Curriculum Vitae
Hwa-Wei Lee
Chief, Asian Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 20540, USA
E-mail:<hlee@loc.gov> or <leeh@ohio.edu>
Phone: (202)707-5919
Fax: (202) 707-1724
Current Positions :
Previous Positions :
Education:
Publications:
Books:
Others publications:
Professional Activities:
Consultant and Lecturer:
Honors and Awards:
HWA-WEI LEE: PRIDE AND ROLE MODEL OF LIBRARIANS
Rush Miller
University Librarian and Director of the University Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Zhijia Shen
Head, East Asian Library
University of Colorado
Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee, Chief of the Asian Division at Library of Congress and Dean of Libraries Emeritus of Ohio University, is a name familiar to many librarians across cultural and national boundaries. He is known widely in the library world as a visionary leader, cultural communicator, mentor and role model for younger generations of librarians. Many also know him dearly as a caring teacher and good friend.
In his over 40 year career as a librarian, Dr. Lee has held many positions, working through the ranks from an acquisitions librarian at the University of Pittsburgh to become the first among very few Chinese American librarians to serve as the dean of a major academic library. After his retirement from Ohio University, Dr. Lee assumed the position of chief of the Asian Division of Library of Congress, bringing a life-long commitment to bring cross-cultural issues to libraries around the world.
His library career
In the late 1950s when the cold war was just starting and with the end of the Korean War, the field of Chinese studies was growing rapidly thanks to the influx of federal funding. The University of Pittsburgh, like many other universities, was designated a resource center for Asian studies. Soon Hwa-Wei’s library job evolve d from shelving books to include more professional responsibilities, such as selecting and acquiring Chinese language books to build a Chinese collection from scratch. Hwa-Wei became the first librarian specializing in East Asian materials at the University of Pittsburgh and the collection he developed and so meticulously cataloged has now become one of the top East Asian libraries in North America.
As Hwa-Wei job responsibilities increased, his librar y colleagues suggested that he should pursue a “library degree.” Hwa-Wei took this advice and enrolled in the library science mater’s program at Pitt, receiving his degree in 1959. Upon graduation, Hwa-Wei married Miss Mary Frances Kratochvil, his American sweetheart with whom he has built a wonderful family. For the next three years, Hwa-Wei worked hard to build the Chinese collection at the University of Pittsburgh Library.
In 1962, Hwa-Wei assumed the position as head of the Special Collections for African materials at Duquesne University. While working at Duquesne, Hwa-Wei enrolled in the doctoral program in education and library management at University of Pittsburgh. Upon completing his Ph.D. degree, Hwa-Wei took the position as the associate director of the library at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 1965, and was then promoted to the position of director of that library a year later.
In 1968, a great opportunity came to Dr. Lee. Under a contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development, Colorado State University established the Library and Information Center for the newly founded Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). They were looking for an able and dynamic director to lead this operation and Dr. Lee was chosen for it. Dr. Lee took his family with him to Bangkok and spent the next seven years (1968-75) in Thailand.
While in Thailand, Dr. Lee secured funding from the International Development Research Center of Canada to establish the Asian Information Center for Geotechnical Engineering and the International Information Center for Ferro-Cement as a part of the outreach program of the AIT Library and Information Center. This institute later trained many technical people for Asia including China. During his tenure in Thailand, Dr. Lee also developed good relationship with many international organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, the Asia Foundation, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and became actively involved in many of their consulting work.
Dr. Lee returned to the United States from Thailand in 1975 and assumed the position of Associate Library Director and Professor of Library Administration at Colorado State University. Then in 1978, Dr. Lee was appointed Dean of the Libraries at Ohio University, a position he held for the next twenty-one years.
Building a world class university library At Ohio University
The Ohio University Library in 1978 was a mediocre, little known, unranked, and geographically isolated university library. However by 1999, when Dr. Lee retired as the dean of the library, he left behind a major research library that had gained its place among the members of the prestigious Association of Research Libraries, ranking among the top 70 academic research libraries in North America. During twenty-one year tenure as its dean, the library of Ohio University more than doubled its collections from less than one million volumes in 1978 to over two millions in 1999, with unique and internationally-known research resources. The number of serial publications and microform titles had a four-fold increase over the same period.
It is no easy task to double the collection of a university library and quadruple its serials collection, especially during a period when book and subscription price increases were in double digits.
The first project Dr. Lee undertook on at Ohio University was to increase the funding resources of the library. He worked tirelessly to expand the library endowment, increasing it from less than $20,000 in 1978 to over $8 million in 1999. He also initiated major projects through grants and was highly successful with consecutive awards from very competitive sources such as the Title II-C of the Higher Education Act and the Challenge Grants of the National Endowment of Humanities, with the total grants amount exceeding $2.5 million. Supported by grants and other funding he raised, Dr. Lee initiated many significant projects and brought national and international visibility to Ohio University and its library.
One of such initiatives was to build on his international experience both with East and Southeast Asia by developing collections for Southeast Asian Studies and other countries. As a result of Dr. Lee outreach efforts, Ohio University Library became the officially designated depository of publications of Botswana, Guatemala, Malaysia, and Swaziland. In conjunction with the Malaysian depository, the Library world renowned Southeast Asia Collection became the only Malaysia Resources Center outside Malaysia. Such designations are unique in American universities and have greatly strengthened the international research resources in support of international studies.
In 1993, Dr. Lee was the architect of the Dr. Shao You Bao Overseas Chinese Documentation and Research Center with special focus on historical and research resources in Southeast Asia. This is the first-of-its-kind resources centers and the result of Dr. Lee’s longtime work in cultivating donor relationship with the Shao family, a family of a distinguished Ohio University alumnus in Hong Kong. Dr. Shao and his son, Dr. Daniel Shao, established a generous endowment designated for the center at Ohio University.
Another major outreach program Dr. Lee initiated at Ohio University was the establishment in 1979 of a well-recognized International Librarians Internship Program, bringing to Ohio University librarians from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Central America. Through this program, over 175 middle and upper level managers of libraries and information services from various developing countries were trained at Ohio University Library. This training program provided learning opportunities for international librarians to learn about America, as well as for Ohio university librarians and students to learn about these countries, opening a door between America and the third world and promoting communication among different cultures.
Dr. Lee made a special effort to bridge understanding between American libraries and libraries of foreign countries, especially Asian countries. He organized or played a key role in organizing numerous major international conferences, among which are the two China-US library conferences held in 1996 in Beijing and in New York and Washington, D.C. in 2001, the Open Session of he Impact of Computerized Systems and Networks in Resources Sharing of Libraries at the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)/ United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Pre-Session Seminar on Resources Sharing of Libraries in Developing Countries, held at Antwerp University, Belgium in 1977; the First Pacific Conference on New Information Technology for Library and Information Professionals in Bangkok, Thailand in 1987; the first Korea-US library conference held in San Francisco in 1998 and the first Thai-US library conference held in Bangkok in 1999, organized by the ALA/IRC Subcommittee on East and Southeast Asia that Dr. Lee chaired.
Dr. Lee also has been a sought-after library consultant and has lectured widely in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, sponsored by various foundations such as the Asia Foundation, the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the U.N., Freidrich Ebert-Stiftung, the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada, OCLC Online Computer Library Center, the Library Bureau of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, United Nations Development Program, UNESCO, U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), U.S. Information Agency, World Bank, and others. His consultant mission for UNESCO in 1976 resulted in the establishment of a Regional International Serials Data System (ISDS) Center for Southeast Asia in Bangkok, Thailand.
As the Dean of the Library of Ohio University, Dr. Lee made a special effort to play an active role in the local library community in the state of Ohio. Under his leadership, Ohio University Libraries became one of the original founding members of Ohio Academic Library and Information Network (OhioLink), a model statewide resource sharing system pooling materials of all major academic libraries in Ohio. Dr. Lee was involved in the design and implementation of OhioLink beginning in 1988.
Dr. Lee also made special efforts to assist the public libraries in the Southeastern part of Ohio, a part of the Appalachian Region, where library services were not well developed because of inadequate funding and poor economic conditions. Dr. Lee worked closely with the Ohio Valley Area Libraries (OVAL), a regional library cooperative. As a result, the Ohio University Libraries became the resource library for poorly funded local libraries in the eleven counties in Southeastern Ohio for over twenty years during his tenure as Dean and until the changed state funding formula enabled more state funds to go to this region.
Dr. Lee was an active member of the Ohio Library Association, the state library association in Ohio. He jointed the effort of other Ohio librarians in seeking to change the sources of library funding from being based on an intangible tax to being a fixed six- and one-half- percent of income tax. This change has placed the public libraries in Ohio among the best funded in the country. He was also a strong campaigner for library collaboration in his role as a member of the OLA Board of Directors. For his active participation and other outstanding professional contributions, Dr. Lee was elected the Ohio Librarian of the Year in 1981, the 1983 Outstanding Administrator of Ohio University, the 1991 ALA John Ames Humphrey Award winner for contributions to International Librarianship, selected Honorary Alumni of the Year of Ohio University, and was inducted into the Ohio Hall of Fame of Librarians in 1999.
An ardent advocate for Sino-American library exchange
The 1980s witnessed major and historic changes in China. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, China embarked on economic reform and was re-opened to the rest of the world. Recognizing the huge gap between China and the developed world in the library field, Chinese librarians looked to the United States for models of advanced management for modern libraries.
Invited as a lecturer for a training program at an information center in Kunming sponsored by the Chinese Institute of Scientific Information and Canadian International Development Center in 1982, Dr. Lee returned to China for the first time in thirty-three years, during the time when China was still closed to the rest of the world. On this trip, he visited many different types of libraries in China to examine their status. It was shocking to him to see the serious gap created by the thirty years of isolation between the Chinese and American libraries both in the “hardware and software,” i.e. library facilities and skills of librarians. He saw clearly that the most urgent needs for Chinese libraries at that time was modern library management and new technologies. Meanwhile, Dr. Lee was also touched by the dedication of Chinese librarians, who worked hard under poor working conditions and low pay with very limited resources. It was on this trip, Dr. Lee made up his mind to serve as a bridge between Chinese and American libraries.
Since this trip in 1982, Dr. Lee has visited China every year and initiated numerous major programs to train Chinese librarians and to implement collaborative projects between American and Chinese libraries. With funding from World Bank and UNESCO, Dr. Lee ran several training workshops for librarians from the normal universities in China. His collaborative projects took place between American academic libraries and numerous Chinese university libraries and he served as advisor and honorary professor for many Chinese universities. Based on his teaching and conference presentations, Dr. Lee published a book on library management, Management for Modern Libraries. This book was published in Chinese and highly received by librarians in China, who believe Dr. Lee’s book provides them with guidance in the directions for Chinese libraries. This significant book in simple terms explains profound issues and can be used as textbook for library management and as a basic reference book for library professionals.
Dr. Lee also introduced China to many of his library colleagues in the United States, who have hence become bridges between Chinese and American cultures. In 1991, for example, Hwa-Wei organized an exchange between six library directors in the People’s Republic of China under the auspices of the Tianjin Bureau of Higher Education and the library directors/deans from selected Ohio institutions. This program introduced the Ohio librarians to Chinese libraries in Tianjin, Beijing, Chongqing and Wuhan. One of these Ohio deans was Dr. Rush Miller, who later became Director of the University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh. Hwa-Wei’s influence led Dr. Miller to seek out ways to enhance the East Asian Library’s involvement in China and to develop programs to enhance library services for China scholars in the United States. As a result, the University Library System of the University of Pittsburgh established the Gateway Service Center for Chinese Journal Articles, a major training program for Chinese librarians, and other collaborations with Chinese university libraries that continue to have a significant impact on the field today. Dr. Miller has visited China eight times since 1991 and credits his good friend Hwa-Wei with his interest in China.
He gives his best to the library profession.
Throughout his professional career, Dr. Lee has been an enthusiastic contributor to professional organizations. He has served as presidents and board member, chaired committees and task forces, and provided consultation to numerous professional organizations, such as International Federation of Library Associations, American Library Association, OCLC Users Council, the Second White House Conference on Library and Information Services, Chinese Academic and Professional Association of Ohio, State Library of Ohio: Advisory Council on Federal Library Programs of State Library of Ohio, Ohio Library Association Board director, just to name a few.
He has been a loyal and active member of ALA with a continuing membership since 1966 and served in various ALA divisions, committees, task forces, and sub-committees, including two terms as a Councilor-at-Large (1988-1992 and 1993-1997). In 1991 he received the ALA John Ames Humphrey/Forest Press Award for Significant Contributions to International Librarianship. Also in 1991, he was chosen as a Delegate-At-Large to attend the second White House Conference on Library and Information Services held in Washington, D.C. on July 9-13, 1991.
Dr. Lee is an active participant, supporter, and advocate of Asian American librarians. An active member of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association since its inception, he was the recipient of the APALA Distinguished Services Award in 1991. A founder of the Chinese American Librarians Association, Dr. Lee served numerous offices of CALA as its president, board member, and committee chair for many terms over the past thirty years. Through his long-term dedication and hard work, Dr. Lee has helped create and shape the organization to what it is today. In 1983, he was awarded the CALA Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Lee is recognized internationally for his contributions to bridging cultures between the United States and many other countries. He has been appointed to honorary and consulting professorship at many prestigious universities in China and other areas in Asia, such as the National Taiwan College of Education, Beking University, Beijing Normal University, Nankai University, and Wuhan University of China, just to name a few. He also have been invited to serve as an advisor to the National Central Library in Taiwan, the National Library of China, China Academic Library and Information System, Peking University Library, Tsinghua University Library, and City University of Hong Kong, among many.
While working in the field as a library practitioner and educator, Dr. Lee is also a diligent library researcher and has published four monographs in the English and Chinese languages, and over eighty articles and conference papers. He also edited conference proceedings, served on editorial board of library journals, and reviewed more than one hundred books.
He can never retire (Retirement and beginning a new journey)
After serving the library profession for forty years, Dr. Lee retired as dean of the library in 1999. To recognize his great contributions to the university, Ohio University named the first floor of the Vernon R. Alden Library the Hwa-Wei Lee Center for International Collections, and the new library building the Hwa-Wei Lee Library Annex. This honor speaks for the contributions that Dr. Lee has made for Ohio University in the two decades of his tenure as Dean. He richly deserves these honors. As Dr. Robert Glidden, president of Ohio University, pointed out in honoring him, r. Lee gives entirely of himself to his institution, his colleagues and his profession. I very proud of him... He a consummate professional and a wonderful person. I have never heard him say anything negative about anyone or any situation. He gave outstanding leadership to the university libraries for two decades.
Dr. Lee did not rest on the laurels of his honors. After his retirement from Ohio University, he became even more active serving as a library consultant and visiting lecturer. Invited by OCLC, he served as a distinguished visiting scholar to advise the OCLC Institute in extending its highly acclaimed educational seminars to China, Hong Kong, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand, and to the OCLC Asia Pacific Section in expanding its library services and programs to the Asia and Pacific Region. He also was selected to be a Fulbright Senior Specialist to Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. At Chiang Mai, Dr. Lee advised the Department of Library Science in reviewing and redesigning its graduate program in library and information science.
Dr. Lee retired life was as busy as before retirement, and finally in 2002 when the Library of Congress was searching for a new chief of its Asian Division, Dr. Lee was persuaded to apply and take on the assignment.
The Asian Division serves the Library of Congress and the public nation-wide. After taking office as its chief, Dr. Lee makes it a priority to expand services electronically and to improve the use of its world-class Asian collections. Dr. Lee understands that the Asian publications and resources of the Asian Division are among the best in the world, and the collections of every Asian country in their vernacular languages numbering over 2.7 million volumes represent the best knowledge and creativity of these nations, each with a rich and unique cultural heritage. Expanded library services will allow these rich information resources to benefit more users.
Family
As proud as he is of his achievements in his career, Dr. Lee always glows when speaking about his family. “My wife Mary, after receiving her Master’s degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh, gave up her teaching career in order to raise our six children,” he said. “She is truly a wonderful wife and most caring mother to our wonderful children.” Mary and Hwa-Wei are the proud parents of six successful children and grandparents of eight lovely grandchildren. Remarked son Jim, “We’re all very proud of Dad. He has worked extremely hard his entire life and has given so much. Dad could never retire and just relax, he’s always got to be going somewhere and doing something.” He added: “Dad’s traits, hard work and integrity, have been instilled in all his kids. What’s amazing is, even working long hours and traveling frequently, he managed to spend quality time with us. He took the time to make frequent family trips to cultural events or to visit different places.” “Dad is a very giving person. Always willing to help, sometimes too much. He never asks for anything in return... Dad cares genuinely about others. Besides us six kids, he almost always had an international student staying with us. Even those students who didn’t stay with us always came to my father for guidance with their problems.”
When interviewed by Asian Fortune, Dr. Lee remarked, “I believe I succeeded because in this field, we care about people…. We don’t just collect books, but we also enrich lives.”
Dr. Lee’s long-time endeavor, contributions to the library profession, and his high qualities as wonderful human being is a testimony of this statement. And truly Hwa-Wei Lee has enriched the lives of all of us who have come to know him as mentor and friend, and to love him for the wonderful man he is.
"Hwa-Wei Lee: Pride and Role Model of Librarians" by Rush Miller and Zhijia Shen. In Chinese American Librarians Association. Bridging Cultures: Chinese American Librarians and Their Organization: A Glance at the Thirty Years of CALA, i973-2003. Edited by Zhijia Shen, Liana Hong Zhou, and Karen T. Wei. Guilin, China: Guangxi Normal University Press, 2004. Pp. 51-63.