Inside Major East Asian Library Collections in North America, Volume 2

by Patrick Lo, Hermina G. B. Anghelescu, Bradley Allard

Overview

As a branch of International and Area Studies Librarianship (IASL), East Asian Librarianship has become increasingly important in an age of globalization as scholars engage in interdisciplinary research and study. Volume 2 of Inside Major East Asian Library Collections in North America presents an extensive collection of interviews that give key insights into Chinese, Korean, and Asian American librarianship.

East Asian Studies librarianship requires a variety of technical skills, combining deep subject background with knowledge of library processes/workflows, an awareness of research trends, and digital developments in their respective fields. Professionalism, tradition, standards, respected bodies of knowledge and individual practicing professionals’ personality traits are closely examined over both volumes.

Inside Major East Asian Library Collections in North America promotes shared understanding of subject area librarians’ work and contribution to society and will enable further collaborations and new services, utilizing the unique and distributed nature of their expertise.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781804551400
Publisher:	Emerald Publishing Limited
Publication date:	11/25/2022
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

Patrick Lo is currently serving as the Director of Liberal and Martial Arts Practice Association. From 2012-2018, he served as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Library, Information Media Science, the University of Tsukuba, Japan.

Hermina G.B. Anghelescu is a Professor in the School of Information Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, U.S.A. She is the author of numerous research studies and a member of the editorial board of several periodical publications.

Bradley Allard is currently a Reference and Outreach Librarian at the Clark County Public Library in Winchester, Kentucky, U.S.A. and a freelance editor.

Table of Contents

Foreword; Anita Dewi
Foreword; Martin Heijdra
Foreword; Frederick Nesta
Volume II: Chinese and Asian American Studies
East Asian Librarianship and Library Collections in North America: Introduction
Chapter 1. Jim Cheng, Director, C.V. Starr East Asian Library, Columbia University
Chapter 2. Dr. Peter Zhou, Director, C.V. Starr East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley
Chapter 3. Dr. Ying Zhang, Research Librarian for Asian Studies, University of California Irvine
Chapter 4. Dr. Hong Cheng, Chinese Studies Librarian, Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Chapter 5. Katrina Lacerna, Asian Pacific Resource Center Librarian, Los Angeles County Library
Chapter 6. Xi Chen, Chinese Studies Librarian & East Asia Collection Strategist, University of California San Diego
Chapter 7. Mark Stephen Mir, Archivist & Resource Coordinator, Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History, University of San Francisco (retired)
Chapter 8. Dr. Brian Vivier, Coordinator, Area Studies Collections, and Chinese Studies Librarian, Interim Middle Eastern Studies Librarian, University of Pennsylvania
Chapter 9. Joshua Seufert, Chinese Studies Librarian, East Asian Library, Princeton University
Chapter 10. Runxiao Zhu, East Asian Studies Librarian, Oberlin College
Chapter 11. John Baky, Dean of Libraries, Emeritus, Curator, Rare Books & Manuscripts and Dr. Heather Willever-Farr, Special Collections Librarian, Connelly Library, La Salle University
Chapter 12. Dr. Kenneth Klein, Head, East Asian Library (retired),University of Southern California
Chapter 13. Hsi-chu Bolick, Librarian for East Asian Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapter 14. Haihui Zhang, Head, Head, East Asian Library, University of Pittsburgh
Chapter 15. Dongyun Ni, Department Chair, Asia Collection, Chinese Studies Librarian, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Chapter 16. Dr. Timothy Davis, Asian Studies Librarian, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
Chapter 17. Nien-lin Xie, Librarian for East Asian Studies, Dartmouth College
Chapter 18. Anlin Yang, East Asian Studies Librarian, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Chapter 19. Ying Liu, Subject Librarian for Asian Studies, Linguistics, and Religious Studies, University of Victoria Libraries
Chapter 20. Dr. Stephen Qiao, Chinese Studies Librarian, Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library, University of Toronto
Chapter 21. Dr. Jack Hang-tat Leong, Founding Director (2007–2020); Helen Tang Acting Director (2020–2021) Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library University of Toronto
Chapter 22. Yue Shu, Librarian, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Library, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives
Chapter 23. Yue Ma, Director of Collections and Research, Museum of Chinese in America
Chapter 24. Dr. William A. Peniston, Librarian/Archivist, The Newark Museum of Art
Chapter 25. Dr. Hermina G.B. Anghelescu and Alice Yuet Ling Law, East Asian Librarianship and Library Collections in the United States and Canada: A Selective Bibliography, 2000-2020
East Asian Librarianship and Library Collections in North America: Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

Patrick Lo, Hermina Anghelescu, and Bradley Allard introduce the major East Asian and Southeast Asian collection libraries in North America and their librarians to us through a series of interviews they have conducted. This is a grand tour of librarianship and the wealth of knowledge that is well preserved and developed in these major libraries.

Prof. Tai-Lok Lui (Chair Professor of Hong Kong Studies; Director

The diverse experience of East Asian librarians showcased in this book give readers a kaleidoscopic view of this unique group of experts. As an advocate of Eastern culture in the Western world, they ventured into the field with interest and built a successful career with passion. The stories will inspire anyone who listen to their heart.

Esther Woo (Director of Library Services

The interview-based approach to writing about librarianship is a fascinating choice by editors of this volume. Through conversations with over 40 leading experts in the field,Inside East Asian Collections in North America not only charts the history and landscape of the most important East Asian library collections, but it also brings quiet librarianship to life by offering rare insights into the work-related joys, anxieties, and strategic thinking of these key professionals. Their success stories are just as diverse as their backgrounds and career paths. Highly recommended for anyone interested in East Asian studies or area studies librarianship.

Dr Shenxiao Tong (East Asian Studies Librarian

I am very glad to hear of the publication of this new book introducing some of the major East Asian library collections and their curators. I am sure it will be read with interest not only by professionals in the field but also by anyone concerned with recent developments in area studies.

Charles Aylmer (Head of Chinese Department

Librarians are the bridge between readers and books. East Asian librarians are the bridge between Eastern culture and Western culture. This book is the bridge between the outside world and the East Asian library. It brings to light the characteristics and management of East Asian library collections from the perspective of the librarians, making the East Asian Library a place with warmth and vitality. Through the introduction of this book, the general public can learn that there are so many distinctive East Asian libraries in the United States and Canada.

Prof. Chao-Chen Chen (Chair Professor of Center for General Education and UniversityLibrarian of Chu

This book offers a lively, original, and very instructive introduction to the wealth and diversity of East Asian collections in North America, the largest outside Asia. Focusing on librarians’ perspectives, it underlines the challenges of East Asian librarianship in the context of an ever more globalized and technological world where flexibility, creativity, and cooperation are at the heart of knowledge collecting, sharing, and mediating. As a librarian, I welcome the editors’ approach, which brings to light the passionate efforts of a profession often left in the shadows. These librarians contribute to the essential tasks of advancing knowledge and, even more crucial in these challenging times, helping bridge the gap between cultures. Not only will this book be of special interest for librarians, academics and students in East Asian studies, but it will also prove to be an informative reading for anyone interested in the evolution of area studies librarianship.

Soline Suchet-Lau (Deputy Head of Collection Development Department; Asia Team Leader; Subject Libra

The library is an important hub for the exchange of human knowledge and an important organizational form for the exchange of different cultures. For a long time, libraries in North America have collected a lot of valuable literature resources from Asia, especially East Asia and Southeast Asia. These resources have become important in promoting inheritance and mutual learning of Eastern and Western civilizations. Professional librarians who contribute to the collection and service of these resources are the civilized messengers and guardians of this culture. The unique achievements of this book reveal their efforts and ideals for us. It is not only worthy of learning and reference by professionals, but it also enables our wider audience to realize the sublimity of this profession.

Professor Qingshan Zhou (Department of Information Management

This compendium of interviews with East Asian librarians in the U.S. and Canada affords the reader insight on multiple levels into the careers of individual librarians and the commonalities and distinctive aspects of individual East Asian collections, particularly rare items. A valuable introduction to the world of East Asian librarianship, the book provides a variety of perspectives on daily work, career paths, administration, problems facing the field, and fulfillment found in the work. Collectively, the essays are an affirmation of the importance of printed collections and a ringing endorsement of East Asian librarianship.

Gail King (Retired Asian Librarian

Ultimately, the success of any library depends on its ability to connect with its users through its resources. This publication is a very unique overview of some of the major East Asian Library Collections found across North America. The librarians’ reflections included here not only highlight the commitment they have to protecting information that is culturally and historically significant, but they also explore their professional obligation and determination to provide users with academic sources that reflect a truly global community. The items housed in these great libraries are no longer curiosities; they are acclaimed and relevant academic resources that do much more than simply supplement university collections. Now, at last, an extensive publication has been produced to showcase the great variety of libraries, librarians, and institutions aiming to empower students to find resources that will enable them to produce academic works of cultural significance and scholarship.

Andrew J. Stark (Associate Dean and Head of Libraries and Information Services

A profoundly interesting and useful volume of 42 interviews with librarians administering East Asian collections in North America. It is an excellent read for those interested in developing an international library collection, as well as students and researchers in East Asian Studies. Contributors discuss how they entered this branch of librarianship, developed their collections, and share their practices. As a developer and instructor of the course “ILS 450: Global Perspectives in Librarianship,” this is a perfect model embracing trends in international collections, a specialization path in Library Science, and research on how international collections are developed. Overall, it is a well-articulated compendium of interviews that are addictive and hard to stop reading.

Dr. Tamara E. Blesh (Adjunct Instructor III

The book, being a collection of interviews with North American East Asian librarians, is extremely informative for professional librarians, oral historians, and enthusiasts for literature and libraries. Furthermore, it is inspiring for East Asian Librarians, and it could enrich their work in terms of building collections and library management. It provides a useful comparison between East Asian collections/libraries in North America—it’s quite an accomplishment for the editors.

Katarína Feriančíková (Librarian

Through this volume, Patrick Lo and his co-authors bring to light what is known by some, but unknown by many: that libraries in North America hold some of the world’s greatest collections of East Asian materials. Across Canada and the United States, the range and depth of these collections is brought to light in this fascinating exploration of these major collections. In addition to these explorations, the editors include introductions to the librarians and curators who build and maintain these collections, as well as the scholars who utilize them to serve the growing global interest in East Asian studies.

Peter E. Sidorko (Senior Consultant and Former UniversityLibrarian (2011-2021)

Inside the World’s Major East Asian Library Collections in North America is a highly informative and much anticipated account of many of the world-renowned Asian book and manuscript collections connecting East and West. Celebrated and supported by their academic institutions locally, the libraries discussed in this comprehensive volume are often unparalleled behemoths of knowledge holding published and archival resources that are at times completely unique and yet accessible regionally, nationally, and internationally. In our globally connected 21st century, these exceptional libraries collect the literary genius and recorded histories of the past and allow present and future scholars to study some of the rarest primary sources to advance our field of study in the decades and centuries to come.

Dr. Florian Knothe (Director of the UniversityMuseum and Art Gallery

Someday, when we all realize how special librarians are, we shall find that this book offers a most intimate insight into their lives. With a consistent set of questions, a comparative perspective emerges from this direct methodology—a new dimension to library studies that allow real librarians to speak for themselves.

Prof. Lian-Hee Wee (Department of English Language and Literature

With all of the tensions worldwide, it is important to resolve misunderstandings and build trust. This exploration of East Asian collections in North America, as described by different East Asian Studies librarians, is a doorway to the culture of East Asia.

Kazuyuki Sunaga (Professor of Library and Information Science

Inside the World’s Major East Asian Library Collections in North America is an important new title to collections experts of Asian materials. At a time when the world is facing tragedies of anti-Asian racism, it is critical to continue to collect and preserve Asian collections for scholars and students for teaching, research, and learning to continue sustaining awareness and understanding of Asian cultures and histories. The editors of this volume have insight and experience in balancing the languages and areas of academic libraries of North America, focusing not only on CJK, but important ethnic collections from the Okinawan to Cantonese collections. It is an outstanding contribution to the field and serves as a key reference tool for librarians, researchers, and cultural administrators.”

Allan Cho (Community Engagement Librarian

These stories provide a vivid portrait of individual librarians and highlight the multi-cultural community of East Asian librarians. [...] The two-volume set lifts the curtain on East Asian libraries and invites readers to come behind the scenes by highlighting the works and stories of their librarians. Alongside discussing the trends and challenges of East Asian librarianship, interviews delve into the leadership and management of academic libraries, and the myriad of positions held by East Asian librarians. The interviewees include librarians from academic universities and art museums, providing readers with a panoramic view of their work.

Cecilia Zhang

The book Inside the World’s Major East Asian Collections in North America adopts interviews as a unique approach to capture the vigorous development of East Asian librarianship and East Asian collections in the past thirty-plus years. It paints a colorful picture of librarians in this field. They come from different cultural and academic backgrounds—many entered the field as their second-career choice, but all have devoted their passion, energies, and various professional training to librarianship. They have experienced the dramatic changes in the field and have grown and contributed so much. They are one of the main reasons that we see the flourishing condition of East Asian libraries and collections in North America today.

Luo Zhou (Librarian for Chinese studies

For so many of us, libraries are a place of sanctuary—a space for contemplation, learning, and inspiration. Inside the World’s Major East Asian Library Collections in North America takes us behind the scenes of world-leading East Asian libraries and offers an intriguing and detailed insight into the working practices of librarians, as well as the challenges and frustrations they face in managing collections both large and small. This two-volume set not only provides a lens through which to understand librarianship today; it also identifies new trends in the field and possibilities for the future. In sum, an inspirational and thought-provoking read.

Amelia Allsop (Research Manager at the Hong Kong Heritage Project

Librarians are the bridge between readers and books. East Asian librarians are the bridge between Eastern culture and Western culture. This book is the bridge between the outside world and the East Asian library. It brings to light the characteristics and management of East Asian library collections from the perspective of the librarians, making the East Asian Library a place with warmth and vitality. Through the introduction of this book, the general public can learn that there are so many distinctive East Asian libraries in the United States and Canada.

Prof. Chao-Chen Chen (Chair Professor of Center for General Education and University Librarian of Ch

Through this volume, Patrick Lo and his co-authors bring to light what is known by some, but unknown by many: that libraries in North America hold some of the world’s greatest collections of East Asian materials. Across Canada and the United States, the range and depth of these collections is brought to light in this fascinating exploration of these major collections. In addition to these explorations, the editors include introductions to the librarians and curators who build and maintain these collections, as well as the scholars who utilize them to serve the growing global interest in East Asian studies.

Peter E. Sidorko (Senior Consultant and Former University Librarian (2011-2021)

Inside the World’s Major East Asian Library Collections in North America is a highly informative and much anticipated account of many of the world-renowned Asian book and manuscript collections connecting East and West. Celebrated and supported by their academic institutions locally, the libraries discussed in this comprehensive volume are often unparalleled behemoths of knowledge holding published and archival resources that are at times completely unique and yet accessible regionally, nationally, and internationally. In our globally connected 21st century, these exceptional libraries collect the literary genius and recorded histories of the past and allow present and future scholars to study some of the rarest primary sources to advance our field of study in the decades and centuries to come.

Dr. Florian Knothe (Director of the University Museum and Art Gallery