Page 60 - Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.45, 2019

YE Jiyuan / Eight major problems in the development of the librarianship in China 059

What are the major problems of the librarianship? What should the library professionals do?
To think over and answer these questions are of great significance to library practice as well as
education and research.
Literature surveys indicated that some scholars had investigated into these questions, such as
Re-discussion of Ten Hot Topics in the Development of Librarianship by Wu Jianzhong (2017),
Information Civilization and Library Development Trend by Wang Shiwei (2017), Library
Transformation and Potential Risks by Chen Chuanfu and Chen Yi (2017), and Disruptive Changes
and the Post-Library Era: Toward Supply-Side Structure Reform of Knowledge Services by Zhang
Xiaolin (2018), etc. These articles introduce the latest information and viewpoints in related fields
such as the international library community and the publishing industry, discuss the existing
problems in public and academic libraries during the transition period, as well as give advice and
present prospect. These enlightening results are of great reference value.
Recently I participated in two conferences on librarianship development in the new era and
gained a lot. Based on experience in library practice, education and research, I will deal with these
problems from the historical perspective and in line with current situation. Here the librarianship
includes library practice, education and research, while library professionals include library staff,
teachers and researchers.
On June 20, 2018 the high-level forum of the development of Chinese librarianship with the
theme of “New Development in the New Age: Service, Efficiency, Legality” was held in Nanjing
University. After discussion, participants passed the Declaration of Librarianship Development
in Nanjing (2018) (hereinafter referred to as Declaration). I thought it over while revising the
Declaration. Therefore, based on published articles, I analyze the following eight problems
and make some personal suggestions for reference. Considering the overall development of the
librarianship and combining the content of the Declaration and discussions in the forum, the
analysis targets at some existing common problems in education and research of the library science
and in libraries of three systems.

1 How to deal with opportunities and challenges in librarianship development

Opportunities and challenges are the two sides of one coin. From different perspectives, one fact
may mean either opportunity or challenge. For example, the public spiritual pursuit of information,
diversity of knowledge and individual demands are great opportunities for library development
from the viewpoint of developmental driving force. Yet considering the service competence, it also
poses challenges for libraries. What are the opportunities and challenges of the librarianship in
China?
Macroscopically, the rapid growth of economy in China promotes the development of scientific,
educational and cultural development. The advancement and wide application of information and
communication technologies also bring about opportunities and challenges for the librarianship.