The Returned Library Scholars From America In The Republican Period And The Modernization Of Chinese Librarianship

The Republican Period was a critical period for the development of library and library science in China:our library realized the transformation from ancient library to modern library in essence,and the system of library science was also established.As one of the major driving forces,the returned library scholars from America had played an extremely important role in this process.Therefore,it is of great significance to piece the academic history of these scholars,analyze their general characteristics and summarize their contribution to the librarianship of China.Firstly,this paper described the specific situation of Chinese people's investigations to western libraries from the Opium War to the Late Qing Reforms,and summarized the impact on the Chinese library business.Secondly,this paper selected 44 library scholars who studied in the United States from 1914 to 1944 as the main research object,made an in-depth analysis of their age distribution,geography distribution,gender distribution,study abroad experience,education backgrounds and professional experience by collective biography method and literature research method.Finally,this paper summarized their contribution to the librarianship of China.This paper described the overall image of the returned library scholars from America:They were born in the 1880s to 1910s in Hubei,Jiangsu,Hebei,Shanghai and other regions;accepted the modern education generally;studied in the United States in their 20s and 30s;accepted the professional education of library science at the famous school such as Columbia University,University of Chicago,University of Illinois;learned western advanced library science idea,method,technology.When back in China,they created modern public libraries;renovated library management and technology;built library major education,founded library professional association and publication;broke the shackles of the old library ideals,expounded the concept of modern libraries;devoted all their lives to the Chinese librarianship and built immortal feats for the modernization of Chinese librarianship.