Page 40 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

SHAO Bo, SHAN Zhen & WANG Yi / Construction of smart libraries with new generation service platforms: 039
Business reengineering and data management

the efficiency of professional librarians, and improve user service.
After China’s access to the Internet in 1994, the digital revolution of libraries has become an
inevitable trend. In 1996, MIAO (1996) proposed the concept of BPR for the construction of the
new library of Shanghai Library, and after that, domestic libraries became more aware of and
interested in the BPR. The discussions on BPR in China can be divided into two stages by the
research and utilization of big data: digital reengineering and smart reengineering.
(1) Digital reengineering (1996-2011)
With the development of information technology, the Proposal for Information Resources
Co-construction and Sharing issued in 1996 proposed to build a resource sharing network at
the national and local levels, covering a series of businesses, such as joint procurement, joint
cataloging and document delivery. In 1999, 124 major libraries across the country, including the
National Library of China, jointly signed the Proposal for Literature and Information Resources
Co-construction and Sharing. In 1998, the Digital Library Project of China was established, which
was designed to build a super large high-quality Chinese information resource repository, and
provide services to the whole country and the world through the national high-speed broadband
network, eventually creating the most comprehensive and systematic online repository and
service center of Chinese information in the world. In 2001, the National Science Library of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences started the “Chinese Science Digital Library” (CSDL) project
(X. L. ZHANG, 2002). With these two projects, China started the process of digital transformation
of libraries. During that period, the BPR of the library mainly focused on the digitization of
traditional resources, the compilation of machine readable catalogs and the cooperation between
regional libraries. The optimization of business process focused on the basic services of in-library
search and book loan, including acquisition of literature, literature retrieval and reference services.
(2) Smart reengineering (2011-present)
In the context of big data, libraries are undergoing smart transformation. Ideas and technologies
such as “Internet+”, “library transformation” and “data analysis” have affected the field of LIS and
attracted continuous attention. Driven by the development of technologies and social demands,
the adoption of BPR in the library is a pressing issue. It focuses on users’ data requirements and
embedded in-depth services, including knowledge reference, information analysis and research, data
management and services, publishing services and discipline services. The new generation library
platforms should stick to the principles of BPR for libraries, perform system refactoring and combine
its elements and submodules, so as to maximize benefits (N. X. ZHAO & Z. X. WANG, 2014).
In the period of smart transformation, the development of smart technologies and the change of
users’ needs have become the key driving force for BPR of the library. The BPR of smart library
is featured in three ways. 1) Adaptive to new smart technologies: after libraries began applying
technologies such as face recognition and data analytics, the arrangements and roles of personnel,
organization and institution of the library have changed greatly. 2) Adaptive to the change of
users’ demands: in the smart era, users’ demands are more personalized, putting forward higher