Page 78 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2015 Vol. 41

Jianxin GU, Fang TIAN & Lei SHI / Research on Hong Fanwu’s remarkable contribution to the modern library cause of China 077

3.3 Devoting himself to society with enormous influence

In 1921, the Chinese Association for Educational Promotion (CAEP) was founded in Beijing,
which was a national educational academic organization composed of education institutions of
China, and Director-General was Tao Xingzhi. This organization aimed at investigating education,
researching educational academy and seeking for improving education. In the early days of CAEP,
the library education was listed as special investigation object, Tao asked Hong to investigate
academic education, and Shen Zurong to investigate library education. From the 1st annual
meeting in 1922, CAEP set up Library Education Group which was actually the honorarily highest
civil leading institution of librarianship at that time in China. Hong participated in activities of
CAEP with all his energy, and joined in the Library Education Group with Dai Zhiqian, Shen
Zurong, and Du Dingyou. CAEP held four important annual meetings in 1922, 1923, 1924 and
1925, all of which Hong attended and his proposals of improving librarianship were all passed
through. He was also the group session chairman of Library Education Group at the annual
meeting in 1924.
Under the initiative of Hong Fanwu, the Nanjing Library Association was founded in June
1924, Hong was elected as interim chairman, and the site was located at Southeast University
Library. In August, the Jiangsu Library Association was set up. Hong Fanwu served as president
of the association. On April 25th, 1925, the Chinese Library Association was established in
Shanghai, Hong and other 14 persons were elected as directors. The 1st annual meeting of the
Chinese Library Association was convened on January 28th, 1929, Hong Fanwu was present at the
sessions of “library administration group” and “library architecture group”, he advanced proposals
that “the Ministry of Education should issue a general order of engaging library experts to guide
universities and education departments relating to library”, and should “guide special books
company to manufacture library application items” (Song, 1980). At the 1st annual meeting, Hong
Fanwu was elected as committee and standing committee member of Executive Council of the
Chinese Library Association (Chinese Library Association set up a Board from 1925 to 1928, and
changed to Executive Committee, Council after 1929). At all the previous annual meetings held
later, he was repeatedly elected, and acted as director of the Education Commission, member of
Publications Committee and chairman of Compilation Committee, attached to the Association.
In December 1956, Hong Fanwu was standing committee member of Organizing Committee
of Library Society of China. He was employed as a member of library group successively by
Scientific Planning Committee of the State Council in 1957 and National Science and Technology
Committee in 1961. Hong Fanwu took an active part in social activities in library world and gave
advice and suggestions on library progress, which had promoted the development of university
libraries and even the national librarianship.