Love of books a driving force; Managing, preserving knowledge a passionS ing-Wu (Sidney) Wang, who died aged 83 in October 2004, worked tirelessly over 21 years to develop and build the National Library's East Asian collections to a position of great strength. He also made a distinctive contribution to the Canberra community. Mr Wang's library career lasted 41 years, 20 of which were in China (1944-1964). He also spent 13 months in the United States (1959-1960) and 21 years in Australia (1964-1985). Born in 1920 in Wenling, China, his love of books was influenced by his father, the director for education in that county. He graduated from the National Zhejiang University in 1944 from the department of history and geography. He began working in the library of the National Planning Board in Chongqing and a year later at the National Central Library as the head of the cataloguing section. After the war with Japan and during the Chinese Civil War he helped re-open and build the National Central Library's collection in Nanjing to one million volumes. Between 1948 and 1949 Mr Wang was personally involved in moving rare books and art treasures to Taiwan for safekeeping. These treasures are now displayed in Taiwan's National Palace Museum. In Taiwan, he built up a sizeable collection at and headed the library of the Yang-Ming Shan Institute, and in 1955 became the director of the Taiwan Provincial Library in Taipei while also teaching part-time in library science at the Taiwan Provincial Normal University. In the nine years he was the director of the university library, all printed publications were catalogued for the first time, and, despite tight budget allocations, the library's collection grew from 259,299 to 318,206 volumes. A grant from the US Department of State allowed Mr Wang to work in the Cleveland Public Library from 1959 to 1960. In those 13 months he also visited libraries throughout the US, acquiring new knowledge about library services which he eagerly wanted to introduce to the Provincial university library. Determined to relocate the Provincial library to larger premises so these new services could be accommodated, he obtained approval for the erection of a new four-storey building which was completed in 1968. In recognition of Mr Wang's vision and contribution, the current director of the Provincial library proposes to rename it the Sing-Wu Library. Mr Wang began working in the National Library of Australia as chief librarian, orientalia section in 1964, after he accepted the late Sir Harold White's offer of a senior position. He has left behind him a great legacy for scholars of Asia. When he arrived in Canberra in 1964, the National Library had 40,000 volumes in its East Asian collection. By the time he retired in 1985, the collection had grown to nearly 330,000 volumes. After Australian diplomatic relations with China were established, Mr Wang travelled there in 1973 with the aim of improving relations with the National Library of China and acquiring current and retrospective materials from the country. Negotiations with the library initiated the flow of Chinese publications to the National Library, and later also to the Central Library in Taiwan, via Hong Kong. The National Library has continued his work. Mr Wang's former colleagues remember him as a man of great strength, principled and dedicated. He was a scholar and a consummate professional. And he was, above all, mindful of the needs of researchers and readers of the library. "Think of the reader," he would urge his staff. Mr Wang encouraged and personally assisted generations of Asian studies students and scholars, including people like Member for Griffith Kevin Rudd, who remembers him to this day. Mr Wang has not only built up the largest oriental collection in Australia, but also in the southern hemisphere. For his many contributions, after retirement in 1986 he was awarded the Order of Australia medal for services to the National Library, particularly to the Oriental collection. In November 2003, the Library dedicated its scholars' room in the Asian Collections Reading Room to Mr Wang, and shortly afterwards Mr Wang communicated his wish to donate his personal collection of scholarly books and papers to the Library. Thus Australians will be able to remember not only his long association with the National Library, but also his outstanding achievements as a scholar and a collector. He and wife May were founding members of the Canberra Chinese Christian Church. In the late 1960s local Chinese Christians met in their home, and from that a Chinese-speaking church came into being. It now has a congregation of more than 100, and its own church building at O'Connor. Mr Wang's legacy has and will continue to influence the lives of Australians and Chinese alike. |
Published courtesy of May Wang, Angela Choi, Ruth Penman and Kristina Wang