Page 53 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

052 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.12, 2020

the professionalism of the librarianship. The third one is the educational system which is the core
measure to train library professionals. Since the 21st century, the reform of educational system
has been widely discussed. In terms of the result, the library science education is playing an ever-
decreasing role in libraries except in several advanced areas. “The library education and talent
training lag behind the development of the national cultural affairs. The curriculum system does
not fit the demands of the major national cultural developmental strategies. The practical abilities
and professional identity of the students are inadequate” (CHENG, PAN, J. ZHANG, P. XIAO, & R.
H. CHEN, 2019).
By reviewing current studies, the author finds that research is mainly conducted from the
perspective of librarians. Unquestionably discussions about deprofessionalization are in
this category. Research on competitiveness attributes the mismatching between professional
abilities and social demands to the source of deprofessionalization. Opinions on the library
institutions also start from professional problems: the librarian qualification system is
concerned with the admittance criterion of librarians; the professional librarian system
stresses the professionalization and proficiency of librarians; and the educational system pays
attention to talent training. All the discussions reflect a distressing phenomenon: the librarians’
professionalism is undergoing severe challenges and questioning. In the meanwhile, a new
question has arisen. Is the librarianship becoming more and more unprofessional if librarians
are not professional enough? Obviously the answer is negative in view of the development
of the librarianship in recent years. The Chinese librarianship is in its unprecedentedly rapid
developmental period. Particularly during the anti-pandemic practice, we observe that the library
has played the leading and representative role in public cultural institutions. Then the second
question arises. Why does the library demonstrate good professional characteristics and achieve
better development when librarians are being deprofessionalized. Does it mean that there is no
close relationship between the professionalism of libraries and librarians? Does the library no
longer need professional librarians? Apparently, the question will lead us to the very core of the
professionalism of contemporary libraries.

1.2 Deconstructing the library’s professionalism: The differences between the internal
and external as well as books and people

To answer the above questions, it is necessary to introduce the concept of the library ecosystem.
According to the scholar who put forward the concept, the library ecosystem is the ecosystem and
interactive space comprised of libraries and external stakeholders (P. XIAO, 2020). Traditionally,
the foremost partners of libraries are associate libraries. As the progress of the central-branch
library system building and the enhancement of library exchange activities, the relationship among
libraries is getting more intimate than ever. However, we should acknowledge that no single
institution (including the library) can accomplish all the operations and services as the furthering