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FAN Bingsi / A review of the theory of Library Science in China: 1956-2016 017

discussions since 2005. Topics included universal and equitable services (free services), extended
services (including central and branch library services), users-oriented services, information equity
and guarantee, and so on. The Library Service Manifesto was published in 2008 by the Library
Society of China. It declared that “after great efforts, universal and equitable services as well as
the users-oriented principle are established” (Library Society of China, 2008). The rebuilding of
modern library service values was completed.
Studies on library service values may be considered as continuing efforts to catch up with
the international Library Science and to make up for the deficiency. In fact it was much more
significant. Studies on modern library values made popular the most important topics such as
library rights, information equity, and intellectual liberty. It also incorporated public library studies
in the social political aspect into the mainstream of Library Science. Moreover, application of
achievements in universal and equitable services, free services and central-branch library promoted
directly or indirectly revolutions in policy, management and services of the public library, which
provoked the great-leap-forward development of librarianship.

5.2 Exploration in the frontier of Library Science

At the beginning of this century, the Internet suffered a “cold winter”. So was the digital library.
However, information technology has been ushered in a new phase of development since 2004. The
technology waves such as Web 2.0, cloud computing, mobile technology, intelligence technology
(Internet of Things) and big data provide favorable circumstances to library services. Meanwhile,
due to the challenges brought about by new technologies, librarians are devoted to new issues
related to library management, resources and services, and to looking for new research domains. In
the studies of service innovations and application of new technologies in the new century, Chinese
Library Science plays an important part in international community instead of as a follower.
In the domain of application of new technologies, Chinese Library Science keeps up with the
pioneering research. Attentions are paid to metadata, Web 2.0 (and new integrated library system,
new type internet services), linked data, RDA, Bibframe, and other new technologies such as
cloud computing, mobile technology, Internet of Things and big data that are having an effect on
libraries. Chinese library scientists not only show interest in “technologies that are useful to current
circumstances”, but also “those trends that may disrupt current circumstances” (X.L. Zhang, 2011).
In the domain of management and services, Chinese Library Science covers almost all the frontier
issues, such as library core values, library social inclusion, information literacy education, open
access, library performance evaluation, library space transformation (including hackerspace),
library marketing, new type services, etc.
Theoretical studies in this period are no longer digesting international improvements, and even
take the lead in some research areas.The concept of Web 2.0 originated from the West. Yet the
Chinese paper Library 2.0: Building the New Library Services was published 8 months earlier