Page 63 - Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.47, 2021

062 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.13, 2021

of law” proposed by the CPC Central Committee. Internationally, developed countries such as
Britain and the United States formulated library laws as early as the 19th century. While in China,
LI Xiaoyuan also proposed to formulate a library law during the Period of the Republic of China.
Since the reform and opening-up in 1978, the library community has been discussing and studying
the formulation of library law, and library legislation has become a key subject in the study of
the fundamental theory of library science. In November 2017, the Law of the People’s Republic
of China on Public Libraries was promulgated, which is a milestone in the process of library
legal system development in China. However, the purpose of library legal system is not simply
passing a public library law, but to establish a legal guarantee system for the development of the
librarianship; the rule of law in libraries should emphasize that librarianship must be governed
by law, laws must be abided by, law must be strictly enforced, and violations must be punished.
Additionally, the legal provisions must be faithfully implemented through the establishment and
improvement of relevant systems and operating mechanisms. Therefore, the rule of law in libraries
should become an important part of the fundamental theoretical research of library science with
Chinese characteristics.
(4) Librarianship research
Librarianship research has always been an important part of the fundamental theory of library
science. The study of librarianship should take into consideration the development of the times and
the characteristics of national conditions, discuss the principles of librarianship development, the
structure of library service, the reform directions and approaches, the responsibilities of the major
stakeholders in the development of librarianship, the theoretical and policy support of social forces’
participation in librarianship, cooperation among various types of libraries, coordination and
resource sharing, as well as building a public library service system for all. In addition, the research
on librarianship should closely follow the frontiers and trends of international librarianship, timely
sum up the experience and lessons in domestic librarianship development, and focus on exploring
future development prospects.
(5) Legal person governance structure of public libraries
In 2013, the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee clearly stated that
public cultural service institutions, such as public libraries, museums, and cultural centers, should
establish councils in accordance with the framework of the legal person governance structure, and
invite representatives of all stakeholders and the general public to participate in the management
of the institution. The Public Libraries Law passed in 2017 included “promoting the establishment
of a sound legal person governance structure for public libraries” into the legal provisions. This is
an integral part of the strategy of promoting the modernization of the national governance system
and governance capacity, and comprehensively governing the country according to law. It is an
important transformation and reform of the strategic thinking of government’s governance of
libraries, and an important legal system to ensure the development of librarianship. The purpose is
to improve the library governance system, improve the government’s modern governance ability