On October 23, 2002, Peking University Library, the

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1 INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES The Academic Library Development in China by Jianzhong Wu and Ruhua Huang On October 23, 2002, Peking University Library, the biggest university library in Asia, celebrated its centennial anniversary. The library epitomizes Chinese academic library movement in the past 100 years and its celebration causes us to review the past and look forward to the future. This article gives an overview of the academic library movement in Mainland China in general, with emphasis on some major developments and programs. ABRIEF HISTORICAL REVIEW Modern academic libraries came into being in China at the start of the 20th century. 1 Academic libraries established in this period were: St. John s University Library (1894), Tianjin West School Library (1895), Nanyang Normal College Library (1897), Peking University Library (1902), Nanjing University Library (1902), Southeast University Library (1902), Lanzhou University Library (1909), Tsinghua University Library (1912), Wuhan University Library (1917), Fudan University Library (1918), Nankai University Library (1919), and Zhongshan University Library (1924). It is widely accepted that Peking University Library was the earliest national academic library in China. 2 In 1936, the number of national university libraries rose to 20 (with an average collection of 87,426 volumes), while the number of missionary university libraries and private university libraries totaled During the war against Japanese invasion ( ) many universities moved to the hinterland, carrying with them only a small number of collections. Many academic libraries were badly destroyed. By the founding of the People s Republic of China in 1949 there were 132 academic libraries with a total collection of 7,940,000 volumes. 4 Libraries developed in a stable manner from 1949 on. With the nationwide adjustment of universities and colleges in 1952, newly established and combined universities, colleges and their libraries opened. In 1957, the State Council issued its National Plan for Library Coordination to encourage resource sharing and to boost academic library development. In 1957, there were 229 university libraries with collections of 14 million items. 4 During the Cultural Revolution ( ), the budget of all libraries was deeply cut. Some university libraries Jianzhong Wu is Director, Shanghai Library, 1555 Huai Hai Zhong Lu, Shanghai, P. R. China jzwu@libnet.sh.cn ; Ruhua Huang is Associate Dean, School of Information Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P. R. China hongys@whu.edu.cn. stopped buying or subscribing to many important books and periodicals. Construction of academic libraries almost ceased; some were destroyed. The Reform and Opening-up Policy gave rise to renewed library development. The last two decades have seen a great leap in academic libraries (as shown in Table 1). A number of universities, such as Peking University Library and Tsinghua University Library, have had their newly built library buildings opened to the public. The total building area of the former amounts to 51,000 square meters 5 and of the latter 28,000 square meters. 6 A few other universities are expanding or rebuilding their libraries. The number of staff working in academic libraries, who play an important role in scientific research and higher education in the country, has reached 40, CURRENT SITUATION AND MAIN DEVELOPMENTS Social Background and Development Strategy China s rapid rate of economic growth over the past two decades has greatly contributed to the academic library development. Table 2 and Table 3 show similarities in developments in the national economy, higher education, and academic libraries in China. As an administrative office for academic libraries in China, the Teaching Facilities Section under the Ministry of Education s Higher Education Bureau is set up to promote the provision of information and library services in Chinese universities. Its duties include the provision of guidelines and standards, coordinating collection development and resources sharing, and guiding short-term training for librarians and information workers in university libraries. Also within the Ministry, a Committee for Academic Libraries of China was founded in 1981 and was renamed the Steering Committee for Academic Libraries of China (SCAL), which is a specialist organization providing coordination, consultation, research and guidance among university libraries and among regional committees for academic libraries. On December 24, 1998, the Ministry of Education formulated its Action Scheme for Invigorating Education Towards the 21st Century. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has enacted a series of regulations and laws related to higher education, for example, the Law on Higher Education. Remarkable progress has been achieved in the reform of higher education, particularly in the merging of universities. Since the reform in higher education was carried out in 1992, 556 institutions of higher learning have been merged into 232, a cut of The mergers have helped relocate The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 29, Number 4, pages July

2 Table 1 Academic Library Development in Mainland China Year Number of Libraries Collections (thousand) Floor Space (sq. m., thousand) ,620 1, , ,000 2, , ,000 4, , ,000 5, , ,179 6,278 significant educational resources and improve the quality of teaching and resources. Supported by the former State Commission for Education, China launched the 211 Project in One of its two goals is to turn 101 universities into hubs for high-level research and specialization to aid national economic development in the 21st century in China. The project, which has involved the investment of more than 11 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion), is the largest higher education project to be implemented since The Ministry selected 101 target universities in 1995, 96 of which have been approved by the State Development Planning Commission, to benefit from governmental funds to improve academic standards and research facilities. In line with the project, China has built two service networks, China Education and Research Network (CERNET) and China Academic Library and Information System (CALIS), to help the 96 universities exchange research information. The project will be further developed in the 10th Five-Year Plan period ( ) to mobilize other colleges and universities throughout China to contribute more to regional economic and social development. Major forthcoming schemes are likely to include equipping the 101 universities with advanced research facilities and building higher speed computer networks for teaching and research to help the universities improve academic standards. In May 1998, as one of the two public service systems of Project 211, the CALIS project was approved by the State Development and Planning Commission of China after a two-year feasibility study by experts from academic libraries across the country. CALIS is a nationwide academic library consortium with members throughout 27 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions in China. Funded primarily by the Chinese government, it is intended to serve multiple resource-sharing functions among the participating libraries including online searching, interlibrary loan, document delivery, and coordinated purchasing and cataloguing by digitizing resources and developing an information service network. Table 2 Developments in Economy and Education in Mainland China Year National GDP (billion yuan) Number of Universities and Colleges New Undergraduate Enrollment (thousand) New Graduate Enrollment , , , ,084 72, ,597 92,225 Table 3 Increase in Expenditures for Collection Development in Academic Libraries in Mainland China Year Expenditures (thousand yuan RMB) 212, , , , , , , ,503 Areas of Specialization Humanities, Social Science and Science Engineering and Technology Agriculture and Forestry Medicine National Defense Table 4 Five National Information Centers Location Peking University, Beijing Tsinghua University, Beijing China Agricultural University, Beijing Beijing Medical University, Beijing Haerbin Industrial University, Haerbin, Heilongjiang 250 The Journal of Academic Librarianship

3 Table 5 Regional Information Centers and Areas of Their Jurisdiction Name Location Areas of Jurisdiction Administrative Center Beijing Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia Southeast (South) Regional Center Shanghai Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi Southeast (North) Regional Center Nanjing Jiangsu, Anhui, and Shandong Central Regional Center Wuhan Hubei, Hunan, and Henan South Regional Center Guanzhou Guangdong, Hainan, and Guangxi Southwest Regional Center Chengdu Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, and Guizhou Northwest Regional Center Xi an Shanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and Xinjiang Northeast Regional Center Jilin Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang CALIS is organized in a three-tier structure, comprising one national administrative center (which also serves as the North Regional Center), five national information centers by areas of specialization (see Table 4) and seven regional information centers (see Table 5). The thirteen centers are maintained by full-time staff members provided by the libraries in which these centers are located. The National Administrative Center (located in Peking University) overseen by officials from the concerned office at the Ministry of Education and the presidents of Peking and Tsinghua Universities, and advised by an advisory committee consisting of experts from major member libraries is responsible for the construction and management of CALIS, makes policies and regulations, and prepares resource-sharing agreements. The center has an office handling routine management needs and there are also several specialized work groups overseeing CALIS national projects, such as those for the development of databases for union catalogues, current Chinese periodicals, and CALIS service software. AUTOMATION, NETWORKING, AND DIGITALIZATION Automation and networking in academic libraries can be divided into three stages. The first stage (late 1970s to mid 1980s) is a starting period towards library automation; the second stage (mid 1980s to early 1990s) is a period of integration of automation systems and local resources networks, and the third stage (from early 1990s on) is the period of networking and digitalization, with an emphasis on nationwide resource sharing. 7 Most academic libraries have adopted integrated library management systems so far. Hundreds of them are using such domestic systems as Wenjin (National Library of China), ILAS (Shenzhen City Library Co.), Xiyang (Beijing Xiyang Electronic Information Research Institute), Data Trans-1000 (Beijing Dancheng Co.), and so forth. Other well-off libraries such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, and Zhejiang University are using foreign systems (customized for Chinese users) such as INNOPAC, UNICORN, and Horizon, and so forth. Several digital library projects have been launched. In September 1999, the Peking University Institute of Digital Library was established. The Institute has finished several projects on Chinese metadata programs. Tsinghua University Library has finished its Architecture Digital Library (THADL). Zhejiang University Library has signed a cooperation contract with such American universities as Simmons College and CMU for building the China-U.S. Million Books Digital Library Project. Under the guidance of the CALIS Administration Center, 22 academic libraries formed a China University Digital Library Consortium in May 2002 so as to facilitate their cooperation in digital library construction and resource sharing. Resource Sharing While facing severe budget constraints, Chinese academic libraries pay attention to resource sharing. They have formed local, regional, national, international, and specialty library networks to improve library cooperation, services, and resource sharing to meet a variety of needs from their users. CALIS is a nationwide academic library consortium and a resource sharing network based on the CERNET (Chinese Education and Research Network). It has become the most important consortium in Mainland China, with 152 academic libraries as its members. CALIS has already made a significant impact in library cooperation and resource sharing. It has also organized group purchases of foreign online databases such as EBSCO, OCLC FirstSearch, and ProQuest Digital Dissertations for the academic libraries. 14 The Shanghai Information Resources Network (SIRN) is well known for resource sharing among universities, research institutes, and public libraries in the city of Shanghai. The Shanghai Library plays a major role in the consortium. Further examples of large-scale resource-sharing projects can readily be instanced from other regions. Fifty-three academic libraries in Hubei Province signed a joint contract allowing users of each member library to borrow and return books to any of the contracted libraries. Others like Net Library of Universities in Beijing (27 universities and colleges) and Jiangsu Academic Library and Information System (for all the university and college libraries in the province of Jiangsu) play important roles in local resource sharing activities. Information Services Generally speaking, academic libraries are now more open and enlightened than used to be the case. They are open more hours than public libraries. Most libraries are July

4 open every day and some remain open until midnight. Some have developed inspiring projects including Video on Demand in Peking University Library, a current contents service in Nankai University Library, novelty search (database service for patent registration checks) in Tsinghua University Library, a virtual reference service in Shanghai Jiaotong University, and a new resource alert service in Wuhan University Library. To improve the quality of reference service, new positions like subject librarian and reference librarian have been created in Tsinghua University Library and Wuhan University Library, and soon this may be widespread in many academic libraries in China. Reference service has become a top priority. Some libraries have started offering virtual reference. For instance, six academic and research libraries, together with the Shanghai Library, started Cooperative Knowledge Navigation in June 2001, with 16 selected senior reference librarians answering questions on the Internet. 15 Some academic libraries provide digital reference service to patrons both on and off campus by , BBS, the virtual reference desk, and call centers. Web-based userguides, freshman training, and project consultation are also popular in academic libraries. Online navigation services to databases, electronic journals, and access to Web resources sorted by title or subject for customers to browse or search conveniently are provided in most academic libraries. With the widespread use of the Internet in Chinese universities and colleges, the Web for Users Information Literacy Education and Research in Beijing 16 has been established to assist customers self-learning. China s academic libraries are also active in information service cooperation with other types of libraries. Such academic libraries as Shanghai Jiaotong University Library and Fudan University Library are members of the Cooperative Knowledge Navigation in Shanghai. Some academic libraries have joined the National Library Information Consultation Cooperation Network initiated by the National Library of China in Education Library orientation is organized for new students at the beginning of the academic year in most universities. Information literacy has become a nationwide issue in many educational institutions. Every university library offers the instructional course Literature Searching and Utilization, which is a required and elective course for undergraduates and graduates, respectively, to foster information-seeking skills among students through teaching and practice. Distance learning is now common in academic libraries. Tsinghua University, providing courses like Introduction to Internet, Introduction to HTML, and Network Technology, developed the first Internet classrooms. The courses attracted not only teachers and students but also netizens from outside the universities and colleges. Shanghai Jiaotong University Library started a distance learning course called Document Retrieval. Zhongshan University Library is active in building network-based courseware for teachers. This trend will increase as the need for distance teaching becomes ever more apparent. Research Academic libraries in China emphasize academic research in the library field. Professional journals produced by China s academic universities or regional Steering Committee for Academic Libraries include Journal of Academic Libraries (Peking University Library), Library Work in Colleges and Universities (Hunan Provincial Steering Committee for Academic Libraries), and Journal of Academic Library and Information Science (Anhui Provincial Steering Committee for Academic Libraries). Some produce newsletters for university librarians. China academic libraries take an active part in research in both LIS and related areas, co-research in the university s major discipline development, as well as local and national projects, and as a result they have achieved much in the study of library and information science, modern Chinese literature, and ancient Chinese books. In the China Academic Journal Database, the number of articles written by academic librarians since 1994 totals 15, Some fulltext databases developed by academic librarians can be accessed online. 18 Several international conferences have been hosted by China s university libraries in recent years. For example, New Missions of Academic Libraries in the 21st Century, on October 25 28, 1998 in Peking University Library, and the 12th International Conference on New Information Technology: Global Digital Library Development in the New Millennium and Fertile Ground for Distributed Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration, on May, 2001 in Tsinghua University Library. International Exchange and Cooperation Chinese university libraries give great emphasis to establishing exchange and cooperative relationships with overseas libraries. For instance, Peking University Library exchanges materials with more than 500 foreign libraries, schools, and research institutions. Tsinghua University Library is active in cooperation with several overseas information institutions. It started a joint venture with OCLC and opened the OCLC Chinese Service Center in the Library in August ISSUES AND PROBLEMS Uneven Development Generally speaking, the scale and service quality of academic libraries in the developed areas and large cities is higher than that in the economically backward areas and rural areas. For example, among the 152 CALIS member libraries, only 12 are located in the poor northwestern region while there are 38 in the city of Beijing alone. Limited Resources Attributed principally to the 1999 government policy permitting greater access to tertiary education for more students, average available resources (collection, space, and utility) for each user have decreased since then. In 2001, university enrollment was 4,640,000, 3.4 times the number in 1998, and new graduates in the same year totaled 165,200, 5 times that of In 2002, college enrollment stood at million, which is 8.02 million more than that in Postgraduate enrollment in 2001 stood at 393,200, three times more than in China will increase the number of uni- 252 The Journal of Academic Librarianship

5 versity students to 16 million in the next five years, compared with an enrollment of over 11 million in 2000, 21 which will tighten the availability of resources in tertiary education even more. Management Issues With the merging of universities, some problems have arisen, especially issues of network connection among different campuses, standardizing cataloging rules, reengineering of organizations and processes, and integration of human resources and information resources. Continuing Education The percentage of academic librarians with Masters and Doctoral degrees is quite low. There are 203 staff in Peking University Library, among whom only two have Doctoral degrees, and 31 have Masters degrees. 8 In some small libraries, no one has an MLS or equivalent degree. So, greater attention has to be attached to the continuing education and training of librarians to improve staff competency and quality, and it is also important to recruit new LIS graduates. The senior managers in China academic libraries may have on-the-job education for MLS and Doctoral degrees from domestic LIS programs in Wuhan University and Peking University. They may also get retraining by such forms as collaborative projects, sister library programs, library visits, and visiting scholars in foreign libraries or institutions. These programs are granted by the Ministry of Education of China, Fulbright Programs, United Board of Christian Higher Education in Asia and Lingnan Foundation of America. To gain first-hand material in library management in developed countries, the Ministry of Education organized senior managers from 16 academic libraries to visit and survey some national libraries and academic libraries in Europe. CONCLUSIONS The last two decades saw a steady growth in Chinese academic libraries, at a pace that coincided with the overall development of the society. The quality of resources and services has been highly improved and hardware including buildings and automation greatly modernized. In the new century, academic libraries in China will surely play a more important role in assisting the educational modernization and globalization of the country. NOTES AND REFERENCES 1. Chinese Encyclopedia: Library Science, Information Science and Archives (Beijing: Chinese Encyclopedia Press, 1993), p W. S. Zhao. Keynote Address at the Centennial Anniversary of Peking University Library [Online]. Available: pku.edu.cn/xuebao/html/126beidaguanqing.htm#126yuangr (accessed November 16, 3. J. G. Chen & Y.X. Zhai, History of Chinese Missionary University Libraries, Tushu Yu Qingbao [Library and Information] 2 (1999): China Library Yearbook (Beijing: Beijing Library Press, 2001), p Peking University Library [Online]. Available: pku.edu.cn/enhtml/introduction.htm (accessed December 12, 6. Tsinghua University Library [Online]. Available: lib.tsinghua.edu.cn/english/about.html (accessed December 12, 7. Y. F. Song & T. X. Ge, Research on Development of Networks for Resources Sharing in China Academic Libraries. Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference Crimea 2001, Sudak, Ukraine, June 9-17 [Online]. Available: win/inter-events/crimea2001/tom/sec1/doc13.html (accessed November 16, 8. Fact Database of National Academic Libraries [Online]. Available: (accessed December 26, 9. X. M. Li & Y. L. Jiang, Academic Libraries: History Review, Daxue Tushuguan Xuebao [Journal of Academic Libraries] 4 (1994): Statistics on GDP from China s National Bureau of Statistics [Online]. Available: C01c.htm (accessed December 26, 11. Statistics on Graduates and Foreign Students from China s National Bureau of Statistics [Online]. Available: gov.cn/ndsj/zgnj/2000/t02c.htm (accessed December 26, 12. Basic Statistics on Education from China s National Bureau of Statistics [Online]. Available: zgnj/2000/t01c.htm (accessed December 26, 13. Breakthrough Made in University Merging [Online]. Available: (accessed December 26, 14. China Academic Library and Information System [Online]. Available: (accessed November 15, 15. Shanghai Library [Online]. Available: (accessed December 16, 16. Tsinghua University [Online]. Available: edu.cn (accessed January 30, 2003). 17. Chinese Periodical Net [Online]. Available: index4.htm (accessed January 30, 2003). 18. China Academic Library and Information System [Online]. Available: 4 (accessed January 30, 2003). 19. Increasing Enrollment Higher Education Entering into a Popular Age, Guangming Ribao [Guangming Daily], November 12, Growing Numbers of Chinese Have Access to Education, China Daily, October 28, Chinese University Students to Top 16 Million [Online]. Available: (accessed November 27, 22. H. P. Zhou, China s Library Undertakings: Present Status and Future Development. The Proceedings of the Annual Program of the International Relations Round Table and the International Relations Committee of the American Library Association [Online]. Available: zhou.html (accessed November 16, July