Page 53 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2018 Vol. 43

XIAO Ximing / The interaction between Library Science Education and the society in China over the past century 053

the society needs to make adjustment accordingly in order to achieve a proper balance between
LSE and social economy. Furthermore, economic development also decides the structure and
students’ cultivation standards of LSE. From programs at diploma, bachelor degree level, to those
for Master’s and Doctoral degrees, as well as the extension from general higher education to
various forms of in-service training, social economic development and changes in social economic
structures constitute the inherent driving forces for the development of LSE.
LSE and social politics are also interconnected. LSE, as a kind of professional education,
although not closely linked to politics, is still influenced by politics. First, “the control of politics
on education is mainly realized through laws and regulations, which stipulates people’s education
rights, the principles, policies and objectives of education, as well as the investing principal body
of education” (L.X. Zhang & Y.L. Wang, 2009). Therefore, as the legislator and policy-maker, the
government plays a vital role in understanding the values and functions of LSE and in promoting
the development of LSE. Second, the degree of democracy of the political system also exerts
influence on the development of LSE. A democratic, stable political environment advocates self-
initiated research and innovation and therefore is conducive to the development of LSE. Whereas
the inappropriate and excessive intervention in LSE hinders academic freedom and self-initiated
innovation, thus the development of LSE faces restrictions.
LSE has more intrinsic and essential relationship with social culture. First and foremost, the origin
and development of LSE are directly driven by the demand of Library Science professionals for
library undertakings, which is an indispensable part of social culture. Second, from the perspective
of education and culture which are the two relatively independent subsystems of the society, social
culture’s influence on LSE cannot be neglected. Social culture to a large extent decides social
members’ ways of life, ways of thinking and value orientation, all of which are deeply rooted in the
psychological structure of LSE educators and students, potentially exert influence on the LSE content
and concepts, and furthermore, on the dissemination of occupational values about the library sector in
LSE. Last but not least, the openness of social culture also limits the sensitivity and degree of reception
about external information and frontier knowledge, as well as the attitude towards LSE reform.
The advent of information era brings an even closer relationship of LSE and science and
technology. Modern information technology fundamentally changes library undertakings, which
means new requirements for the knowledge structure and capabilities of libraries’ human resources.
With the establishment of a multi-level and multi-type LSE system, information technology
becomes an indispensable component of LSE. In the meantime, driven by science and technology,
new forms of education, such as online education, distance learning, have emerged as a result of
changes in the organization and means of LSE.

1.2 The influence of LSE on the society

Education cultivates talents and creates new knowledge for the society. Therefore, the influence of