2010-10-26

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Library Society of China (LSC) signed an amendment on September 9, 2010, to extend the China-U.S. Librarians Professional Exchange Project with additional funding of $250,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).  During the extension period, which ends on August 31, 2011, the project will continue its educational programs in the two countries and concentrate on further development of a web portal of Chinese resources.

The project, the first government cooperation project between the library community in China and the United States, is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and IMLS, and organized by LSC, the International and Area Studies Library and the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA).  It is part of the 2008 “Think Globally, Act Globally” agreement which established a cooperative and cultural exchange between U.S. and Chinese librarians.

The China-U.S. Librarians Professional Exchange Project promotes the exchange of personnel and information between the library community in China and the United States.  As of August 31, 2010, it has included 29 provinces and municipalities in China and 16 cities in 11 states in the United States.  More than 3,000 U.S./Chinese librarians have directly participated in this project, communicating on topics such as library management, education, and technology.

In addition, the project has developed a pilot Web-based portal at Suzhou Library and Northeast Normal University Library—both in China.  Local culture and history are the focus of the Web portal and more than ten databases have been identified by the two Chinese partner libraries.

For more information about the “Think Globally, Act Globally” project, please visit www.library.illinois.edu/china/ .

Tang Gengsheng (Secretary General, Library Society of China) and Shuyong Jiang (Associate Professor of Chinese Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library) exchange signed agreements at the opening of the 5th China-North American Library Conference on 9/9/2010.
Photo provided by LSC.

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