Looking to the East:
Challenges in Connecting Asian
Libraries in the World of Information
Karen T. Wei
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Hong Kong, November 4, 2008
Contents
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Early interest in China
Transformation of China studies
Renewed interest in China studies
Library support of China studies in the U.S.
The role of Chinese studies librarians
Professional support for the Chinese studies librarians in
North America
• The changing outlook of academic libraries
• Looking to the East
• Conclusion
Early Interest in China
• Western interest in China – began in the 16th
century
• Mateo Ricci (1552-1610)
• The rise of Sinology – the study of Chinese language,
literature, or civilization
• The study of China in the 17th and 18th centuries
• 19th century – the American Sinology just begun
Transformation of China Studies
• Acceptance of China studies in the 20th century
• The establishment of the Peoples’ Republic of China
• Shift of traditional China studies to the study of
contemporary Chinese society
• Transformation from discipline specific to
interdisciplinary in nature
• Transformation from Sinology to China studies
• Impact of Nixon’s visit to China in 1972
Renewed Interest in China Studies
• China’s exploding economy
• The arrival of China as one of the world’s new
superpowers
• Media attention
• Increase in Chinese population in the U.S.
• Impact on scholarly communication between China
and the U.S.
• Growing demand for library materials and
information resources
Library Support of China Studies
• Collection building through the 19th century
• Library of Congress (1869), Yale (1878), Harvard (1896),
Berkeley (1896), Cornell (1918), Columbia (1920), Princeton
(1926), Chicago (1930)
• 1930s and 1940s: UCLA, Hawaii, Michigan, Washington,
Stanford
• 1960s: Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, North
Caroline, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin
• China’s Open Door Policy
Current Status
• Statistics in 2008 Journal of East Asian Libraries
http://www.lib.ku.edu/ceal/stat/20062007/cealstat06_
07.pdf
• 50 reporting libraries as of June 30, 2007
• Monographs: Chinese 8,827,233 volumes [Total
CJK=16,385,292]
• Serials: Chinese 39,200 titles [Total CJK=75,927]
• Personnel support: Chinese 222 [Total CJK=538]
The Role of Chinese Studies Librarians
• China scholar as librarian
• Increased demand for Chinese studies librarians after
World War II
• Chinese studies librarianship as a specialized field
• Required qualifications and responsibilities
• Challenges in training Chinese studies librarians
• Recent training institutes
Professional Support in North America
• Council on East Asian Libraries
http://www.eastasianlib.org/
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Committee on Chinese Materials [Japanese, Korean]
Committee on Technical Processing
Committee on Public Services
Committee on Library Technology
Journal of East Asian Libraries
• OCLC CJK Users Group
http://oclccjk.lib.uci.edu/
Changing Outlook of Academic Libraries
• New models of scholarly communication
• New mechanisms for licensing and accessing digital
content
• Introduction of transformative technologies
• New methods of teaching and learning
• New approaches to interdisciplinary scholarship and
scientific inquiry
• Arrival of a new generation of faculty and students
• Broad changes in the higher education environment
Future of Academic Libraries
• The 21st century is defined by a need to increase
access to information resources and services of global
information
• Realignment of library services, facilities, and
resources with the academic needs of the higher
education community
• Competition in the library market
• Higher education undergoing transformational shifts
• Impact on Chinese studies librarianship
Looking to the East:
Challenges in Connecting Asian Libraries
• Challenges plentiful, opportunities abound
• Resource discovery
• Balancing Chinese collections in a networked
environment
• Financial challenges
• Continuing education
• Bibliographic control and resource sharing
Resource Discovery
• China is the origin of the world’s single largest
information provider about China
• China’s mammoth reservoir of information resources
are rich but often difficult to discover
• Lack of broad access to these information resources
and services
• Some resources are complex to navigate and evaluate
• Promotion of web-based resources and development
of enhanced access tools to aid discovery
Balancing Chinese Collection in a
Networked Environment
• Escalating number of published books and journals in
print
• Accelerated pace in electronic resources development
and the explosion in Chinese digital content
• China studies as a discipline continues to rely on
printed sources for teaching and research
• New approaches to information use and higher
expectations for access to digital services and content
• The cost – need to consider different business models
Financial Challenges
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Main issue and challenge – balanced budget
Dual print/electronic journals and dual print/E-books
Challenging financial decline at state/federal levels
Reevaluate/realign resources
Strategically invest in teaching and research materials
Collaborate with Chinese libraries
Work closely with book vendors and information
providers to contain prices
Continuing Education
• No library schools offer China related courses
• No formal training programs for Chinese studies
librarians
• Summer Institutes – 1988, 2004, 2008
• Exchange of librarians
• Experts from China
Bibliographic Control and
Resource Sharing
• Resource sharing has broad implications in
connecting the world of information in a networked
environment
• Bibliographic control and record exchange between
the East and West
• OCLC’s WorldCat as “window to the world’s libraries”
• Using WorldCat to connect libraries of the world
• Importance of loading Chinese bibliographic records
Conclusion
• Develop collaborative approaches to the provision of
library services and collections with libraries in Asia
• Challenges in the delivery of quality service
• Better understanding with better practices
• Partnership with libraries in Asia to achieve global
collaboration
• Realization of interconnected world with links to the
world’s information content from anywhere at
anytime
Thank You!!
Questions?