The Sage in the Cathedral of Books. Yang Sun Yang
numerous people and circumstances over many years through different historical periods and changing work environments, in both Eastern and Western cultural settings. Librarianship, however, has been his only ambition and passion, and the kingdom of books has always been his center. His world is vast and boundless, like a sea. We can learn so much about libraries, the place for human knowledge and wisdom, from his life and understand the revolving path of the cathedral of books. What I have done, over the course of writing, is to collect as many source materials as possible, via interviews and literature reviews, and then to put together the fragmented anecdotes to form a not-so-perfect theme of the book. Many times, I had to face a situation of more willingness than capability, which caused me irreparable regret at the end. The only thing that makes me satisfied is that I have completed this rewarding and meaningful project.
I cannot express enough thanks to Dr. Lee, his wife Mary, and his children for their help in the project. I am very thankful to Dr. Huanwen Cheng, the university librarian of Sun Yat-Sen University, for his enthusiastic assistance in writing and publishing the book. My deep thanks also go to Mr. Xi Wu, the director of Shenzhen Library; Mr. Shoujing Zhuang, the former university librarian of Peking University; and Mr. Zheqian Dong from the Ministry of Education of China for their forewords to the biography.
The completion of the project could not have been accomplished without the support and trust of my husband, who is also an alumnus of Ohio University and has been the first reader of the book manuscript. My two daughters have been extremely curious and anxious, waiting for the birth of the book. Also, I want to thank Ms. Qi Gan, an old friend of mine from school and one of the founders of the All Sages Book Garden, the first privately owned bookstore in mainland China. She has been so encouraging and offered many constructive suggestions. Without her encouragement and advice, I probably would have never rediscovered, from the depth of my heart, the desire for writing and would have never enjoyed such a wonderful authoring experience.
Yang Yang
August 2011
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE
In this world, there are countless smart, brilliant, and successful leaders; and there are also numerous personable, approachable, and dedicated men. However, I see that there are very few people who belong to both groups. Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee is one of the few. Our profession is very fortunate to have him lead us and help us thrive.
THIS IS what I wrote in 2011 for the occasion of celebrating Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee’s eightieth birthday, organized by the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA). Anyone who wants to know the story behind these words is encouraged to read this biography. It has taken me more than a decade to learn the richness and success of his life through in-person contacts and, most recently, this biography.
Personally, I have had only a few direct interactions with Dr. Lee. But each interaction gave me an opportunity to discover one or more new traits in him. The first time I met him was sixteen years ago when I was a visiting scholar under the International Librarian Internship Program at Ohio University (OHIO) Libraries. Dr. Lee was then the dean of the Libraries. The immediate impression he conveyed was that of a “hybrid” gentleman, one possessing Confucian constraint mixed with a western “ladies-first” manner, presumably rooted in his personal experience in both cultures. As soon as I arrived, along with three other visitors from China, he took us to OHIO’s guest house, a nice two-story building for special guests of the university, and assigned me, the lower-ranked visitor in the group, to the best bedroom. He said while smiling, “Ying is the only lady here, so she gets this room.” The following days, we had several meetings with him. Dr. Lee, during the meetings was serious, listening more than talking. When talking, he was concise and always got to the point. Over the course of my six-month stay in Athens, I learned many times from his library employees as well as from campus and local community members about his strength, ability, and reputation.
After returning to my home institution in China, Sun Yat-Sen University, I had another opportunity to learn more about Dr. Lee. That was in 2000 during a workshop on knowledge management and metadata that was taught by Erik Jul from OCLC. Jul was accompanied by Dr. Lee, then a visiting distinguished scholar at the organization. Seeing that I grew frightened to death for being called to provide on-site translation for Jul’s lectures, Dr. Lee comforted me, saying, “Don’t worry. I will help you.” Staring at the encouraging look in his smiling face, I felt less uneasy, standing at the podium. Dr. Lee corrected me on a few technical terms, where I failed to give precise translations. But he did this in an appropriate manner, apparently not wanting to put me in an awkward position.
In 2004, I visited him in Washington, D.C., during a National Science Digital Library (NSDL) annual conference trip. He was then the chief of Asian Division at the Library of Congress. Upon walking out of the subway station, I immediately spotted him standing up there waiting for me, perhaps already having waited for quite a while. Seeing my apologetic face, he explained on the way to the Madison Building that he had just been afraid of my having a problem in finding the place or in entering the building, due to the increased security check at the entrance. After a brief inquiry about my doctoral study at Rutgers, he talked on and on about the Asian Collection and several ongoing projects, while showing me around. Our meeting lasting several hours was filled with his work plans and library business. I could hardly tell from his high energy and passion that the gentleman in front of me was already in his seventies.
These anecdotes allowed me to get a partial impression about Dr. Lee; meanwhile, they triggered my desire to learn more about this influential and respected senior library professional. Ms. Yang Yang’s biography of Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee finally came out to fulfill that desire. As soon as the book arrived, I could not wait to devour it. The reading was so inspiring and worth sharing with a broader audience. I called Dr. Lee suggesting an English version so that more people, including his family members, could learn about his wonderful life, and the tremendous efforts undertaken to reach the ultimate chapter of his life. He encouraged me to be the translator, and shortly after sent me an e-copy of the book.
The translation project did not start until February 2013, for various reasons, including my busy schedule as a research librarian at the University of California, Irvine, and, most importantly, my fear of incompetence for work requiring language proficiency. Having learned of my concerns, Dr. Lee said, “Don’t worry. Just take your time. And I and my wife Mary will be here to help you.” With his encouragement, as always, I finally moved forward. Over the past sixteen months, every evening, the three to four hours before bed became a fixed time for me to sit in front of my workstation, translating Dr. Lee’s life, from my mother language to a second language, paragraph by paragraph, and chapter by chapter. As the first Chinese-English translation project for me, it was not easy, but it was rewarding. I have learned a lot during the process, not only of general translation skills, but also of Dr. Lee’s spirit of librarianship and wisdom of life.
I know that this project would not have been completed without the support from many people. Dr. Lee, his wife, Mary, and his son, Bob, have provided ongoing and thorough review comments of all the translation manuscripts. Ms. Yang Yang graciously gave her permission for me to be the translator of this biography and also provided background information at my request. Professor Ying Hu, a Chinese literature and translation expert, and Ms. Phyllis Gottlieb, my American host family lady, frequently contributed their valuable knowledge and time. Last but not least, my parents and son were also sincere supporters, whose care and patience kept the project moving forward. I am so thankful to all these people.
Ying Zhang
The Sage in the Cathedral of Books
PROLOGUE
The Retirement Party at the Library of Congress
Remember his resolute constancy in things that were done by him according to reason, his equability in all things, his sanctity, the cheerfulness of this countenance, his sweetness, and how free he was from all vainglory; how careful to come to the true and exact knowledge of matters in hand, and how he would by no means give over till he did fully and plainly understand the whole state of the business, and how patiently and without any contestation he would bear