Page 64 - Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.47, 2021

XIAO Ximing & SHEN Ling / The historical development and contemporary construction 063
of the framework of fundamental theory of library science with Chinese characteristics

of the library, and promote the best performance of library management and services. Facing the
state’s important strategic decisions and the important reform needs of the library, the fundamental
theoretical research of library science should give due response. It is necessary to study the
theoretical basis, necessity and feasibility of the legal person governance structure of non-profit
public institutions, as well as the mode and main features of the legal person governance structure
of foreign libraries. We shall investigate the practical problems and obstacles existed in building
the legal person governance structure in public libraries in China, and put forward the plan for
establishing and improving the legal person governance structure of public libraries.

3.4 Library profession theory

Modern libraries give priority to “people-oriented” philosophy, in which “people” include not only
users but also librarians. In fact, without a dedicated team of librarians, it is impossible for libraries
to achieve high-quality development. Therefore, the library profession theory should become an
indispensable part of the fundamental theory of library science, and cover the following aspects.
(1) The core values of the library community
In any society, industry, or organization, there needs to have some common values and a set of
widely accepted basic standards for world outlook and value judgment, and the library sector is
no exception. Since the 1990s, foreign library circles have been researching and establishing the
core values of libraries; in 2006, the Sixth Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee
put forward the goal of establishing a socialist core value system. These factors have prompted
the Chinese library community to initiate the study of core values. To study and establish the
core values of libraries means that the library community should systematically explain its
responsibilities and missions to the society, express the professional beliefs of librarians, and state
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career goals and positions of the librarians . In 2007, the Library Society of China launched the
“Research on the Core Values of Chinese Libraries and the Library Service Manifesto”, which
leads to the Library Service Manifesto published in 2008. In 2015, FAN Bingsi completed “Research
on the Establishment of the Core Value System of Chinese Libraries”, a National Social Science
Fund key project. Since 2006, there have been abundant achievements in the research on the core
values of the library in China, but there are still many topics in this area yet to be researched. For
example, how do we achieve a “seamless connection” between the library’s core value system
and that of the socialist core value system? What mainstream values of the international library
community are worth learning from, and what should be reexamined considering China’s national
conditions? And how do the library’s core values play a role in library management and business
work? These are the issues that should be deeply studied in the fundamental theory of library.
(2) Professional spirit of librarians
If the library spirit discussed in the aforementioned “library development theory” mainly
discusses the philosophical issue of the relationship between material and spirit in the development