Dr. Wu Jianzhong ist der leitende Direktor der Shanghai Library und des Institutes of Scientific and Technological Information of Shanghai. Diese Position übernahm er im Februar 2002; von 1992 bis 2001 war er stellvertretender Direktor der Shanghai Library. Dr. Wu Jianzhong hat eine Ausbildung zum Magister of Library Science an der East China Normal University in Shanghai absolviert und danach seinen Ph. D. for Library Science an der University of Wales in Aberystwyth erworben. Er ist u.a. Mitglied im IFLA Governing Board, Mitherausgeber der bibliothekswissenschaftlichen Zeitschrift "Libri" und Gastprofessor an der Shanghai Jiaotong University. Er ist Autor mehrerer bibliothekswissenschaftlicher Monographien sowie zahlreicher Zeitschriftenbeiträge. Aus Anlass des "First Shanghai International Library Forum" im Juli 2002 gab Dr. Wu BIT-Online  dieses Interview.

B.I.T.online: First of all, BIT-ONLINE, one of the leading library journals in Germany, congratulates you and your library on the 50th anniversary. The Shanghai Library is one of the biggest public libraries in China. What has changed during the past 50 years of library history and development?

Dr. Wu: I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the German colleagues for their support and guidance given to the Shanghai Library and to me personally in the past years. The Shanghai Library was officially founded in 1952. Since then it has absorbed lots of municipal and private libraries and collections. For instance, the Shanghai Municipal Council (SMC) Library and Bibliotheca Xujiahui, both founded in the 1840s, became part of the Shanghai Library in the 1950s. And in 1958 four municipal libraries merged into one, the present Shanghai Library. During the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s the Library not only kept its collections intact, but also collected the scattered books and other materials, including postcards, gramophone records and tobacco cards, etc. In 1995 the Shanghai Library and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of Shanghai were combined, thus becoming the first combination of a library and information institute in China. Very recently, the Library has acquired a very rare Chinese collection from the United States for a sum of 4.5 million US dollars. The Library has grown quickly and stably towards an intelligent resource system in the past 50 years.

B.I.T.online: The Shanghai Library has a wonderful building since 1996. Is this only a new building with more space or do you provide new services against the background of a possible new strategy? What are the main goals for the new Shanghai Library?

Dr. Wu: The Shanghai Library has strived to develop into a world-class library since the opening of its new building in 1996. In 1997 a 5-year plan was worked out aiming at developing a reader-oriented service for the public. The library has received many honors as a role model from the central and municipal governments. In 1999, the Library started a program called the Central Library System Project, aiming to set up a consortium for all the libraries to share resources and services in the city. So far 18 branches including public and university libraries have joined the consortium. A new 5-year plan was developed in 2001. The plan laid more emphasis on two things: the central library system project and the knowledge management project. Now the Library is developing a dynamic service system serving the public, the research community and the government and legislative bodies of the city.

B.I.T.online: What is the main user group in the Library?

Dr. Wu: The Library is a comprehensive public and research library. The main users are the general public. But the majority is, of course, students. There are 8.000 to 10.000 people visiting the Library every day.

B.I.T.online: In the Chinese society a political and economic change seems to have taken place in the last few years. What does information mean against the background of this process and which role does the Shanghai Library play in this transition?

Dr.Wu: Libraries are playing a more important role in modern society. They become more interactive with the social movement. People at various levels know that information is important for decision-making, economic analysis, cultural activities and literacy programs. That is why the libraries become crowded and their facilities and services are heavily used. The Shanghai Library is more active in meeting the needs of various social groups. For instance, the Library set up a strategic information center in 2000 for serving the government, research bodies as well as large companies, showing that the Library will actively provide services for the government and enterprises to cater for the needs of China’s accession to the World Trade Organization.

B.I.T.online: In Europe most libraries are chronically underfunded in comparison to other cultural projects. Could you please describe the overall position of libraries in the Chinese cultural policy?

Dr. Wu: The past twenty years have seen unprecedented changes in the library development in China. Highlighted by the construction of the new buildings of such large libraries as the National Library of China, Shanghai Library, Fujian Provincial Library and Zhejiang Provincial Library, the libraries in China have experienced accelerated modernization. That is because of an arrearage of cultural facilities in the past years: many cities have had no decent libraries for many years. We can currently observe a competition for building new libraries among the local governments. It is good to see that funding is on the move to increase in most libraries, but I do not know whether this can be sustainable in future, because there is no library law in China on the whole. If the economic situation becomes worse, the same thing will happen to libraries in this country, too.

B.I.T.online: In the Shanghai Library, research and information science is provided as well as project management for worldwide library projects. Can you please tell our readers something about the collaboration and interactions between the National Library in Beijing and Shanghai Library?

Dr. Wu: The Shanghai Library is a local library. It is locally based in Shanghai but also serves the country at large. The Shanghai Library always follows the national policy or movement. For instance, the library started a consortium immediately after the National Library’s call to share resources in 1999. We have some joint programs such as joint cataloguing and resource-sharing with the National Library of China.

B.I.T.online: Would you please tell us your personal vision of the librarianship in China in the 21st century?

Dr. Wu: The past twenty years have been the most brilliant decades in the history of Chinese library development, and people today recognize that libraries are becoming indispensable social and cultural institutions. The magnificent buildings, and the rich and lively activities within them, indicate the almost infinite potential of library functions. Today's library not only fulfills people's requirement for reading, but also their need for information, education and entertainment. It has become the center for preserving and disseminating knowledge, and the center for education, and culture and recreation. I believe that libraries in China will make a further move towards modernization and become more open and people-centered. I am sure that with the promulgation of the library law in China in the near future, a new tide of Chinese library movement will appear soon.

Thank you very much, Dr. Rafael Ball, and I wish your journal a great success!

B.I.T.online: Dr. Wu, thank you very much for this interview.