Page 62 - Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.47, 2021

XIAO Ximing & SHEN Ling / The historical development and contemporary construction 061
of the framework of fundamental theory of library science with Chinese characteristics

and rationally define the relationship between the rights, responsibilities and interests of the major
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stakeholders of the library, so as to maximize the public interest of the library” , which belongs to
the scope of fundamental theory of library science. The library governance theory mainly includes
the following five aspects.
(1) Library rights
Guaranteeing citizens’ right to equitable use of the library embodies the “people-centered”
governance philosophy in the Party’s innovative theory, and it is also an important value goal of
library governance. Since the start of the 21st century, library rights have been highly valued by
the library community, and there have emerged many high-level research results. At the same time,
the government has also promulgated a series of laws, regulations and policy documents to protect
the cultural rights and interests of citizens, which has promoted the establishment of a public
library service system that is universally equal and beneficial for all. Therefore, the fundamental
theoretical research of library science with Chinese characteristics should cover the research on
library rights, including the definition, connotation, pattern and content composition of the concept
of library rights in the context of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the similarities and
differences in the understanding of library rights in Eastern and Western cultures, as well as the
localization of library rights, the legal basis and legal guarantee mechanism of library rights, and
the approaches of realization of library rights, etc.
(2) Library system
“China’s governance system is an institutional system for managing the country under the
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leadership of the Party” , and the core of library governance is to establish a complete governance
system. JIANG Yongfu divides the library system into two categories: one is the library system in
the sense of social institutional arrangement, and the other being the library system in the sense
of professional norms. The former refers to the public library, which requires the state and its
government to use the public library as an institutional arrangement to ensure its popularization
and development, with a view to protecting the cultural rights of citizens and ensure the fairness
of social information; the latter refers to a system of rules formed or formulated to regulate library
professional activities, including library professional qualification system, library professional
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self-discipline system, library internal affairs system, etc. . The fundamental theoretical research
of library science with Chinese characteristics should put the library system in the context of
the national governance system, and discuss how to reflect the Chinese characteristics in the
library governance system. The Chinese characteristics shall include adhering to the leadership
of the Party in librarianship, inheriting and promoting the excellent traditional Chinese culture,
following the “people-centered” philosophy, focusing on improving service efficiency, enhancing
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coordination and cooperation, and collaborative governance .
(3) The rule of law in library community
The rule of law in the library community is the fundamental guarantee for the healthy
development of the librarianship and also an important part of the strategy of “comprehensive rule