ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries September 1985 / 399 A cadem ics abroad: U.S. lib rarian s visit the P e o p le ’s R epublic o f China By S h aron R ogers Library Director George Washington University ACRL members compare notes with their colleagues on the Mainland. I n April 1985, sixty-five U.S. librarians visited the People’s Republic of China. The tour was spon­ sored by the China Society of Library Science and arranged by the China Association for Science and Technology. Members of the group represented ac­ ademic, public, special and school libraries, and li­ brary education. Co-leaders of the delegation were Robert D. Stueart, dean of the G raduate School of Library and Inform ation Science at Simmons Col­ lege, and Margo Crist, of the C entral Massachu­ setts Regional Library System. Separated into two groups, based on an emphasis in public or aca­ demic libraries, the delegation traveled together in Beijing and Xian, and then the academic librarians traveled to Chengdu and Shanghai, while the pub­ lic lib r a r ia n s v isited N a n jin g , W u h a n , an d Guangzhou. I asked several of the ACRL members on the trip to write some of their reactions to Chinese libraries for this report. They wrote far more than I have space for here, but I have selected paragraphs from each set of comments to convey impressions gained from it. I can only beg the forgiveness of my col­ leagues for risking the omission of some of their fin­ est prose or favorite impressions. While not all members of the delegation visited exactly the same academic libraries, the schedule for the academic librarians included the following libraries: Beijing (Beijing University, Renmin Uni­ versity, Historical Archives); Xi’an (Shaanxi Pro­ vincial Library, Northwestern University, Shaanxi Teachers University); Chengdu (Sichuan Institute of Scientific and Technical Inform ation, Sichuan Library, Chengdu Institute of Telecommunica­ tions Engineering, Sichuan University); Shanghai (Shanghai Public L ibrary, East C hina Normal University, Shanghai Institute for Inform ation Re­ search, Jiaotang University).—Sharon J. Rogers, George Washington University. In Shanghai one afternoon, after the formal pre­ sentations, several graduate library school students came up to me to discuss library preservation and conservation. Three of them were graduate library school stu d e n ts, en ro lled in th e 3 -y ear, p o st­ baccalaureate program. Upon receipt of their mas­ te r’s degrees in 1987, the three said th at they would likely be assigned to the teaching faculty of library schools in China. The need for teachers in China is so great th at as soon as advanced students are grad­ uated, they are immediately posted to faculty posi­ tions somewhere in China. I also attended the Shanghai Bookfair. Several rooms in a large official-style Soviet-built exposi­ tion building were filled with tables and chairs, and along the walls, bookstack after bookstack, seven feet high, were publishers’ books. The books came from nearly 100 mainly English language 400 / C&RL News publishers from all over the world. Subjects cov­ ered were mainly technical and scientific, agricul­ ture, pure sciences, m athem atics, engineering, and computers. Added to these were standard refer­ ence books. The place was mobbed. There were young C hi­ nese everywhere reading and thum bing through the books intensely. I was told by one exhibitor th a t An abacus was used to calculate charges on a copy machine. when the fair opened at 9 a.m ., all the free litera­ ture th a t the publishers had put out was simply consumed by the vast numbers who came to the F a ir.—Stephen Ferguson, Princeton University. W omen in librarianship in China. At most li­ braries we visited one wom an generally was at the assistant director level, but none of the directors were women. In group discussions they were gen­ erally less likely to ask questions or offer comments. W hen touring libraries (reading rooms, stacks, cir­ culation, cataloging) women appeared to be the m ajority of staff. It seems th a t they do the “work” of keeping the libraries open and running but are rarely in positions of authority. Introductions to libraries always included many statistics. Reading rooms and entrance rooms of li­ braries generally had maps of the library and other general user aids. Faculty and students had sepa­ rate reading rooms and stacks were closed. Read­ ing rooms w ere full to o v erflo w in g .—Barbara Ford, Trinity University. Academic and scientific research libraries in China are actively developing autom ation and net­ working, but cataloging and classification systems pose challenging problems. W hile most catalogs are classified, there is not a single classification sys­ tem to use as a basis for standardizing autom ated records and union cards. There are two major sys­ tems, the Chinese Library Classification System, and the Chinese Academic Library System. The National Library in Beijing supplies both systems for its present union catalog cards (before 1965, LC was used), but when the library records are fully autom ated, only the Chinese Library Classifica­ tion System will be used because, according to the National Library, about 80 % of libraries presently use this system. The Chinese Library Classification is published in a single volume and uses alphanu­ meric codes. It is criticized by librarians who prefer the Chinese Academic L ib rary System as being suitable for generalized collections but not ade­ quate for specialized collections, especially in sci­ entific libraries. The C hina L ib rary Society, as p a rt of its 1st Council (1979-83), sponsored a National Seminar on Classification and Subject Cataloging, and the 2nd Council (1983- ) has a Section of Classification and Subject C ataloging as one of tw elve study groups of its Academic Com m ittee for Research. One result of these seminars has been the develop­ m ent and teaching of classes on the cataloging of Chinese materials, attended by most cataloging su­ pervisors in Beijing. An estimated 1,500 cataloging staff members have been trained since September 1984. The National Library in Beijing has long-term plans for the creation and distribution of an online national database in Chinese and in the original language for foreign materials. ISBD and AACR2 will be used for all languages. It will use MARC form at and include romanized and cyrillic charac­ ters. Both tapes and cards will be produced and dis­ tributed nationally. Access points will include LC class num ber, ISBN, and LC Subject Headings. It is estimated th a t initial autom ation efforts will be­ gin about 1990. In d iv id u a l lib ra rie s have a w ide v a rie ty of equipm ent and practices ranging from the hand stencilled one–a t–a–tim e d u p licatio n of catalog cards to the electronic Chinese CRT at the Na­ tional L ibrary which feeds in inform ation by O pti­ cal C harcter Recognition. Instead of typing at a W estern-style keyboard, the operator touches a light pen to the character which then displays on the screen.—Sheryl Horner, University o f Colo­ rado . Most of us were surprised by the extent to which English was understood and spoken. This made our discussions easy and productive. The ability to break into small groups and discuss specific topics was an unexpected surprise. In these discussions we discovered th a t our Chinese colleagues not only knew w hat questions to ask but they were as cur­ rent on many trends in librarianship as we were. The real problem they have is the lack of an infra­ structure to support w hat they wish to accomplish. There is neither a transportation system th a t can quickly move materials from one city to another nor a telecom m uncations system th a t can meet their needs.—Michael Kathm an, St. Johns Univer­ sity. The language barrier, however, slows down in- depth gathering of inform ation. The Chinese are used to the slow pace of formal meetings w ith for­ eigners. They have lived w ith th e protocol of speech, followed by translation, in their dealings w ith traders, for a long time. Americans find the process ponderous. As a delegation, we were often unaw are of ar- September 1985 / 401 Cr: Sharon Rogers The director of Northwestern University Library at X i’an, speaks to the American delegation, which included Beth Shapiro and Margo Crist (center left and right). rangements and partnerships already developed with American and British libraries and founda­ tions. Only by talking to individual librarians and by chance meetings with other foreign visitors did we find th at independent, uncoordinated, and of­ ten en te rp risin g , exchange is ta k in g p la c e .— Noelene Martin, Pennsylvania State University. Special visit to the Academica Sinica Regional Library in Chengdu. The Academica Sinica is or­ ganized similarly to the British model of a central government scientific research organization. The Chengdu regional library serves research institutes in areas as diverse as geography and computer sci­ ence. The emphasis is on pure research, but they also work on applied research projects, such as w a­ ter irrigation. I had been invited to speak on multidisciplinary research, draw n from my experience with the Cen­ ter for Environmental Management at Tufts Uni­ versity. This was an atypical request because the division between disciplines seems to be basic, not only to the Chinese library system, but to educa­ tion and scientific research. Explanations suggest­ ing seeking joint solutions to different problems seem to be alien to the listeners. A new library is just completing construction. Although the stacks are still divided into general subject categories, they are all open access and the usual m ultiple circulation desks seemed absent. The real surprises were a standard Western-style auditorium and a single reference bibliography a re a w h e re th e re is p ro v isio n for re fe re n c e lib ra ria n s .—M urray M artin, T ufts University, and Noelene Martin, Pennsylvania State Univer­ sity. C ertain assumptions m ade upon entering an A m erican lib ra ry — a p lace to sit and a copy m achine—cannot be made in many of C hina’s m a­ jor libraries. In many libraries we observed a sys­ tem of table numbers which assigned spaces to us­ ers for a fixed period of time. In Sichuan University Library we saw a copy center with 6 machines, w ith a w indow counter opening on a hallway. Copies were about 2 cents each. It was humorous but significant to see an abacus being used to calcu­ late the charges for a Sharp copy m achine.—John Mayeski, Kearney State College. The old and inadequate buildings at most uni­ versities contrasted with the new libraries. For in­ stance, the Chengdu Institute for Telecommunica­ tions Engineering has a good physical plant and a large scientific collection arranged in separate col­ lections: reference (including indexes), periodicals (Chinese, foreign), monographs, technical reports, patents, technical catalogs, and newsletters. In all libraries the importance of their strong English- language collection was clear. Online searching is rare, but it is possible to request a search by mail to Beijing. The library science students in the rapidly increasing library science departments are eager and inquisitive, certainly aware of reference and 402 / C & RL News bibliographic instruction issues. T he Chinese p ro ­ fessional librarians are strongly interested in IFLA and their opportunities for exchange of m aterials a n d in f o r m a tio n w ith o th e r lib r a r ie s a n d lib r a r ia n s .—R o b e rt M erikangas, U niversity o f M aryland. Libraries and librarians in the People’s Republic of C hina are know ledgeable about U.S. G overn­ m ent publications. T he N ational L ib rary in Bei­ jing receives full depository shipm ents w hich in ­ clude th e M onthly C atalog and the NTIS G overn­ m ent Reports A nnouncem ent and Index. This col­ lection is kept separate from other m aterial and is largely received in microfiche. W hen asked about the availability of this inform ation on in terlib rary loan to other libraries in the country, responses v a r­ ied. Some librarians felt it was readily available; others did not know. Several libraries know and use NTIS m a te ria ls .— Lois M ills, N o rth ern Illinois U niversity. For me, the highlights of the trip w ere the oppor­ tunities to visit w ith the Chinese librarians and stu ­ dents. T here seemed to be so few w om en adm inis­ trators th a t the o p p ortunity to get th eir ideas and viewpoints was lim ited. Students who spoke E n ­ glish (and w an ted to practice it) frequently a p ­ proached m e on the campuses or in the streets to find out w h at we w ere doing in C hina and w h a t we thought of various questions. — Vivian Peterson, Concordia College Library. Although I tried to bring up topics of reference service and online searching, I found little o p p o rtu ­ nity to deal w ith specific questions. It appeared th a t actual reference service was available in only a few of the m any sub-libraries on campuses; in most cases I h ad the impression th a t the em ployee as­ signed to the room perform ed a custodial function. H owever, the interest w hich the Chinese hosts ex­ pressed in bibliographic instruction convinced me th a t there is a desire to provide reference service, bu t there is probably not yet a large enough n u m ­ ber of librarians train ed in reference w ork to m eet the d em and for such service, p articu larly given the distribution of reference m aterials over such a large n u m b e r of sin g le-su b ject re a d in g ro o m s .—Pat Reisenm an, Indiana University. In m any ways the academ ic libraries of C hina rem inded m e of the state of U. S. academ ic libraries in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Some of the sim i­ larities include: initial interest in autom ation, bu t only the beginnings of any autom ated systems and, as in the U .S., these are developing independently w ith little knowledge of others’ activities or efforts to coordinate; m ore concern w ith collections th a n services; controversy over the “correct” classifica­ tion system; extensive construction of lib rary build ­ ings; concern w ith preservation of m aterials. In the differences lie the advantages for the Chinese li­ brarians: the Chinese can see w h at the U.S. and E urope has done, learn from our mistakes and skip several generations of h ard w a re and softw are. September 1985 / 403 W hat can ACRL and U.S. librarians do? Pro­ vide frequent and specific invitations to leading Chinese librarians to visit conferences and U.S. li­ braries and provide expertise to a long-term coop­ eration project through: a) sending experts; b) working w ith the Chinese to develop their own plans—and not repeat our mistakes; c) culm inat­ ing a 5- or 10-year project w ith a conference w ith U.S. and Chinese leaders working together to see w hat can be achieved. — Trish Ridgeway, W in ­ throp College. Reference and collection development activities in Chinese academic libraries are not as yet well de­ veloped. It is not ap p aren t to one entering the lobby of a Chinese academic library th a t one is in a library! C ard catalogs, service desks, and reading rooms are located away from major first floor tra f­ fic areas. One outstanding feature of Chinese libraries is th eir com m itm ent to the subject divisional a p ­ proach to all library services. Most American li­ braries abandoned this type of functional arrange­ m ent about 20 years ago due to fiscal constraints. Instead, strong central services have been devel­ oped in the U.S., allowing more opportunities for subject specialization in collection development and reference. Visits to Northwestern University in Xi’an and Sichuan University in Chengdu gave me the oppor­ tunity to meet w ith two Michigan State University faculty who are teaching English in C hina this year. In contrast to w hat the library staff members at these institutions told the delegation, both of these faculty members told me th a t it is extremely difficult for their students to get access to English lan g u ag e requested m a te ria ls—they w ere fre ­ quently “unavailable.” I was told th a t the Foreign L anguage D ep artm en t faculty at N orthw estern have begun a departm ental English language read­ ing room for their students because it seems the role of the librarians has been to keep the students away from the English language books.—Beth Shapiro, Michigan State University. ■ ■ Academic or Research Librarian of the Year Award The Association of College and Research L i­ braries invites nominations for the Academic or Re­ search L ib rarian of the Year A w ard, presented jointly by ACRL and the Baker & Taylor Com ­ pany. Anyone w ishing to subm it nom inations should send the form on the following page to ACRL/ALA, 50 E. H uron St., Chicago, IL 60611- 2795. Recipients of the aw ard since its inception in 1978 have been Keyes D. Metcalf and Robert B. Downs (1978); H enriette D. Avram and Frederick G. Kilgour (1979); Evan I. F arber (1980); Beverly P. Lynch (1981); W illiam Budington (1982); Rich­ ard M. D ougherty (1983); R ichard D. Johnson (1984); and Jessie Carney Smith (1985). The Award Com m ittee selects persons to receive the aw ard in accordance w ith the following guide­ lines: Purpose: To recognize an individual m em ber of the library profession who is making an outstand­ ing national or international contribution to aca­ demic or research librarianship and library devel­ opment. C riteria: Individuals nom inated should have dem onstrated achievements in such areas as: 1. Service to the organized profession through ACRL and related organizations. 2. Significant and influential research on aca­ demic or research library service. 3. Publication of a body of scholarly and/or theo­ retical w ritin g co n trib u tin g to academ ic or re­ search library development. 4. P lanning and im plem enting a library p ro ­ gram of such exemplary quality th at it has served as a model for others. The nominee does not have to meet all of the above criteria. Rules: The aw ard shall be m ade each year at a tim e and place to be determ ined by the ACRL Board of Directors. Announcement of the aw ard shall be m ade by the ACRL president at a time and place to be determ ined by the ACRL Board of D i­ rectors. If, in the opinion of the Award C om m it­ tee, no w orthy candidate is nom inated in a given year, the aw ard will not be presented th a t year. Nominations: Nominations for the aw ard must be returned to the chair of the Academic/Research L ibrarian of the Year Award Com m ittee and must be postmarked no later than December 1, 1985. Nominations must be subm itted in quintuplicate and should be accompanied by a statem ent of sup­ porting reasons and a copy of the nominee’s re­ sume. Please do not solicit supporting letters sec­ onding your nomination. Such letters will not be considered in the Award C om m ittee’s decision. N ature of the aw ard: The Academic or Research L ibrarian of the Year Award shall consist of $3,000 and an appropriate citation. The Award Com m ittee for 1985 consists of the following persons: Charles B. Osburn (chair), Li­ brarian, University of C incinnati, University and Woodside, C incinnati, OH 45221-0033; Dale B. Canelas, D irector, University of Florida Libraries, 210 Library West, Gainesville, FL 32611; James F. M cC oy, 66E B ishop’s G a te , G u ild e rla n d , NY 12084; Jean Pelletiere, 2167 Stuyvesant Street, Schenectady, NY 12309; Shelley E. Phipps, 4001 S. Jam ie D r., Tucson, AZ 95746; and Ann E. Pren­ tice, D irector, GSLIS, University of Tennessee, 804 Volunteer Blvd., Knoxville, TN 37996. ■ ■ 404 / C&RL News The Off-campus Library Services Conference II More than one hundred librarians and educators gathered at the Knoxville Hilton on April 18-19, 1985, for the Off-campus Library Services Confer­ ence II, sponsored by Central Michigan University Libraries and the Institute for Personal and Career Development. Continuing the dialogue th at began at an earlier conference held in St. Louis in 1983, p articipants representing academ ic institutions from thirty-three states, the District of Columbia, C anada, and England were joined by U.S. military education services officers. The conference brought together for the first tim e at the international level the librarians, fac­ ulty, and adm inistrators who must work together to develop successful library programs for the dis­ tan t learner. The prim ary objective of the confer­ ence was to provide a forum where practitioners could gather to exchange relevant ideas, concerns, perspectives, and research. The keynote address was presented by Barton M . Lessin, assistant director for library off-campus and adm inistrative services at Central Michigan University. In setting the tone for the conference, Lessin’s remarks concentrated on the constituen­ cies involved with off-campus library services and challenges which will be faced by those services in the coming years. The conference highlighted the speeches of four distinguished educators whose featured discussions centered on the role of the library in the context of accreditation, licensure, off-campus/off-duty mili­ tary academic programs, and the im pact caused by off-campus academ ic program s. These speakers were: Bruce N. Chaloux, coordinator of institu­ tional approval and academic projects for the Vir­ ginia Council of Higher Education; Jack Allen, as­ sociate executive director for the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; Frances Kelly, head of the U.S. Navy Education Services Section; and Darrell Jenkins, director of library services at Southern Illinois Uni­ versity at Carbondale. The conference them e, “C u rren t Practices— F u tu re C hallenges,” was also explored through tw enty paper sessions. Topics covered in the con­ current paper sessions included: case studies of spe­ cific ongoing library services; bibliographic in­ s tru c tio n ; a c c r e d ita tio n processes; lic e n su re practices; off-duty m ilitary academ ic program s and library services; remote delivery; support for graduate education; the view from an im pacted li­ brary; the adequacy of vicinity libraries for exter­ nal degree programs; a comparison of on-campus and off-campus library use and preferences; read­ ing as a measure of academic standards on and off campus; and microfiche and telephone accessible catalogs. Linda L. Bennett of Oberlin, Louisiana, and the Louisiana State University School of Library and Inform ation Science, was the recipient of the con­ ference scholarship which was offered to library school students nationwide to encourage their in­ terest and research in off-campus library services. Her paper proposed specific methods of coopera­ tion among academic and state libraries, networks, and local public libraries. Persons in te re ste d in receiving in fo rm a tio n about this conference or about the opportunities to plan and participate in the next conference sched­ uled for October 1986 are invited to contact Barton M. Lessin, Assistant Director of Libraries, 206 Park L ib ra ry , C en tral M ichigan U niversity, M ount Pleasant, MI 48858; (517) 774-6419. ■ ■ I n o m in ate_______________________________________________________________________________ (name and present address) (Please list achievements of your nominee on a separate sheet.) Nominated b y _____________________________________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________________________________ Please return no later than December 1, 1985, to: Academic or Research Librarian Award Association of College and Research Libraries, ALA 50 East Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611-2795 "B u t thanks to the ISI® Grant Program, we can afford the big library coverage and the currency o f the Science Citation Index®, the Social Sciences Citation Index®, and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index™.” For over ten years, the ISI thorough, precise literature Grant Program has been help­ search capabilities of the Sci­ ing “small” libraries just like ence Citation Index, the Social yours purchase ISPs major in­ Sciences Citation Index, and the dexes at significant discounts. Arts & Humanities Citation Today, libraries at California Index. State College at Chico, Massa­ Isn’t it time your library chusetts General Hospital, discovered the ISI Grant Pro­ Middlebury College, the Min­ gram? To find out how your neapolis Public Library, Ports­ library can qualify, just call mouth Polytechnic in En­ our Customer Services De­ gland, and M exico’ s Uni- partment at 800-523-1850, ex­ versidad Nacional Autonoma tension 1371. In Pennsylva­ de Mexico are just a few of the nia, call collect 215-386-0100, institutions that own ISI in­ extension 1371. We’ll send dexes as a direct result of you a free, no-obligation eval­ these discounts. Thanks to the uation form that will help ISI Grant Program, these li­ us determine your library's braries can now afford the eligibility. i s i ® ©1985 ISI Institute for Scientific Information® 1 2 - 3 8 6 3 Customer Services Department, 3501 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 U.S.A. Telephone: (215)386-0100, ext. 1371, Cable: SCINFO, Telex: 84-5305