I am the third Librarian from the National Library of China to be seconded to the National Library of Australia to take up a five month Chinese Automated Bibliographic Access and Staff Training placement. My placement is partly supported by the Australia-China Council.
Before leaving China I was aware that automation at the National Library of Australia is very advanced and that the National CJK System is widely used by many libraries throughout Australia. I was delighted to have the opportunity to acquire new knowledge about library matters and to experience life in Australia.
I commenced work at the Library in January and my five month placement has almost come to an end. The time has passed very fast. During my stay at the National Library, I have worked mainly in the Chinese Unit, Asian Collections. The Head of the Unit, Ms Beatrice Tam and the Chinese Librarian Ms Wan Wong taught me how to do serial and monograph cataloguing using the National CJK System as well as other duties. I have assisted staff in the Chinese Unit to carry out routine library duties such as reader services, accessioning and inter-library loans.
Working as a Duty Officer in the Asian Collections Reading Room has given me the opportunity to meet users from overseas countries such as China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. I have also been invited to attend weekly senior staff meetings in Asian Collections and this has provided me with first hand experience in information sharing and decision making in the workplace.
I have really enjoyed my stay in Asian Collections. Ms Marie Sexton and Mr Andrew Gosling, supervisors of the area, have provided valuable assistance in my work. The staff of the Chinese Unit have been patient, friendly and helpful in showing me the work of the Unit. The other staff in Asian Collections are also very friendly. It is just like working in a warm family.
One important thing which I would like to mention relates to the Internet. At the National Library of China, most computers have not been connected to the Internet, so staff are not able to access the Internet through their own computers. However, in the National Library of Australia, all staff can obtain large quantities of information from all over the world through their own computer and each staff member has their own Email address. This is a very easy and efficient system.
I attended several lectures held by the National Library of Australia and obtained information about network services and other work of the Library. By attending senior staff meetings of the Asian Collections Section once a week, I learnt how the staff and supervisors discuss the work together here. I also spent several days in the CJK Service and learnt a lot of useful information about the CJK System from the Senior Librarian Mr C. P. Tang. I spoke with Ms Chris Foster and other staff from the Library about the Library's Overseas Collection Development Policy and how the Library purchases material from abroad.
I also visited the Menzies Library, Australian National University, inspected the system used in that library and talked with Ms Mechthild Guha, Manager of the Asia Pacific Collection and Mr Colin Steele, Director of the Library about exchange of publications and further cooperation between the National Library of China and Menzies Library in the future.
Prior to returning to China, I will visit the Fisher Library at the University of Sydney, where the East Asian Librarian, Ms Magdalen Lee will be assisting me. I will also go to the State Library of New South Wales. This will help to broaden my knowledge of the library situation in Australia.
I have gained a lot from my work experience over the past five months. Before coming to the National Library of Australia, my supervisor asked me to write some articles about things worth reporting so I have the responsibility to introduce ideas from Australia to the Chinese people. I have completed three articles before returning to China. One is about the National CJK System from which the National Library of China can gain useful experience as the National Library of China is building a networked system at present. The second article is about the National Library of Australia's Overseas Collection Development Policy which is different to that of the National Library of China. The third article is about the management structure at the National Library of Australia and the Australian National University. This will be very useful for the National Library of China as the Library is currently being restructured. Some staff will be made redundant so it will be useful to draw on the Australian experience.
Thank you very much for the opportunity which the National Library of Australia offers to the Chinese people. My work experience at the National Library of Australia has been very useful for my future work. I truly hope this program will continue and that more staff from the National Library of China will have the opportunity to work here so an even better relationship between the National Library of Australia and the National Library of China will develop.
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