Page 52 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2018 Vol. 43

052 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.9, 2017

environments. Through arduous work, a number of LSE institutions, including the Boone Library
School, cultivated professional talents who became backbone of China’s library community at that
time. The years between 1950 and 1977 is a period during which LSE adjusted itself and developed
according to social changes. Experience and lessons from the achievements, setbacks and even
stagnancy are highly instructive for LSE development. The period starting from 1978 witnessed
the re-planning, reform and prosperous development of LSE in a brand new social environment.
With the unprecedented development in scale, LSE has established multi-level academic programs,
as well as curriculum systems and teaching models that suit the development of the information
era. But with the advent of the digital and Internet era, traditional LSE faces grave challenges
and profound changes are underway. Based on a retrospection of the centennial history of LSE
in China, it is therefore of important significance to summarize the features and patterns of the
interaction between LSE and the society, as well as to consider how LSE can realize positive and
harmonious interaction with the society.

1 Theoretical analysis of the interaction between LSE and the society

From the perspective of System Theory, education constitutes a subsystem of the general social
system, interlinking and interacting with the other subsystems. This means that the development of
education is influenced and constrained by sub-systems of the society, and in turn, education reacts
on sub-systems of the society. Such is the interaction between education and the society. This kind
of interaction definitely is non-linear and has complicated internal working mechanism. Some
scholars point out that “the relationship between education and society is so complex that, when
reviewing the history of education development, it is difficult to identify education themes that are
independent from diversified social relationships”. (J.M. Liu, 2005, p4)

1.1 The influence of the society on LSE

As LSE constitutes an element of education, which is a subsystem of the general social system, its
development definitely will be influenced and constrained by all subsystems of the society. Such
influences and constrains come from such sectors as economy, politics, culture, as well as science
and technology. It is these factors that exert influences in varying degrees on the institution, scale,
thoughts, model and content of LSE, which also reflects the overall development status of LSE in
one country.
It is evident that LSE is related to social economy. First, the economic development level directly
influences and decides the scale and speed of LSE. Second, the economic development level
requires coordinated development of LSE. This means on the one hand, the development of LSE
must keep up with economic development, and on the other, when the development of LSE costs
excessive human and material resources, thus overweighs the capacity of economic development,