The Sage in the Cathedral of Books. Yang Sun Yang

      Hwa-Wei accepts a plaque from a representative of the Chinese American Librarians Association.

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      The compliments from the two LC top administrators were extremely heartfelt. Immediately following the utter stillness during the speeches came prolonged applause throughout the conference hall. Standing up with a sincere and modest smile on his face, as always, Hwa-Wei nodded his head toward the audience to show his gratitude. At this moment, all his hard work over the years had been well recognized. As a library professional who had immersed his life in librarianship, what else could he ask for?

      Dr. Carolyn T. Brown, who supervised all area studies divisions in the library, including the Asian Division, had been the key person to get Hwa-Wei on board. Not only did Dr. Brown persuade Hwa-Wei to take the division chief’s position after his first retirement, but she also was extremely supportive of Hwa-Wei during this radical reform across the Asian Division. Dr. Brown especially noted, in her remarks to Hwa-Wei:

      When you came to the library, you promised me that you would stay for five years. We are all reluctant to see that five years have come to an end, but what an astonishing five years you have given to the Asian Division . . .

      If I have had a small part in your success, it has only been to explain an arcane bureaucratic system to a newcomer and to remove as many obstacles as I could so that you could be the very best that you are capable of being in the often-challenging environment. Your tenure as chief has been a triumph and demonstration of what is possible with a leader of vision and experience, one who long ago discarded the encumbrances of ego and who has led with deep appreciation for the gifts of others, with great humility, and with a rare wisdom.

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      Hwa-Wei’s own remarks were concise, highlighting his appreciation to Dr. Carolyn Brown and his professional shift from working in an academic institution to a government agency. In addition, he recognized that he himself would not have accomplished as much at LC without the support of his colleagues. He also mentioned that he planned to give his prime time back to his family, while at the same time to continue his service as an advisor for the planning of the Fifth China-U.S. Library Conference, to be organized jointly by the Library of Congress and the National Library of China.

      It was an ultimate honor for Hwa-Wei to have LC as the apex of his career; no other library could have given him such a strong feeling of accomplishment. When being interviewed earlier by the American Folklife Center of LC, Hwa-Wei told the interviewer Dr. Nora Yeh:

      The Library of Congress is by far the world’s largest and one of the most prestigious national libraries. It is therefore an ideal place for me to windup my library career. I don’t think I’ll go to another place for another job, because, after this, nothing could attract me to continue my work. And I want to make sure that, in my five years here, I have built a good structure in the Asian Division, under which it can continue not just on what I’ve done, but also could go even further to a higher plateau. I have every reason to believe that I have instilled in my staff a strong sense of mission and self-confidence. They actually have been doing a lot of great things, much more than I was hoping for them to accomplish. That’s why I think they can do even more. Sometimes I teased and said to them, “Now you people can take a break after my retirement; you don’t have to work that hard anymore.”

      But I don’t think they are going to stop or slow down. They will continue. They are a group of talented and dedicated professionals. And they have a lot of good ideas. I am sure they will continue to carry on. One of the good things that I have done was to combine the best talents of newly hired staff with those who have been here many years, and have had a lot of experience. The young staff needs to learn the experience. And the old staff needs to share their experience. Often times I encourage the young staff to do things in the way they see as best for their professional development and in their own way make the library better. The combining of the strengths of these two groups of staff in a harmonious way, in my view, is very important. I have really done as much as I can to build that kind of working relationship, as well as fostering the culture of mutual respect, mutual support, and also mutual trust. This is most important for the success of any organization. I think we are now getting to have a very good working environment, and now have all these elements for success in place. So, I am very happy to leave at this time, because I feel this is the best time for me to leave. You can’t find a better time for me to retire when you see that positive things will continue, and may even be better.

      Working as an administrator, I want to encourage all staff members to bring out their hidden talents and feel free and encouraged to use them. Everyone has talents. But you have to give them the opportunity and create the environment for them to do it. Otherwise, hidden talents will remain hidden. That would be a waste. And they would be unhappy. So, the best management skill is to bring out the best in your colleagues and coworkers. And I think maybe that’s one of my best strengths, to be able to do that because I really feel that I have great respect of the ability of my staff. I was able to empower and encourage them to do what they are capable of doing without fear of failure or reprisal.

      In the past five years, Hwa-Wei had experienced an extremely complicated and difficult working environment. Yet, miraculously, he was able to transform the Asian Division from a poorly operated and notoriously divided department suffering from low morale to one that was energetic, enthusiastic, and harmonious. The pleasant outcome, however, was achieved only through a heavy workload, resulting in mental and physical exhaustion. In his mid-seventies, Hwa-Wei had to work as hard as a much younger man, frequently extending his office hours to evenings and weekends. He often felt he was at the upper limit of his physical endurance; that feeling had been getting worse.

      Since the previous winter, he often felt weary. Every day, Hwa-Wei had to make several trips back and forth among the various departments through the underground tunnels connecting the Jefferson, Madison, and Adams Buildings. But just several weeks before his planned retirement, he had felt a tightness in his chest and a shortness of breath, forcing him to make several stops during one of these trips.

      Hwa-Wei had suffered the same symptoms back in 2005. Then, the diagnosis from his doctor had indicated a clogged artery, necessitating a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with the installation of two coronary stents. With the reoccurrence of those symptoms, his physician alerted Hwa-Wei that the state of his artery clog had been getting worse and suggested that a coronary bypass operation should be done as soon as possible. These constant and amplified signals from his body made Hwa-Wei realize that the time had come for him to say goodbye to the heavy workload. He had to face the reality of his physical limits.

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      The retirement party, including the luncheon,