Page 30 - Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.45, 2019

CHENG Huanwen & LIU Jiaqin / The development of library science in China in an international perspective 029

science came into being and how it originated and developed.
As we all know, the library as a cultural institution has quite a long history. The history of the
library in the world is over 5,000 years starting from the clay tablets of the Ancient Babylon. The
history of the library in China is over 3,000 years starting from oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty.
From the very beginning of the origin of books and libraries, the study of books, collections and
libraries has started. However, the study of libraries does not equate with the library science. There
is a long way to go from the study of libraries to the library science.
The words “library science” proposed cannot mark the origin of the discipline. Neither the
publication of a certain book can. In English, originated from “disciple”, the word “discipline”
means the practice of training people to obey rules and orders and punishing them if they do not;
the controlled behavior or situation that results from this training; a method of training mind or
body or of controlling behavior; the ability to control your behavior or the way you live, work,
etc. Later, it refers to an area of knowledge, a subject that people study or are taught, especially in
a university (Hornby, 2014). It means that the discipline is the product of higher education. It is
not the outcome of conclusion of practice and theoretical study, but the transition from traditional
teaching from a master to disciples to higher education. An individual discipline has individual
curriculum and tutorial system with academic independence and theoretical integrity. Compared
with other disciplines, it also has special academic journals and stable research groups.
What is the mark of the library science becoming a discipline? This is a question neglected by
many researchers. The author has been reflecting on this question and comes to the conclusion:
there may be more than one mark, but the first and foremost mark should be library science
education. The founding of a discipline in a university signifies the beginning of the discipline.
Accordingly, the history of the library science as a discipline is just over 100 years, so it is a
modern discipline.

1.1 Mark of the founding of library science in the world

The founding of the world library science could not do without Melvil Dewey (1851-1931), an
American librarian. In 1876, he founded the American Library Association (ALA)—the first library
association and The Library Journal—the first journal about the library, which are significant
marks of the library science. In 1887, Dewey founded the School of Library Economy—the first
professional educational institution in the Columbia University (Wiegand, 1996). The library
science as a discipline was finally founded. If counting from the date, the history of the library
science as a discipline is only over 100 years. Thus, the founding of ALA, The Library Journal and
the library science education marked the emergence of library science as a discipline, of which the
library science education is the most fundamental.
Most contemporary disciplines are modern products. The library science is no exception.
When Dewey founded the library school, he used “Library Economy” instead of library science.