Building a Better Chinese Collection for the Library of Congress: Selected Writings

In this collection of essays written by the former head of the Library of Congress Chinese Collection, Chi Wang chronicles the modest beginnings of the Chinese Collection at the Library of Congress and his crusade to transform it into the largest collection and Chinese cultural presence outside Asia. For anyone who has ever wondered what goes on inside the marble walls of one of the country’s oldest federal institutions, Wang relates an insider’s account of the major milestones and changes to the administration of the Collection over the years. Readers will be surprised not only to learn about some of the rare and priceless books that have found their way to the Library of Congress but also by the candor with which Wang shares his story about serving under three different Librarians of Congress, each with a different mandate and mark they wanted to leave behind. Building a Better Chinese Collection for the Library of Congress has value as American library history but also serves as a useful introduction to Chinese historical archives and libraries. Select writings discuss publication and personnel exchanges with Chinese academic libraries, Chinese character encoding and library automation, and publishing activities in China.

Table of Contents:
Preface I. Building a Better Chinese Collection: Remembering My Library of Congress Years (1957-2004) II. Possibilities for Future Book Exchanges and Other Findings from Trip to China (1972) III. Follow-up Observations on China’s Libraries and Publishing Activities (1973) IV. Recent Advances and Improvements to Libraries and Library Collections in China and Hong Kong (1976) V. Chinese Knowledge of the United States: A Preliminary Survey (1980) VI. Report on Trip to Chinese Film Festival: Torino, Italy (February 25 - March 8, 1982) VII. Chinese Character Computer Encoding Methods and Library Automation: A Bibliographical Survey (1982) VIII. The Challenges of Collection and Facility Management for China’s Libraries(1984) IX. The Early History and Development of the Library of Congress Chinese Collection (1984) X. Relevant Sources and U.S. Archival Materials for Conducting Research on China (1984) XI. The Teaching of U.S. History in the People's Republic of China (1985) XII. Tracing the History of Libraries and Archives in China (1989) XIII. Resources for the Researcher in the Library of Congress Chinese Collection (1993) XIV. Overseeing the Development of a Modern Research Library for the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1993) XV. Developments and Trends in Publishing in the People's Republic of China: An American Perspective (1994) Appendix A: Testimony before Congress on the State of the Library of Congress Chinese Language Collection Appendix B: Comments on the Proposed Reorganization of the Library of Congress Asian Division Appendix C: Recognition by CEAL for Contributions and Service to East Asian Libraries

About the Author :
Chi Wang is co-founder and president of the U.S.-China Policy Foundation and adjunct professor at Georgetown University. He was the head of the Chinese section of the Library of Congress from 1990-2004. Wang’s many publications include A Compelling Journey from Peking to Washington (2011), George W. Bush and China (2009), and U.S. Congress and America-China Relations since 1989 (2001). He has been publisher of the Washington Journal of Modern China since 1992.

Review :
Wang makes a significant contribution to the growing body of library literature on Chinese and East Asian collections in the United States, and this volume will be useful in the fields of China studies and library and information science, especially from the historical perspective. Academic in style and scope, Wang has collected his various writings that center on Chinese culture, publishing and library collections. Extraordinarily relevant and enlightening for a new generation of librarians and scholars of Chinese studies. I hope our young colleagues will have the opportunity to read this book and learn how pioneers built up these important collections.