Karen Wei
Head Librarian, Asian Library
329 Main Library
1408 W. Gregory Dr.
Urbana, IL 61801
217.333.1501
kwei@uiuc.edu
Previous Position(s)
- 1992-1999: Head of Asian Library, University of Illinois.
- 1990-1992: Acting Head of Asian Library, University of Illinois.
- 1987-1990: Chinese Studies Library, Asian Library, University of Illinois.
- 1981-1987: Assistant Chinese Studies Librarian, University of Illinois.
- 1979-1981: Chinese Cataloger, Asian Library, University of Illinois.
Education
- 1981 - M.A. Asian Studies: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL.
- 1973 - M.L.S. Library Science: Texas A & M University-Commerce.
Awards and Distinctions
Awards
- UIUC Faculty Achievements of Academic Excellence, (2005).
- President Recognition Award, Chinese-American Librarians Association, (2004).
Recent Publications
Articles
- Wei, Karen, Barbara Ford, Lynne Rudasill, and Helen Sullivan. "Not Just Icing on the Cake: International Strategy and Resources at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign." College & Research Libraries News, 67/1 (2006): 10-13.
- Wei, Karen. "Chinese Studies Librarianship in North America." Journal of Library and Information Science, 12 (2004): 31-34.
- Wei, Karen. "Selecting and Acquiring Library Materials for Chinese Studies in Academic Libraries." Acquisitions Librarian, 16/31-32 (2004): 55-65.
- Wei, Karen and Zhijia Shen. "Chinese Studies Librarians Training and the Luce Summer Institute." Journal of east Asian Libraries, 130 (2003): 42-45.
- Wei, Karen, Sally Tseng, Marilyn Quinn, and Jie Tian. "China Society for Library Science Conference, September 25-28, Chengdu China." Library Hi-Tech News, 19/5 (2002): 3-7.
Books
- Wei, Karen, 2004. Bridging Cultures--Chinese American Librarians and Their Organization: A Glance Back at the Thirty Years of CALA, 1973-2003, Guangxi Normal University Press.
- Wei, Karen, 1988. Library and Information Science in China: An Annotated Bibliography, Greenwood Press.
- Wei, Karen, 1985. Current Status of Library Automation in the United States, National Sun Yat-sen University Library.
- Wei, Karen, 1984. Women in China: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography, Greenwood Press.
Book Chapters
- Wei, Karen, 2007. "Treasures in the Cornfield: The History of the East Asian Collection at Illinois." in Over a Hundred Years of Collecting: The History of East Asian Collections in North America, 183-194.
- Wei, Karen, 2007. "Academic Publishing and Information Service to China Scholars in North America." in Scholarly Information on East Asia in the 21st Century, 55-59.
- Wei, Karen, 2004. "Eugene Wu: A Pioneer, Leader, and Scholar-Librarian." in Bridging Cultures--Chinese American Librarians and Their Organization: A Glance Back at the Thirty Years of CALA, 1973-2003, 159-173.
- Wei, Karen, 2004. "Selecting and Acquiring Library Materials for Chinese Studies in Academic Libraries." in Selecting Materials for Library Collections, 55-65.
- Wei, Karen, 2003. "Emerging trends in East Asian Library Development in a Digital World." in Tu shu Guan Fa Zhan yu Chuang Xin [Library Development and Innovation], 348-355.
- Wei, Karen, 2002. "The Asian Influence in the Caribbean Literary Mosaic." in Caribbean Studies: Bibliographic Access and Resources for the Past, Present, and Future, 202-208.
Recent Presentations
- Wei, Karen, "Treasures in the Cornfield: the History of the East Asian Collection at Illinois."Over a Hundred Years of Collecting: The History of East Asian Collections in North America, UC Berkeley: October 18-19, 2007.
- Wei, Karen, "Looking to the Future: CJK Processing at the Crossroads." Committee on Technical Processing, Council on East Asian Libraries Annual Conference, Boston, MA: March 21, 2007.
- Wei, Karen, "Vendor Records: A Brief Survey." OCLC CJK Users Group Annual Meeting, Boston, MA: March 24, 2007.
- Wei, Karen, "Academic Publishing and Information Service to China Scholars in North America." 72nd IFLA Satellite Meeting on Scholarly Information on East Asia in the 21st Century, Seoul, Korea: August 18, 2006.
- Wei, Karen, "Treasures in the Corn Field: the Chinese Collection at Illinois." NLC 2006 North American East Asian Library Symposium: Cooperation in Digitization of Chinese Books in General and Rare Book Collections, Taipei, Taiwan: April 25-26, 2006.
- Wei, Karen, "Information Service to China Scholars in North America." 2005 China Society for Library Science Annual Conference, Guilin, China: July 20-23, 2005.
- Wei, Karen, "East Asian Studies and Libraries in North American." National Diet Library Training Workshop, Kansai, Japan: January 2005.
- Wei, Karen, "Chinese Studies Librarianship in North American." 2004 China Society for Library Science Annual Conference, Suzhou, China: 24-26 July 2004.
- Wei, Karen, "The Changing Role of the Chinese Studies Librarian." Chinese American Librarians Association Midwest Chapter Annual Conference, UIUC: May 1, 2004.
- Wei, Karen, Guest speaker. Opening Ceremony, Amitabha Buddhist Library, Chicago, IL: 2003.
- Wei, Karen, "Emerging Trends in East Asian Library Development in a Digital World." 2002 China Society for Library Service Annual Conference, Xian, China: 25-28 July 2002.
- Wei, Karen, "Chinese Vendors: A Preliminary Survey of Their Services to East Asian Libraries in North America." Committee on Chinese Materials, Council of East Asian Library, Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL: 21-24 March 2001.
- Wei, Karen, "International Resource Sharing: With Special Reference to East Asian Collections in North America." 2001 China Society of Library Science Annual Conference, Chengdu, China: 25-28 September 2001.
Professional Service
- American Library Association.
- Association for Asian Studies.
- Council on East Asian Libraries.
- Chinese American Librarians Association.
- Consultant/Reviewer: Choice.
- Consultant/Reviewer: American Reference Books Annual.
- OCLC CJK Users Group.
