Page 65 - Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.45, 2019

064 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.11, 2019

indexing to automatic abstracting, manual retrieval to network retrieval then to intelligent retrieval,
and the first generation of management system to the second generation of integrated system. In
the manual cataloging period, only author, title and classification catalogs were available in nearly
all the academic libraries. Subject catalog was not available for the lack of personnel and material
resources. At present, it is no more a difficult task for digitalized resources with the help of new
technologies such as databases. Hence artificial intelligence is instrumental in improving the
library’s abilities. The library is able to accelerate the realization of its core values and functions by
means of artificial intelligence technologies to deal with its collections and user data.
Although artificial intelligence technologies are more disruptive than existing technologies,
they are still technologies, tools or means to help people to achieve goals. New technologies
are promoter and accelerator for the library to accomplish its visions and aims. For one thing,
librarians should embrace and apply new technologies, and speed up the application. For another
thing, we should take control of technologies and focus on their effects instead of simply following
the trend. Technologies serve people. They should not be alienated and override people. In light of
the Moore’s Law, technologies will upgrade in 18 or 20 months. New technologies are emerging
in an endless stream, Internet, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and blockchain,
among others. Yet all these new technologies serve people and society. The humankind has the
intelligence to control artificial intelligent technologies. Experts in artificial intelligence have
reportedly reached an international consensus that only weak artificial intelligence is studied
and applied for quite a long time, while strong artificial intelligence (though quite far away) and
super artificial intelligence will not be studied. We have learned a lot from getting out of control
of nuclear energy, which has led to the production of weapons of mass destruction such as atomic
bombs and then the agreement of their destruction. Robots will be educated to act in a moral and
standard way, and controlled and used by humans.

4 How to improve service capacity in the library

One of the major characteristics of the library is services for users, which is its starting point
and end result, as well as its core value and fundamental task. The services “focus on users, and
abide by general, open, sharing and equitable principles”, which have become universal tenets
for the library and differ from other institutions or the third-party institutions. Some firms such
as Google may match the library in terms of information collection, organization and utilization
by digitalizing collections of Library of Congress, Harvard University Library and The British
Library, and harvest digital resources like academic information on the Internet. They also claim
that the documents will be free if out-of-copyright. Nevertheless, their nature as firms may not
allow them to “focus on users, and abide by general, open, sharing and equitable principles”. As a
result, the third-party institutions are not likely to displace the library. If they could adhere to these
tenets, they would become library-like institutions rather than firms or third-party institutions. In