Opportunities and Challenges for Libraries in China: Examining China and U.S Libraries

Six months have passed since I arrived in the US and started my research as a visiting librarian at the famous Harvard-Yenching Library. Working together with the Harvard colleagues and visiting some well-known academic and public libraries on the east coast, I get to know the library system in the US from its inside and out; these opportunities generate new thoughts about libraries' today and future in China. It cannot be denied that China is lagged in both technical invention and human resources in its library system, which means China's libraries have much to learn from the American counterparts. However, traditional libraries and librarians in the US sometimes seem to be confused, even scared when facing the challenges brought by the High-tech era. Libraries in China may contribute to the world more than self-development; they can also provide valuable experiences.

There are some obvious lags in China’s library system compared with that in the US.

First of all, there are many libraries in the US, they are scattered in almost every cities and towns, schools, universities, and other academic institutes. It is common that corporate, law, and medical institutes also have their own libraries. In China, there are usually one public library in each major city and at least one library in each university, but most schools and commercial organizations have no library. And many towns and under-developed regions have no library at all.

Second, libraries in the US are highly professionalized, standardized, and regularized. For example, there are a lot of library associations in the US, including federal, state, and regional. Some of them embrace all kinds of libraries; some have limited member libraries. Most associations make standard documents to give guidance to member libraries. These kinds of instructions are sometimes in details and can keep different libraries developing at similar level and standard. While in China, there are only a few national library associations and some so-called provincial associations, which have little impact on their members' operation. Most of the libraries developed independently and may vary significantly compared to the standard.

Third, almost all libraries in the US are equipped with high technology. This may be the benefit of America as the world technology development leader. With comparatively sufficient resources, it may not be difficult to implement the use of computer, internet, and other electronic sources in American libraries. In China, modern high-tech is mostly introduced, not self-created. In addition, libraries traditionally are not considered with priority when equipping with high technology. Besides, China is still a developing country and cannot provide enough funds to update library equipments. Therefore, much more time is needed for libraries in China to become modern and efficient.

Last, human resources decide how a profession will develop. Librarians’ qualities decide at which level the libraries develop and what social status this profession can get. In America, professional librarians must have a master’s degree in library and information science. They acquire professional skills and identify library career as valuable. This helps guarantee the quality of their services. In China, however, there is no limitation for this career. Anyone with any kind of educational background can become a librarian.

Every coin has two sides. China’s libraries lagged in some aspects, but there are both opportunities and challenges.

First, China has been developing fast in recent years. The rapid growth in the economy allows more money spent on the construction of spiritual civilization. In fact, China’s government is planning to build libraries in all towns and counties, and standardized regulations are under discussion. Since there are no libraries in some areas, it is possible in the future that some brand new libraries may be implementing innovative ideas and theories. It is also a good chance to test how the new ideas and theories work in practice.

Next, though the role of professional associations is still weak in China, some successful examples have already been set. For example, CALIS (China Academic Library and Information System) contributed a lot in uniting cataloging standards of academic libraries and in sharing records among members. It can be predicted that these associations will become increasingly important in the professionalization of libraries.

Last, new librarians in China are mostly universities graduates with at least a bachelor degree, some of them even with master or doctoral degrees. They have the common sense of respecting knowledge and are willing to serve patrons. They major in different disciplines and this makes them more creative because they can think in multiple ways.

Based on all the reasons, I think libraries in China have a prosperous future. There is still a long way to go, but at the end of this journey there may be hope and success. The development of China’s libraries will accumulate valuable experiences and eventually influence other libraries in the world.