Page 58 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2015 Vol. 41

An CHANG / The unity of freedom and equality in library rights system 057

library rights, freedom is a principle, one of the basic attitude of the existence and development
of the library, and a right location,which means that the library remove the obstacles to ensure
the user obtain information without any constrain and to provide free access to information. The
freedom which is set by the library rights has laid the institutional foundation for the user to get
information freely. And it helps to guarantee the rights and the good system environment for the
user’ comprehensive and free development.
The justice and public characteristics of the library system determine the welfare feature of
the library, especially the public library. The principle of free, open, non-discriminatory services
not only recognizes equal status of the user, but also reflects the spirit of freedom for reading and
using. So we can say that library rights are the recognition of freedom for the user’s access to the
library.

2.2 Equality in the system of library rights

Compared with freedom in library rights, equality in the system of library rights is more complex.
The main reason lies in the complexity of the equality itself. Looking at the existing characteristics,
development goals and the pursuit of the value of the library, it is easy to find that the library rights
system not only focuses on the freedom, but also focuses more on the right of equality and pays
more attention to social justice on the whole.
Equality is not only a right, but also a principle. As a general matter of human beings (Yao,
2006), equality derives from the inherent dignity and the nature of human beings (G. Han,
2010). It is a kind of moral rights of individuals. At the same time, it is one of the social and
public demands (Sun, 2012). And it is a kind of human rights which needs legal recognition and
protection. As the core value pursued by the constitution, the essence of equality is generally
expressed as “the same situation should be treated equally, and the different situation should be
treated differently”. “The same situation should be treated equally” means “formal equality”,
which means individual equal chances in the process and the realization of the personality that
guaranteed by the constitution, also known as the “equality of opportunity”. And “the different
situation should be treated differently” may be the same as “substantive equality”, which intends
to correct the de facto inequality caused by formal equality. According to the different attributes
of individuals, it can take different approaches. In this way, it can guarantee essential equality in
order to provide a prerequisite necessary for the formation and development of personality. This
equality is a kind of proportional equality, also known as “equality of conditions” (D. Y. Han,
Lin, & Zheng, 2004).
As for the system of library rights, the equality not only includes formal equality, but also
includes substantive equality (see Table 2).