College and Research Libraries A Profile of Academic Libraries in China Thomas Y. Yeh Operating under rules issued from the central government in Beijing, academic libraries in China share common characteristics and problems. These libraries lag behind the United States in budget, personnel management, building design, and public services. On the other hand, the use of academic libraries is very high. China has placed a high priority on academic library services and should greatly improve its library systems within a decade. here were 675 colleges and uni- versities in the People's Repub- lic of China (PRC) in 1980 and 1,143,700 college students. In 1982 the number of colleges and universi- ties had increased to 715 and there were 1,540,000 college students. College stu- dents are a small and elite group among China's population of over one billion. Al- most all colleges and universities are pub- lic institutions, i.e., either supported by the central government in Beijing, or sup- ported by provincial and city government. Private colleges and universities are rare. Each college and university has a library. Though academic libraries vary in size and their services differ, all share some com- mon characteristics and problems. In China everything is regulated by the central government in Beijing. For exam- ple, there is only one time zone. If it is one o'clock in Beijing, it is also the same time in Urumqi, Xinjiang Province located fif- teen hundred miles away. So, regardless of the position of the sun, everyone in China wakes up, does exercises, and be- gins work at the same time. The college and university libraries are no exception; they too are all operated under the rules and regulations issued from Beijing. Among these regulations is the People's Republic of China Higher Education Insti- tutions' Library Working Regulation. Composed of thirty articles, this regula- tion was issued by the Ministry of Educa- tion on October 15, 1981. Article one of this document states that in an institution of higher education the li- brary is the center for its books and re- sources. As an academic unit its function is a vital component of teaching and the research process. This is quite a departure from the past. In the 1950s, following the establishment of the PRC, China's li- braries were open to workers, peasants, and soldiers as well as the college commu- nity. In the disastrous Cultural Revolution years (1966-1976), many universities were closed. Librarians and other scholars were sent to the country to do manual labor, while factory workers ran the colleges and universities. Libraries were reopened af- ter the Cultural Revolution, and the cur- rent mission of Chinese college and uni- versity libraries is in line with library philosophy in the United States. Article fifteen of the PRC regulation also states that each academic library should establish a branch Communist party that reports directly to the College Party Com- mittee. The branch party is responsible for the party's membership and political thought indoctrination. The branch party conducts a political study session every Saturday afternoon for all library staff. Usually the staff studies current political Thomas Y. Yeh is associate professor and head of the documents department at Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington 98926. The author taught and traveled in China from December 1983 to July 1984 as an exchange professor at the Anhui University Library. 499 500 College & Research Libraries documents such as the premier's address to the People's Congress. Sometimes the library staff joins the rest of the college in a Saturday afternoon rally sponsored by the College Party Committee. A patriotic speech is often delivered by an invited guest speaker. The Library .Branch Party Committee also protects and oversees the library's functions. Any staff member not in con- formity with the official ideology or guide- lines would be criticized and reported to the College Party Committee. The same applies if work performance does not meet the standards imposed by the official guidelines. A typical academic library building is made of concrete and is less than five sto- ries high. The priorities of building design are functionality and minimal cost. There are few frills. Since electricity is expen- sive, library buildings are designed to use natural light as much as possible. As a result, many university libraries are U-shaped with inner courts. Library furniture and equipment are generally old and in need of repair or re- placement. Central air conditioning is al- most nonexistent and carpeting is a luxury few libraries can afford. By order of the central government only libraries north of the Huaihe River can have heat. Libraries in the warmer south and all other univer- sity buildings have no heat. This some- what arbitrary division of north and south produces some hardship. For example, temperatures in the southern city of Shanghai often fall below freezing in the winter. During the cold season, patrons of academic libraries generally keep their warmest clothing on inside library build- ings. Academic libraries are very crowded. In 1980 there were only 1,323,300 square me- ters of space in these libraries. On the other hand, 79 colleges and universities were adding a total of 421,600 square me- ters of library space and 188 colleges and universities were planning to add another 871,200 square meters of library space. 1 There was a total of 193,621,300 volumes in China's academic libraries in 1980. Of this total, 8,818,700 volumes were waiting to be cataloged. Also, 22,229,900 volumes of cataloged materials were not shelved November 1985 because there was no space for them. 2 In the United States, 60 percent to 80 percent of the academic library budget is for salaries and 20 percent to 40 percent for books and operating costs. In contrast, 60 percent to 80 percent of the Chinese aca- demic library budget is spent on books and only about 20 percent to 40 percent on salaries and operating costs. Staff salaries are regulated by the central government. A salary scale with twenty- six grades has been established. This scale is applied to all civil service employees: teachers, librarians, and others. An entry- level college graduate's salary is 50 yuan. This is equivalent to $25 a month. High school graduates receive less. Very few Chinese academic librarians make over 150 yuan a month. Low salaries are not limited to librarians. College professors receive the same salary. While the salaries for Chinese librarians are very low, the cost of living is far lower in China than in the United States. The monthly rent for a one room apartment is 5 yuan. This is equivalent to $2.50 a month. The budgets of China's academic li- braries are limited compared to the United States. In 1980 the total budget for 670 li- braries was about $28.8 million or $40,000 per library. Forty-seven percent of all aca- demic libraries had budgets under $25,000; 30 percent had budgets between $30,000 and $50,000 and only 1 percent had budgets over $250,000. Only 13 per- cent had more than 5 percent of the total instructional budget of the college or uni- versity. Fifteen percent had between 4 and 5 percent of the total instructional budget and the rest were under 4 percent. 3 Because college students and professors have limited incomes, few can afford to buy books. Students and faculty depend entirely on libraries to provide instruc- tional support. Therefore, academic li- braries usually purchase multiple copies of books: five, ten and even thirty copies of a book are common. Because the price of foreign books is high and the demand for them is low, usually only one copy is purchased by the library. Collection development is closely tied to various political campaigns. When a polit- ical campai~ begins, ma!ly books relating to the campaign are purchased. When an- other political campaign begins, the old literature is considered incorrect and is re- moved from the library. It may even be de- stroyed. During the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards removed and destroyed many foreign language books since they were considered decadent, capitalistic, and imperialistic dogma. A recent campaign was the Anti- Spiritual Contamination Movement from 1983 to early 1984. This campaign was a mild one compared to the Cultural Revo- lution. Some books, especially those con- sidered pornographic, were removed. One library transferred the Chinese trans- lation of Sir Winston Churchill's memoirs of World War II from the general collection to the Internal Book Room, the equivalent of our special collections. Only students in a World War II history class or students with special permission were able to check out this title. There are many rare books in Chinese li- braries. However, their condition is un- known and they may be in jeopardy. There is no air conditioning. Only library buildings in the north may have heat and there are no special temperature or humidity-controlled rooms. Many old and rare volumes are deteriorating. Some date back over eight hundred years. The pages of these volumes are fragile from long ex- posure to the elements. Since most li- braries do not have effective fire protec- tion systems, any fire would be a major disaster. The use rate of academic libraries is ex- tremely high. Reading rooms are crowded. Virtually every seat is occupied within minutes after a library opens. Some large classrooms are opened in the evening and designated as study areas. Circulation statistics are also high since most academic libraries have closed stacks and browsing is limited. There are usually limitations to the number of volumes a student or faculty member can borrow at one time. Occasionally borrowing is re- stricted to one's major field of study or re- search. During the Cultural Revolution, China went through a period of dramatic experi- mentation. All colleges and universities were closed from 1966-1971. Students and A Profile 501 faculty were sent to farms to do manual la- bor. The colleges and universities were re- opened in 1972, but regardless of their in- tellectual and educational background, students were enrolled only on the recom- mendation of workers, peasants, and sol- diers. Usually only children of the prole- tarian class were nominated. Children of the intelligentsia were held on the farms. China reinstated the competitive college entrance examination system in 1977 and the possibility of college admission was opened to all. The Cultural Revolution was disastrous. Libraries were cut off from the outside world for ten years. They were closed, ac- quisitions ceased, and some collections destroyed. Academic librarians were usu- ally sent to work on the farms. Today, there is still a ten-year gap in book and pe- riodical collections, especially in western science and technology . . The retrieval of science and technology information is relatively inefficient. Scien- tists and engineers spend almost half of their research time doing literature searches. It is estimated that because of the inefficient systems of information re- trieval 50 percent of science and technol- ogy research programs duplicate work al- ready done in the West. 4 China's academic libraries are well staffed, but few staff members have for- mal training in library science. In 1981 only 5 percent had a library science educa- tion.5 Nineteen colleges and universities offered two and four years undergraduate education programs in library science. 6 The library science faculty numbered 177-1 professor, 17 associate professors, 63 assistant professors and 96 instructors. 7 Five years ago 17,297 staff members were employed in 670 academic libraries. 62 percent were female and 38 percent were male. Eighteen percent of the library staff were on full time or part-time leaves of absence because of illness or old age. Forty-two percent were senior high school graduates, 39 percent were college gradu- ates, and 20 percent had only a junior high school education. The majority of the li- brary staff was relatively inexperienced since many were hired after the Cultural Revolution. Fifty-six percent had less than five years of library experience. Twenty- 502 College & Research Libraries five percent had more than fifteen years experience. 8 The Cultural Revolution also created an age gap among academic librar- ians. Some are middle-aged, but the ma- jority are either old or young. Among the 1,085 academic library direc- tors and deputy directors, only 8 percent had library science training. The others were primarily former college professors. The library directors and deputy directors tended to be older persons: 50 percent were between fifty-one and sixty, 28 per- cent were over sixty, 20 percent were be- tween forty-one and fifty, and 1 percent were under forty. 9 The Cultural Revolution also caused a disparity in the years of experience among directors and deputy directors. Forty-nine percent had less than five years of experi- ence in the library; 22 percent had more than twenty years of experience, 17 per- cent had six to ten years of experience, and 13 percent had eleven to twenty years of experience. Twenty-one percent held fac- ulty rank. Surprisingly, among 670 college and university libraries, 55 percent had a deputy director but no library director. 24 percent had neither a library director nor a deputy director. Someone else was in charge. 10 All employees in China are appointed by the central or provincial government. In the past, libraries were not a high prior- ity so the government sometimes as- · signed people who were unable to find or hold other positions. College graduates with low demand majors were put to work in the library. Old college professors who could no longer teach were assigned to the academic libraries. It was not uncommon for a significant percentage of library staff not to show up for work due to old age. or poor health. Like any other job in China, once a li- · brarian is assigned a job, it is guaranteed for life. Rarely is anyone laid off or fired. A change of profession or a move to another library in another city is rare, if not impos- sible. There is no established, systematic, annual evaluation of performance. Salary raises are mainly based on seniority, with no merit pay or other incentives. Public services need improvement. Li- November 1985 braries are open fewer hours than in the United States. It is not unusual for a li- brary to be closed for lunch and supper breaks. Wednesday afternoons are re- served for staff meetings and Saturday afternoons are reserved for political meet- ings. The number of missing books is high. Most libraries do not have a central- ized reference department. Library users are almost entirely on their own in the li- brary. In the entrance to the library there is always an employee who checks, and sometimes keeps, employee cards or stu- dent ID cards. On leaving, the card is re- turned after a book inspection. The aca- demic library is not as accessible as in the United States. Libraries are not automated. All pro- cessing is done manually. There is no standard machine-readable cataloging format. There are no bibliographic data- bases. A few academic libraries are, how- ever, experimenting with automated cir- culation systems. The central government is now planning to build a national auto- mated database and bibliographic net- work. Academic libraries in China may seem out-of-date and may provide only limited services compared with the United States. Amazingly though, Chinese academic li- brarians can provide "adequate" library services with limited funding and under poor physical conditions. The spirit and dedication of Chinese academic librarians should be admired. The most urgent need in the moderniza- tion of China's academic libraries is to up- grade the library staff, especially at the top administrative levels. Better qualified li- brarians and dynamic professional leader- ship are badly needed. China has placed a high priority on improving its library ser- vices. New library buildings are under construction. Younger and better quali- fied librarians are taking over the director- ships. More money is being allocated. China's academic libraries are going through an expansion similar to American libraries in the 1960s. With proper plan- ning and guidance, they should greatly improve during the next decade. A Profile 503 REFERENCES 1. 1981 Quan Guo Gao Deng Xue Xiao Tu Shu Guan Gong Zuo Hui Yi Wen Ji (1981 Proceedings of Na- tional Higher Education Institution Libraries Conference). (Beijing: Quan Guo Gao Deng Xue Xiao Tu Shu Guan Gong Zuo Wei Yuan Hui Mi Shu Chu, 1981), p. 323. 2. Ibid., p. 319. 3. Ibid., p. 322. 4. Mingzhao Wang, "Jian Shao Da Hai Lao Zhen Zhi Ku, Shi Ke Ji Gong Zuo Zhe Di Gong Tong Yuan Wang" (Reduce the Labor of Retrieving a Needle in the Ocean is the Common Wish of Scien- tists and Engineers), Anhui Gao Xiao Tu Shu Guan 2:74 (1983). 5. 1981 Quan Guo Gao Deng Xue Xiao Tu Shu Guan Gong Zho Hui Yi Wen Ji, p. 121. 6. Ibid., p. 48. 7. Ibid., p. 123. 8. Ibid., p. 320. 9. Ibid., p. 321. 10. Ibid., p. 321 .