feb05b.indd


Su Chen and Jing Liu 

Using
libraries
in
China


Know
before
you
go1



As more scholars and students go to mainland China to do research or fi eld­
work, many of them, especially students, are 
surprised by and disappointed with, what 
they discover in the Chinese library system. 
It is drastically different from what they are 
familiar with in North America. 

The authors of this article are both Chinese 
studies subject librarians working in North 
American universities. In the past few years, 
we have visited the National Library of China 
and dozens of academic and public libraries 
in Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan—the biggest 
and most populated cities in China. 

Through our work, we have talked with 
many scholars, researchers, and students 
who have used libraries in China and whose 
research interests are mainly in the humanities 
and social sciences. We conducted informal 
user interviews with them over a one­year 
period. 

The purpose of this article is to address 
their concerns and offer some practical advice 
to those who plan to use libraries in China. 

Two common mistakes 
We found that there are two common mis­
takes shared by those who were disappoint­
ed with their library research experience 
in China. First, before taking the trip, they 
did not do their preliminary research well: 
they did not find out which Chinese libraries 
had what materials and whether they were 
accessible to foreign visitors. Second, they 
expected the same level of professional ser­
vices that they enjoyed at home and they 
could not, or would not, adjust and adapt. 
As they have acknowledged, if you do not 

prepare well, it will be costly in terms of 
time and money, and it will cause you a lot 
of headache and frustration. 

The current status of libraries in China 
In the past ten years, Chinese libraries as a 
whole have made tremendous progress in 
some areas. There are many new and well­
equipped library buildings in many cities, es­
pecially in big universities. Integrated library 
systems, such as INNOPAC, UNICORN, and 
ALEPH, have been adopted by some of the 
libraries that we have visited. Through retro­
spective conversion (RECON) projects, mil­
lions and millions of bibliographical records 
have been put online, thus making remote 
access to these records possible. Library 
infrastructure also uses broadband connec­
tions that enable fast and easy access. 

In addition, a vast quantity of publications 
and archival materials have been digitized 
and access has been provided via the Web. All 
these developments have greatly improved 
the usability of Chinese libraries and made 
them more accessible to foreign users. 

However, despite the fact that the National 
Library of China and some major public and 
academic libraries have migrated to online cata­
logs, their OPACs are incomplete, so users still 
have to use card catalogs for older records. 

It is a common consensus that library ser­
vices in China are somewhat backward com­

Su Chen is head of the East Asian Librar y at the 
University of Minnesota, e-mail: suchen@umn.edu 
and Jing Liu is Chinese studies librarian and technical 
services supervisor at the University of British Columbia’s 
Asian Library, e-mail: liubvu@interchange.ubc.ca 
© 2005 Su Chen and Jing Liu 

C&RL News February 2005  124 

mailto:liubvu@interchange.ubc.ca
mailto:suchen@umn.edu


pared to their counterparts in North America. 
It remains true for archives and bookstores, 
as well. The concept of subject librarian was 
only introduced in the late 1980s, and libraries 
started to have subject librarians in the late 
1990s. Reference service is also a relatively 
new concept and practice. 

The majority of Chinese librarians, though 
classified as librarians, have never had for­
mal professional training. This has seriously 
reduced their ability to provide quality ref­
erence services. In some libraries, there are 
no subject specialists, so it is very diffi cult to 
get in­depth research help. Justifi ably, many 
foreign users feel lost, confused, and very 
frustrated in Chinese libraries. 

Some practical tips 
Based on user feedback and our personal 
experience, we would like to offer some ad­
vice to those who plan to use libraries in 
China. 

Things to know and do before you 
leave for China: 

1. Some materials may exist in North 
America. Before planning your trip to China, 
it is best to consult your local East Asian li­
brarians. A great amount of Chinese materials 
have been collected and preserved in some 
North America libraries, and some major East 
Asian libraries in North America offer travel 
grants to those who need to make the trip to 
use their rare collections. 

2. Prepare and bring an offi cial letter 
of introduction. In most cases, you need 
a temporary library card to enter and use 
libraries in China. In order to obtain the card, 
along with a photo ID, you will need an of­
ficial letter of introduction from your institute 
or home library stating the purpose or the 
interest of your visit. 

With the assistance of Chinese studies 
librarians, users can make sure that the ma­
terials they are hoping to find in China are 
not available in any North American libraries. 
Assistance is not limited to the OPAC or union 
catalog searching. We know what materials 
exist in which libraries or databases and 
what is available in the public domain. For 

instance, you can access 800,000 electronic 
Chinese books and most academic journal 
articles over the Internet at reasonable cost. 
The Harvard­Yenching Library has digitized 
some Chinese classics and provides access 
through the Web. Usually, it is diffi cult for 
a novice user to retrieve such information 
from the Internet, but we have the training 
and experience to help you. 

3. Find out which Chinese libraries 
have the materials you need. Most of the 
students can identify the specific or targeted 
libraries they plan to visit with help from 
their professors or librarians. In case you do 
not have a Chinese studies librarian at your 
institution to help with pre­trip research, you 
can send all your questions to AskEASL, the 
virtual reference desk for East Asian studies 
at askeasl.askvrd.org/index.asp. This service 
is specially designed for faculty and librar­
ians who live or work in isolated locations. 
AskEASL often receives questions from us­
ers who are preparing for a research trip 
to China, and users are always pleasantly 
surprised with the service. 

4. Confirm whether the materials are 
accessible to foreign visitors. Like many li­
brary collections, some materials in China are 
not available to foreigners, especially some 
governmental or politically sensitive materi­
als. Most Chinese academic libraries have 
a restricted access policy towards external 
users. Some policies are quite vague and not 
posted publicly, therefore, it is necessary to 
clarify access possibilities before the visit. 

5. Build up your local connections. 
Guanxi, or local connections, has become 
a mainstream term in Western languages. As 
with other things in China, a little guanxi are 
always helpful for your fieldwork or any re­
search mission in China. The librarians in the 
East Asian libraries can help you get started. 
We would be happy to contact our counter­
parts in China and seek special assistance 
for you. From the survey we conducted, we 
concluded that a little bit of extra work in 
advance would save our users a lot of time 
later in libraries in China. 

(continued on page 130) 

February 2005  125 C&RL News 



Vision and principles 
The goal put forth in ACRL’s Strategic Plan is 
grand and audacious—“ACRL is responsible 
and universally recognized for positioning 
academic and research librarians and libraries 
as indispensable in advancing learning and 
scholarship.” I am excited by an envisioned 
future for ACRL members in which they are 
flexible, dynamic, and progressive leaders in 
their institutions, essential partners in learning 
and scholarship with faculty, and refl ect the 
diversity of their communities. In this same 
future, ACRL can be essential to the profes­
sional networking, development, and success 
of academic librarians. I would use my presi­
dency to move ACRL closer to this desired 
vision through my programs and priorities. 

If elected president, I would be guided 
by two principles: ACRL must refl ect its 
members and ACRL leaders must lead. 
ACRL programs and services are best when 
they meet the needs of members as they 
enter their profession, as they become sea­
soned professionals, and as they aspire to 
leadership. At the same time, ACRL leaders 
must creatively initiate progress for the as­
sociation and boldly position ACRL to be 
a recognized voice in higher education. 
These two complementary principles would 
be at the core of my presidency and color 
my vision of a 21st­century ACRL. I would 
welcome your support to enable me to turn 
these principles of attention and action into 
practice. 

(“Using libraries…” continued from page 125) 

While in China, you should: 
1. Plan extra time for library usage. 

As you have learned from this article so far, 
using libraries in China is neither quick nor 
easy. You need to spend a lot more time 
in libraries in China than in North America. 
Many libraries still have closed stacks, so you 
need to fi ll out a request form fi rst, and then 
have a front desk clerk page the stack clerks 
who will retrieve materials for you. Some 
people are allowed into the stacks with the 
proper authorization. You may also have to 
leave in the middle of photocopying if the 
library closes for noon breaks. 

2. Bring enough cash and change with 
you to the libraries. In addition to the 
photocopying charges that we are used to in 
North America, libraries in China often charge 
for all kinds of other services. The common 
fees include temporary library card, Internet 
access, database searching, printing, and the 
like. Depending on what materials you are 
photocopying, some charges are quite high in 
local currency. For example, Shanghai Library 
charges 2.5 Chinese Yuan (about 30 cents) 
per page for copying the pre­1949 materials. 
There are not many places that honor Inter­
act payment options in China, nor are there 
many automatic banking machines. So while 

in China, whether in the libraries or not, it is a 
good idea to bring enough cash for the day. 

Summary 
As one of the ancient civilizations of the 
world, China has a splendid history of 
books and libraries. Many libraries, includ­
ing most of the ones that we visited, have 
excellent collections and good services that 
make them an essential part of the research 
process for Chinese studies scholars and 
students around the world. The practical 
tips we give in this article are not meant to 
be comprehensive or exhaustive. Chinese li­
braries are changing everyday, and they are 
changing for the better. We are pleasantly 
surprised ourselves every time we visit. 

To all people who plan to use libraries in 
China, remember: know before you go and 
enjoy the adventure! 

Notes 
1. This paper is based on the 2004 pro­

gram of Committee for Public Services, 
Council on East Asian Libraries, chaired by 
Sharon Domier. Visit www.library.umass. 
edu/subject/easian/CPS/. The authors wish 
to thank Sharon for the program idea and 
proofreading. 

C&RL News February 2005  130 

www.library.umass