from person to person. Advocates believe that the free entry of university libraries makes book reading more convenient to the masses and thus promotes nationwide reading. Nevertheless, some teachers and students worry that their normal work and study might be disturbed when outsiders swarm into their university library. Personally, the opening of university libraries does more harm than good.

Admittedly, free access to university libraries does encourage more people to pick up books. But taking it by and large, such openness may cause much inconvenience for university teachers and students.

The direct problem is an acute shortage of books and seats. As limited library resources are shared by outsiders, sometimes teachers cannot borrow the academic work they urgently need until it is returned. Even worse, due to the limitation of seats, some students have no choice but to stand in corridors reviewing their lessons during the examination week. According to a survey conducted among university students in Sichuan, the scarcity of seats proves to be the greatest inconvenience brought about by the opening of university libraries.

Another problem arises from the distractions outsiders bring to campus. Once the university library opens its door to the public, all sorts of people will come, each with a different motive. Some of them, taking advantage of their free entry, hand out leaflets to students. Others even lure the students into some fascinating investment project, which at last turns out to be a fraud. Therefore, the pouring in of outsiders will distract students from their school work.

All in all, the purpose of university libraries is to serve students and teachers for their learning, teaching and academic research. In no way should they be invaded by outsiders.