The Chinese library system

Abstract

The comparative study of the organisation of library and information systems throughout the world is valuable in order to increase international understanding and to promote the flow of mutually beneficial information. In my book Libraries in the East I surveyed the library systems of a number of countries in Asia under headings based on the reports of the various UNESCO Conferences on the organisation of library and information services, e.g. the role of library associations, Governmental departments, national libraries, national special libraries, provincial and public libraries, and academic libraries. Each of these elements has an important part to play within the national system and in the development of international co-operation within international systems and networks. When preparing material for Libraries in the East I had hoped to visit China but this was not then possible. China has in the present century passed through a series of major catastrophes and it is understandable that the process of readjustment to the world has been somewhat difficult. Just as the seventeenth century English Revolution, the eighteenth century French Revolution and the twentieth century Russian Revolution were followed by periods of special difficulty so also have the Japanese invasion of China and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China been accompanied by similar exceptional stresses. It is a sign of the improvement of conditions that the National Library of Peking accepted the Australian invitation to co-sponsor and be represented at the first International Conference of Directors of National Libraries on Resource Sharing in Asia and Oceania which was held in Canberra in May 1979. Following the Conference I had the honour to be invited to lead a delegation to China. In particular I was asked to identify some recent developments in the world of librarianship and information science which m ight be of interest to China in formulating its own policies and priorities for libraries and information centres