Library Journal Review - The Last Empress: Madame Chiang Kai-shek and the Birth of Modern China

In my Library Journal review of Hannah Pakula's The Last Empress: Madame Chiang Kai-shek and the Birth of Modern China, I argued that her book presents an engaging study into one of the most intriguing but misunderstood characters of modern China. Soong May-ling (1897–2003), most famous as Madame Chiang Kai-shek. This fascinating biography contrasts with Sterling Seagrave's classic but rather cynical The Soong Dynasty. In examining Soong May-ling's contributions to modern China, Pakula argues that despite being overshadowed by her husband, "the Generalissimo," Soong's own legacy was arguably more significant to Chinese politics.

Well educated and thoroughly Americanized (she was educated in the States from girlhood), Soong possessed the intelligence and social prowess to play an important role in politicking with Western nations, serving as her husband's translator and offering him a cultural understanding of American politicians. Through her subject's letters and diaries, Pakula also reveals details of Soong's personal life: her indifference toward her husband, her battle with depression, and her personal ambitions even as she was cloistered in a patriarchal society. VERDICT Readers, both general and specialized, interested in modern Chinese and international history will enjoy this book immensely. Highly recommended.—Allan Cho, Univ. of British Columbia Lib.

John Keay's China: A History

As a Library Journal book reviewer, I take my work seriously. Academic librarians have a mandate to uphold the integrity of the publications produced; but I must admit, it's quite a bit of work! With John Keay's latest work, there are only a handful of English-language books that encapsulate the five millennia of Chinese history in one volume. To date, only John King Fairbank and Merle Goldman's China: A New History, Jacques Gernet's A History of Chinese Civilization, and Patricia Buckley Ebrey's Cambridge Illustrated History of China come close to Keay's concise précis of the imperial dynasties, influential characters, and major turning points of Chinese history. Without sacrificing substance for brevity, Keay manages to illustrate China's history very much as a narrative of the rise and fall of strong and feeble emperors, bureaucratic cliques and factionalism, the development of philosophical traditions and religious incarnations, and the constant restructuring of the empire's geographical boundaries. A journalist by trade, Keay is well experienced in scripting historical tomes, with India: A History being most comparable in scale and ambition to this latest work. VERDICT Readers already interested in, or wishing newly to embark upon, Chinese history will adore this book. Highly recommended.—Allan Cho, Univ. of British Columbia Lib., Vancouver

Bridge Blogs and the Digital Citizenry 2.0

Called 'bridge blogs,' chinaSMACK is a daily-updated collection of translated internet content from the Chinese-language internet. These latest stories, pictures, videos, and topics have become very popular, spreading across China’s major BBS forums, social networking websites, or through email forwards sent between normal Chinese people everyday. Why are these bridge blogs so important? Here are reasons why:

(1) Preciously Scare Resource - In a political system that does not encourage individual opinions,- especially political -by heavily regulating the formal channels of communication and search engines, bridge blogs are an incredibly precious resource for the West's understanding of the East.

(2) The cultural diaspora of Chinese - About one-third of chinaSMACK's readers are in the United States, 18 per cent are in China, while Britain, Canada and Singapore each account for roughly five per cent of traffic. Bridge blogs not only reveal what Chinese in China think, but ultimately what Chinese around the world think, especially its digital natives.

(3) Cultural Weather Vane - Like, the U.S. celebrity news site TMZ.com,chinaSMACK is a has the finger on the pulse of the Internet culture in China that is a lot more vibrant than Americans think,

Web 2.0 Applications in Top Chinese University Libraries

Web 2.0 Applications in Top Chinese University Libraries

Author(s):

Dr. Zhiping Han, Dr. YAN QUAN LIU

Journal:

Library Hi Tech

Abstract:

Purpose - Purpose – This survey study explores the status and construction pattern of Web 2.0 technologies employed in top Chinese university libraries, their functionalities and features.

Design/methodology/approach - A combination of online survey and content analysis methodology was applied to a sample of 38 top Chinese university libraries’ websites. The Web 2.0 tools were categorized by generally accepted standards with some adjustment for library practices. Data was collected by accessing these university library websites on two separate occasions during the period of February10 to 20, 2009 by utilizing a checklist of 52 questions.

Findings - Findings – More than two-thirds of the 38 top Chinese university libraries apply one or more kinds of Web 2.0 tools through the basic functions of their websites. Among six types of tools, Catalog 2.0 and RSS are the most common, while IM, Blog, SNS and Wiki are less frequent.

Research limitations/implications - Research limitations –Internal applications that are not publicly accessible contain hidden information that may not be gathered through content analysis since these links usually cannot be found on library websites. It is difficult to get exact information as to the applications of Web 2.0 in these libraries without an interview method in combination to observation.

Originality/value - Originality/value – This study provides an overall picture of Web 2.0 tools developed in top Chinese university libraries, allowing for future evaluation and planning. The implementation of Web 2.0 applications and their constructing pattern is not only indicative of the development of the Chinese digital libraries, but also to their development of digital libraries in the world at large.

Job Posting - Diversity Resident Librarian

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a progressive library. Take a look at the following new opening for the position of diversity librarian.

Diversity Resident Librarian
The University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

The University Libraries have established a two-year Post MLS Diversity Residency program to further increase the diversity of our professional staff while fostering the growth and development of a new librarian. The purpose of the Residency is to attract a recent graduate to the challenging and rewarding career of academic librarianship. The University Libraries has a Diversity Committee and also participates in the University?s diversity initiatives:
http://library.uncg.edu/divres/

Residents will provide service and gain valuable experience in multiple facets of academic librarianship through this process by spending their first year in three different functional areas and their second year focused in one primary service area. The Resident will serve on library committees as appropriate including the Diversity Committee and search committees as well as be assigned other activities such as liaison responsibilities. Professional development is a strong component of the Residency program, which includes conference attendance, interaction and participation in the University Libraries Mentoring Program, and collaboration with UNCG Library and Information Studies Department.

Human information behaviour and Human-Computer Interaction are areas of study, particularly in Library and Information Science. Drawing from supporting knowledge from disparate disciplines as computer graphics, operating systems, programming languages, communication theory, graphic and industrial design disciplines, linguistics, social sciences, and cognitive psychology, IB and HCI are powerful concepts which continue to shape LIS.

However, the LIS cognitive schools of thought assume universal concepts, and are often devoid of ethnological methodology or cultural comparisons. Unfortunately, this resonates to the library and information professions as users are often painted with the same generalist brush. Multicultural librarianship is often limited to market segmentation and specialized reading lists. What about cultural user behaviours? Cultural information retrieval studies? LIS often does not cross into the realm of cultural studies, despite the fact that there is much to examine.

Larissa Hjorth's The Game of Being Mobile: One Media History of Gaming and Mobile Technologies in Asia-Pacific is an interesting microanalysis of social media behaviourial differences between Korea and Japan. It offers much food for thought for LIS professionals, particularly for those who overgeneralize their user groups and standardize one-size-fits-all attitudes in designing information systems. Hjorth highlights some interesting points:

(1) Asia-Pacific Region - Marked by diverse penetration rates of gaming, mobile and broadband technologies, which are subject to local cultural and socio-economic nuances. One of the dominant modes of socializing the consumption of new technologies is through the role of cute culture (also known as kawaii).

(2) Rise in mobile media - Marked by the rise in particular modes of gaming in these regions. South Korea and Japan represent two opposing directions for gaming - Korea emphasizes MMOGs played on stationary PCs in social spaces while Japan pioneers the mobile (privatized) convergent platforms and devices such as the handhelf PSP2 and Nintendo DS.

(3) Public and Private Spaces - Previous domestic technologies such as TV and radio reconfigures public and private spaces. 19th and 20th century technologies therefore have always been part of the way in which space is redefined.

(4) Imagined Communities - Through mobile media and media communities such as gaming, we are seeing emerging unofficial imaging communities that will impact on official imagined and transnational synergies.

(5) Remediating Technology - Customizing invites uers to conceive of technology as remediated. Through cute customization of mobile media and games in the region, new technologies are linked into earlier cultural histories and media archaeologies that are distinctive from European or American models.

(6) Cute Technology - Cute is fundamentally linked to the adaptation of new technologies, such as mobile media and SNS. This phenomenon distinctively differs from Western modes of user customization modes and demonstrates that technologies are much socio-cultural as they are industrial.

(7) SNS in Asia - Unlike Western or European social networking systems (SNS) that are consumed by children and teenagers, in Korea's Cyworld both young and old engage in the politics of cute representation online as a reflection of offline identity. Because of such localized features of not only the SNS, but its specific geographical and cultural audience, its success outside of Korea (and the Korean diaspora) is far from assured.