THE GENESIS OF YOUTH SERVICES IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN CHINA, 1912-1937 BY YANG LUO DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Carol Tilley, Chair Professor Christine Jenkins Professor Kathryn La Barre Professor Dan Shao Abstract For thousands of years, libraries in China were treated as book repositories and remained closed to the public. It was not until the end of Imperial China and the establishment of a Republican China (1911) that the first public libraries became available. The Republic of China Era (1912-1949) witnessed various changes, including: an increased literacy level among the general public, the advent of modern school systems, the development of modern public libraries, the discovery of childhood, the growth of child welfare, and the flourishing of children’s literature. Youth services at public libraries in China emerged in this environment. Since 1909, pioneering librarians began to address the needs of children in professional settings by introducing Western youth service models and discussing how to establish, organize, and operate a children’s library in China. The first children’s reading rooms were founded in public libraries in the late 1910s, which predated the other elements of youth services librarianship. In response to the publication peak of children’s reading materials since the 1920s, librarians set standards for book selection and built library collections to meet children’s reading interests and needs. Moreover, children’s libraries gradually developed group methods to connect children with texts. In the 1930s, programs, such as reading guidance, reader’s club, storytelling, and exhibits became a viable part of youth services. The foundation of the Library Association of China in 1925, and the Resolution of 1933, stipulating that every library should have a children’s reading room, further advocated and formalized youth services. The above factors converged historically and contributed to the development and progress of youth services in public libraries in China from the founding of the Republic of China to the eve of the Sino-Japanese War (1912-1937). ii Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincerest and deepest gratitude to my advisor, Professor Carol Tilley, who has helped me to develop as a researcher. Thank you for helping me establish my research topics, leading me through every milestone of my doctoral study, and offering support and guidance during the dissertation writing period. Your knowledge, wisdom, and dedication to youth services always inspired me and led me forward. This dissertation would not have been possible without your guidance and support. I am honored to be the first student that you have advised in your position as chair and director. I also want to thank the rest of my Doctoral Committee: Professor Christine Jenkins, Professor Kathryn La Barre, and Professor Dan Shao. Thanks for your insightful comments and constructive suggestions. I am grateful to all of the faculty, staff and doctoral students in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I really appreciate the educational opportunity to be a part of this renowned, innovative and diverse community. My special thanks also go to the GSLIS Chinese Group. Thanks to Dr. Lian Ruan for being a greater mentor. Thanks to Dr. Minjie Chen for the valuable suggestions on my research. Thanks to other group members for making my life at UIUC enjoyable. Many thanks to my colleagues in China for their help in my research and life. Thanks to Ms. Jie Huang, Professor Yu Liu, Dr. Chunming Yu, Dr. Xun Zhu, Dr. Li Zhang, and Dr. Haixia Cao for the stimulating discussions and collaborations. Last but not least, I want to thank my parents for their unconditional love and iii support all of the time. I also own my deepest gratitude to my husband, Yuelin Du. You came along and changed my life in a way I never thought possible. I really appreciate every moment we have together: past, present, and future. Thank you for your commitment, love, dedication, and companionship. Finally and specially, I would like to thank my baby coming at the end of my Ph.D. years, thank you for making my life more meaningful. iv Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.....................................................................................................viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 1 1.1 EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTH SERVICES ........................................................................ 1 1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS........................................................................................................... 4 1.3 METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES.............................................................................................. 6 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.............................................................................................. 10 1.5 DEFINITION OF TERMS ......................................................................................................... 11 1.6 CHAPTER OVERVIEWS.......................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND.................................................................................................. 15 2.1 REVOLUTION, CULTURAL MOVEMENT AND EDUCATIONAL REFORM................................. 15 2.2 PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................................ 21 2.3 CHINESE CHILDHOOD........................................................................................................... 27 2.4 CHINESE CHILDREN’S LITERATURE..................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 3: YOUTH SERVICES IN THE REPUBLIC ERA ............................................. 38 3.1 LIBRARY POLICY.................................................................................................................. 38 3.2 READING ROOMS AND FACILITIES....................................................................................... 49 3.3 CHILDREN’S LITERATURE .................................................................................................... 69 3.4 CHILDREN’S READING INTERESTS ....................................................................................... 78 3.5 LIBRARY COLLECTION ......................................................................................................... 93 3.6 YOUTH SERVICES AND PROGRAMMING............................................................................. 102 3.7 YOUTH SERVICES LIBRARIANS .......................................................................................... 120 CHAPTER 4: CHILDREN’S LIBRARIES IN THE REPUBLIC ERA: FOUR LIBRARIES ...................................................................................................................................................... 135 4.1 THE CAPITAL LIBRARY OF CHINA ..................................................................................... 135 4.2 THE TIANJIN CHILDREN’S LIBRARY .................................................................................. 141 4.3 THE LIBRARY OF THE FIRST PRIMARY SCHOOL OF BEIJING NORMAL UNIVERSITY ......... 142 4.4 THE SHANGHAI CHILDREN’S LIBRARY.............................................................................. 150 4.5 THE DEVELOPMENTAL MODELS ........................................................................................ 152 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION.................................................................................................. 154 5.1 RESEARCH FINDINGS.......................................................................................................... 154 5.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH ............................................................................................. 168 5.3 LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY ............................................................................................ 170 5.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ........................................................................... 173 REFERENCES:.......................................................................................................................... 177 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR CHILDREN’S READING INTERESTS AND READING HABITS................................................................................................................... 193 APPENDIX B: COMPARISON OF CONDITIONS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ...................... 195 v List of Figures Figure 3.1: An open 4-layer bookshelf blueprint..........................................................57 Figure 3.2: An open 7-layer bookshelf blueprint..........................................................58 Figure 3.3: An open bookcase blueprint .......................................................................58