v.5, no.2, Win 1999

 

---

Volume 5 No.2, Winter, 1999 (published in 3/3/2000) (ISSN 1084-9068)

1. President’s Message 
2. Membership News 
3. Welcome New Member Denise Beatty 
4. Beijing Released the Cultural Revolution Scholar Yongyi Song 
5. Yongyi Song’s Letter to CEAL President Bill McCloy 
6. Pinyin Conversion Update 
7. Statement by President Clinton on Lunar New Year 2000 
8. Statement by Vice President Gore on Lunar New Year 
9. Letter to the Editor 
10. Words from the Editor 

Dear Colleagues:

Greetings! And a happy and successful 2000, New Millennium, and Year of the Dragon to AALLC members and readers!

As we enter the new century, we should think about what we can do to carry out the objectives of our caucus. Let’s work together to support and contribute to our caucus and the law librarianship as a whole.

Thanks to all the committee members for their willingness to serve the caucus. The following are updates from some of our caucus= committees:

According to the Chair of the Program Committee, Jonathan Franklin, our Program Committee submitted a program proposal entitled "Gateway to China: Coping with the Year 2000 Change of Romanization Systems from Wade-Giles to Pinyin for Technical and Public Services." However, the AALL Program Committee found that our program was more narrowly focused than another proposed program, entitled "Gateway To China: Searching and Finding in Chinese," and the AALL chose the broader program. The chosen "Gateway to China" program will also address the transition from Wade-Giles and Pinyin, so everyone is encouraged to attend. Thanks to AALLC Program Committee members for their hard work and to Bill McCloy and Yuan Yao for being willing to speak at the proposed session.

The Directory and Communication Committee has updated the membership directory at http://www.siu.edu/offices/lawlib/aallc/directry. htm. Currently, we have about 140 registered members (making our caucus perhaps bigger than some AALL SIS’s). Thanks to Ting James and Heija Ryoo for all of their hard work in updating the directory.

The Membership and Recruiting Committee reported that they plan to find AALL members from the membership directory database who have possible Asian surnames and have not yet joined the AALLC. They plan to write to these AALL members and invite them to join the AALLC. This is going to be a very time consuming and challenging project, but hopefully it will lead to an increase in membership for our caucus.

The Publicity Committee has come up with a terrific idea this year to publicize our caucus to Asian countries, seeking a broader, international network of Asian librarians. Clement Lau and Mon Yin Lung plan to write an article in Chinese publicizing our caucus in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Mon Yin also updated the caucus brochure and will bring some copies of the new brochure to the AALL Meeting in Philadelphia.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to recommend to you a short but very good article about publishing motivation and opportunities, "Research & Publications," Technical Services Law Librarian, vol. 25:no.2 (December 1999) http://www.aallnet.org/sis/tssis/tsll/25-02/25-02 .htm, written by G. LeGrande Fletcher, Government Documents/Micro Librarian at Brigham Young University Howard W. Hunter Law Library. I hope this article would inspire us all. I believe that publishing is a good way to contribute not only to personal but also collective professional development. For those of us who have never published a legal research guide, I would like to point out an opportunity with W. S. Hein which has published the series of Legal Research Guides for years. Most of us have written legal research guides to various legal topics for our institutions. So if you plan on writing an exhaustive legal research guide (over 100 pages), you might consider submitting a proposal to Hein. The URL is http://www.wshein.com/publications/book- proposal-form.htm

Many of our members were educated in both the United States and one of the Asian countries and speak at least two languages. We also possess both legal training and training in the library science. Therefore, we are in a good position to write about or translate Asian laws. Nowadays, all countries have been brought more closely together because of the developments and integration of the world economy. Understandably, there have been increasing demands in recent years from U.S. legal practitioners and scholars for research guides to foreign laws. As law librarians, many of us can and must meet these demands. (I wrote a research guide to the laws of the People=s Republic of China and published it in the Spring 1996 of the Law Library Journal.) I know some of us could write research guides to the laws of Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc., and I would like to encourage you to write and publish them. 

Please join me in congratulating Jonathan Franklin, Wei Luo, Heija Ryoo for their career advances and achievements.

Jonathan Franklin, vice president/president-elect of the AALLC, is now an Assistant Librarian for Library Services at the University of Washington's Gallagher Law Library.

His job duties include budgeting, payroll, reference, collection development and other responsibilities. You can reach him by phone at 206-543-4089 or by e-mail at jafrank@u.washington.edu. Jonathan was a reference librarian at University of Michigan Law Library before assuming his current position.

Wei Luo, along with Phillip Berwick, his Director & Associate Dean in Information at Washington University School of Law, has been awarded a research grant by the US-China Legal Fund. Their grant proposal topic is "Comparative Studies of US and Chinese Codification Systems." Their research partner is the Legislative Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. They plan to hold a symposium on this topic in Beijing in June 2000.

Heija Ryoo, Director of Library Systems/ Technical Services, has been promoted to a full professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Law Library.

With sadness, I report that Amelia Sandique-Owens, a member of the AALLC who retired from American University Washington College of Law Library in early 1999, died of cancer on Nov. 27, 1999. 

Denise Beatty, the Circulation Manager at Howard W. Hunter Law Library of Brigham Young University, has joined AALLC recently. The following is a brief interview conducted via e-mail.

Hua: Denise, welcome to AALLC. Would you tell our members about your background?

Denise: I have worked in libraries on and off for many years, although not as a librarian. I worked in my local library in high school, and in my university library during my undergraduate work at UCI.

I am a novice librarian. I have been working at the Howard W. Hunter Law Library at Brigham Young University for just a little more than a year, as the Circulation Manager. I have a J.D. from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU. I anticipate going to library school in the fall of 2001 to pursue a MLS degree.

Hua: How do you know about AALLC?

Denise: I actually learned about AALLC from looking over the program offerings at the AALL Annual Meeting. When I saw the business meeting listed, I decided to look into what AALLC was. I found more information from your website.

Hua: Why do you want to join AALLC? Do you have any suggestion for us?

Denise: I wanted to join AALLC to meet others in my field with whom I might find common ground. I have not met very many Asian American librarians and thought that this would be a good way to make contacts and learn about what I can do to forward some of the goals of the AALLC which I find admirable. I don't have an interest in Asian law per se, however, I do have an interest in the way that laws affect Asian Americans.

As I said previously, I have visited the website. It was very informative. I don't have any suggestions at this time, but I will think about it.

Hua: Do you plan to attend the AALL Annual Meeting? If so, are you going to attend AALLC business meeting?

Denise: I am planning on attending the AALL Annual Meeting and do plan to attend the AALLC business meeting. I will be the wide-eyed, frightened one, who doesn't look like they know where they are supposed to be.

Hua: I am looking forward to meeting you at the AALL Annual Meeting in July. I am sure you will bring new ideas to AALLC. It is always nice to have new members and together we grow in our profession. 
  
 

Yongyi Song, a librarian at Dickinson University in Pennsylvania arrested in China last August, was released by China on January 28, 2000.

Yongyi is a well-known Cultural Revolution scholar. His works include co-authoring The Cultural Revolution: A Bibliography, 1966-1996 (Harvard-Yenching Library Bibliographical Series, 1998) and Heterodox Thoughts during the Cultural Revolution (Greenfield Press 1997). He was detained by police in August while visiting China and formally arrested on Christmas Eve on charges of "the purchase and illegal provision of intelligence to foreign people." His arrest provoked anger and protests from many scholars and human rights advocates in the West. In an official statement from the Chinese Embassy, authorities say they "have treated his case with leniency according to law and decided not to pursue his criminal responsibility."

A celebration of Yongyi’s return to campus was held on February 2, 2000. Yongyi took the oath of United States citizenship on February 20. For more detailed information about his case and release, you can check out the Dickinson College’s website at http://www.dickinson.edu/action. 

The following is a letter by Yongyi Song addressed to William B. McCloy, Acting President of Council on East Asian Libraries.

February 6, 2000

Dear Bill and My CEAL colleagues:

Greetings!

I am finally home in Pennsylvania following six months of incarceration in China and isolation from the free world. How sweet is home and freedom!

With tears in my eyes, I read the petition letter in support of me signed by you represented all CEAL colleagues on December 6, 1999. Some of them I know personally, others I don't, but you all came to my aid in times of crisis.

The petition letter you signed is not an ordinary letter. It is a declaration of academic freedom by American librarians in the 21st century. It is a successful embodiment in library profession of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Without your petition letter, without the rescue efforts by Dickinson College, the State Department, lawmakers in Congress and friends from all over the world, my academic career would have ended in a dark jail cell. Your efforts have not only rescued an ordinary researcher like me, but they have rescued and defended the dignity of international academic freedom and basic human rights as well.

No words in any dictionary can adequately express my gratitude to you. I will therefore give you a simple yet most sincere "Thank you!" from the bottom of my heart.

I will work hard to live up to your expectations and continue my research on China's Cultural Revolution. The road ahead will be long and bumpy, but I am determined to dedicate the rest of my life to the establishment of the "Cultural Revolution Memorial Museum" and the building of a "Cultural Revolution Database." I will give my utmost to do them well so that future generations will know the complete truth of Chinese history, and a catastrophe similar to the Holocaust will not repeat itself in human history ever again.

Thanks again for your help and support!

Gratefully,

Song, Yongyi 

According to recent issues of LC Cataloging Newsline: Online Newsletter of the Cataloging Directorate, Library of Congress, the Library of Congress has completed revision of name authority records for Chinese conventional place names. Now headings for major localities in China correspond to the form used by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BDN). Headings for more than 260 Chinese geographic locations have been changed, along with over 5, 300 related authority records. Most of the new headings appear in pinyin romanization. Headings on bibliographic records for LC’s book, music, manuscript, sound recording, and visual material records have been revised to reflect these changes. Headings on serial records have been identified but not yet changed. It is hoped that headings for these place names on Chinese bibliographic records can be changed at the same time that the records are converted from Wade-Giles romanization to pinyin.

Representatives from six major collections in the United States met with colleagues from the Library of Congress, OCLC, and RLG on October 7, 1999 at the Library of Congress. At the meeting, they discussed issues related to pinyin conversion of local catalogs and to promote a coordinated approach to the conversion project. The discussion resulted in a general agreement on a sequence in which certain milestones were to be achieved, along with dates and time frames for major activities related to the conversion. The meeting proposed October 1, 2000 as the target for "Day 1." After "Day 1" new cataloging and authority work should use pinyin for systematic romanization of Chinese. An individual library could continue to use Wade-Giles records for copy cataloging after "Day 1" and until "Day 2," at which time the library would switch to pinyin. Under this plan, a library’s "Day 2" would be determined by the availability of bibliographic records in pinyin on the utilities and the timing of the conversion of its own Chinese records. Following conversion, utilities will return snapshots of converted records to individual libraries to be loaded into their local systems.

In order to prevent re-conversion, a pinyin conversion marker Field 987 has been proposed on February 2, 2000. Field 987 is a repeatable field for local romanization/conversion history. This local field would be implemented in the local library systems of the library of Congress, OCLC, RLG, and others, to store conversion status information until it is no longer needed. For more information about pinyin conversion, check out the Library of Congress Pinyin Conversion Project website at http://lcweb.loc.gov/catdir/pinyin/pinyin.html. 
  
 

Warm greetings to all those celebrating the Lunar New Year. I am delighted to join you in welcoming 4698, the Year of the Dragon.

This ancient and joyous festival, marked by parades, dancing, music, and feasting, celebrates the miracle of life, the promise of a new year, and the blessings of family, friends, and community. It also reminds us of the many contributions that Asian Americans bring to our national life and of the many ways in which their customs, history, and traditions have enriched our country's cultural heritage.

Asian Americans play a key role in all segments of our society, from the scientists who have helped to build our national defense and to power our unmatched technological progress to the artists whose talents grace our literature, stage, and screen. America is strengthened by these contributions, and we must work to ensure that Asian Americans are afforded every opportunity to be active and equal participants in our national life.

As people across America and around the world mark the beginning of a new lunar cycle, Hillary joins me in extending best wishes to all for health, happiness, prosperity, and peace in the new year.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON 
  
 

My warmest greetings to everyone around the nation celebrating the Lunar New Year. This year's celebration is special indeed as we welcome in the Year of the Dragon - a very auspicious year that I hope will bring good fortune and happiness to all.

As we commence with this celebration of community festivals, dances, parades, and fireworks, it gives us the opportunity to reflect upon the tremendous ways Asian Americans have influenced our nation - not only through their rich heritage and culture which has become a part of our daily lives, but also their contributions in building a better and stronger America.

Asian Americans have helped to forge America's success in so many of our endeavors. We thrive on the diversity of this dynamic community and celebrate this New Year with families who have been here for over a century to those who may be experiencing America's Lunar New Year celebration for the first time.

Asian Americans must continue to be afforded every opportunity to be active participants in our society, this is why I am so pleased that our Administration issued the first Executive Order in the history of this nation dedicated to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The White House initiative established under this Executive Order will examine the needs of the specific sub-populations within this diverse community, and find ways that the federal government can improve the overall quality of life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander.

Again, Tipper and I extend our very best wishes for a memorable Lunar New Year celebration and a healthy and prosperous Year of the Dragon.

Al Gore

(Editor’s Note: You can access the Executive Order 13125 of June 7, 1999 at GPO website http://www.access.gpo.gov/index.html and search in Federal Register.) 
 

Dear Hua Li:

I have no suggestions to your Asian Law Librarians Caucus’ Newsletter, but to keep up the good work. We certainly appreciate it here in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Your Sincerely, 
Julie Sanders 
Law Librarian 
Faculty of Law 
University of Copenhagen< 
Denmark 
http://www.jur.ku.dk/instbib/

(Editor’s note: Julie, many thanks for your encouragement. It is thrilling to know that the AALLC’s newsletter reaches you in Denmark. We are seeking to improve the quality of our newsletter, and are pleased that you find it useful.) 

In this issue’s President’s Message, Wei Luo has encouraged our members to write and to publish. Yes, some people might have the motivation to write. Others might not have the time to write. Writing is never easy for most people, yet it is a skill that we all have. Every one of us has written reports, policies, procedures, manuals, proposals, research papers, or office memos. These work products are proof that you can write. If you decide to give it a try, please send your article to our newsletter.

We’d like to have a column entitled "Your Favorites" starting with the next issue. You can write about your favorite books, articles, reference tools, websites, or even quotations. You can also write about your favorite people such as a librarian, mentor, or author who have influenced your life or career. If you want to write something unrelated to your work or career, how about telling us your favorite country or city to travel or favorite park to camp? Surely you can share your favorite recipes with AALLC members in this column. We are such a diverse group that our readers will be delighted to have new recipes of ethnic food which may nourish our bodies and souls. The goal of this column is to provide our members with an opportunity to write and to share information. There is no limit in this column but your imagination. You might find out that writing is enjoyable after all.

We like to address your needs and to share your interests so that together we may continue to thrive. 

This Newsletter is edited by Hua Li, Cataloging/Reference Librarian, Creighton University Law Library. For comments or suggestions, please call the editor at (402) 280-2283 or email: huali@culaw.creighton.edu.

For technical assistance, please contact the webmaster for the Newsletter Wei Luo (LUO@wulaw.wustl.edu), Washington University School of Law Library, St. Louis, MO.