Brass Bookmark: An Addicted Data Librarian

An Addicted Data Librarian

Brass bookmark specially designed and produced by Anjianda, artitist, writer and one of my friends, for the Chinese Version of Mauro Guerrini's Book "From Cataloguing to Metadata Creation" to Published by the National Library of China Publishing House:

从编目到元数据：心路历程 / 马乌罗·圭里尼 著 ; 巴巴拉·Ｂ.蒂利特和彼得·洛尔 序 ; 乔瓦尼·贝尔加明 跋 ; 顾犇 译注. — 北京 : 国家图书馆出版社, 2025年3月. — 180 页. — ISBN 978-7-5013-8223-8.

Last Day in April, To Be Marked

 Today is the last day in April. It should be marked, because it is a turning point of my career.

My Sketch Portrait by Xuecun Luo in October 2018

New Book Released in Shanghai Book Fair

Shanghai Book Fair opened last week.
I was very glad to know that my new book was officially published during the book fair.
It's my third collection of essays, including blog posts, book reviews and other essays related to library and book trade.
This book is illustratated by Anjianda, a copper relief artist. The illustrations are the results of our interative communications and are all related library, book reading and book trade.
The book is one of the serias "Civil Reading Book Beauty" published by the Shanghai Scientific and Technological Literature Publishing House.

书蠹精语 / The Bookworm Speaks
顾犇 著 / by Ben Gu
安建达 插图 / Illustrations by Anjianda
上海 : 上海科技文献出版社, 2018 / Published by the Shanghai Scientific and Technological Literature Publishing House, August 2018
书蠹精语 / 顾犇著 ; 安建达插图. — 上海 : 上海科技文献出版社, 2018. — 270 页. — 978-7-5439-7668-9.

The Alan Hopkinson Award

Applications for the 2018 newly established Alan Hopkinson Award are now open.  Following his death, in 2016, a trust fund was set up to enable one CILIP member per year to attend the IFLA annual conference

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) and its International Library and Information Group (ILIG) therefore invite any ILIG member (nb: UK CILIP members can now join ILIG free of charge) or a CILIP member living outside the UK to attend the World Library and Information Congress organised by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) in Kuala Lumpur in 2018. 

Alan Hopkinson was an active member of CILIP ILIG from 2004 until his death.  As well as regularly attending IFLA conferences, he was very interested in assisting young professional librarians from developing countries.  He was involved in the Commonwealth Fellowship scheme and in training young professionals from Eastern Europe.

A panel comprising CILIP board member and Ian Stringer Chair ILIG plus Anna Jablkowska Secretary ILIG will consider applications. Their decision will be final and they will not enter into correspondence on it.

The award covers the IFLA conference fee and 200 GBP towards travel and accommodation. You are required to write a reflective report of 2- 4,000 words within six months of their visit, and a version for publication in Focus on International Library and Information Work, the ILIG journal.

You should submit a formal proposal in English of up to 400 words (equivalent to 1–2 pages of A4 paper) detailing how the visit will support your professional development and your organisation Headings such as Visit objectives’‘Planned approach and content' 'Application of learning post-visit’ may be used

You should attach a Curriculum Vitae of up to five pages in length, including the names of two referees in senior posts. You are encouraged to seek the support of your line-manager or organisation, prior to submitting an application. The deadline for the receipt of proposals for the 2018 Alan Hopkinson Award is 31st March 2018.  The successful applicant will be notified by the end of April 2018.

The proposal should be sent: by e-mail to Anna Jablkowska, the ILIG Secretary, at ilig@cilip.org.uk.

John Donald Byrum Passed Away

My condolences!

I remember that I met John twice when I just joined the IFLA Cataloguing Section 13 years ago. I read some of his articles about ISBDs, which helped me to be familiar with ISBDs.

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BYRUM JOHN DONALD BYRUM John Donald Byrum died on Friday, January 12, 2018. Mr. Byrum was born in 1940 to "Jack" and Helen Byrum, long-time residents of Wenatchee, Washington, where he was raised. A quiet and thoughtful man, he was known for his ability to lead people to action and for loyalty, both given and received. Those who reported to him readily acknowledged and expressed appreciation for his mentoring and for challenging them to excel in ways they had not imagined. As a high school student, Mr. Byrum won several debate and oration competitions at the state level and was elected treasurer of the National (Junior) Classical Languages League. He received the Emblem Club National Scholarship in 1958 and did so well in his studies that he was selected to deliver his high school class commencement address. Mr. Byrum graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University in 1962 and received a master's degree from the Graduate School of Library Service, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey in 1966. He began his library career as a cataloger at Princeton University Library, where he was promoted to head cataloger in 1968. In 1976, he joined the Library of Congress where he served as a chief of various divisions, while overseeing several international cooperative cataloging efforts. As a forceful manager during his tenure at LC, he made an indelible mark on the Library's bibliographic control operations that had national and international impact. He retired in 2006. Active in both national and international professional associations, Mr. Byrum was a substantial contributor to the theory of bibliographic control, for which he gained national and international renown. While at Princeton and later at the Library of Congress, he was the representative of the American Library Association (ALA) to the Joint Steering Committee for Revision of AACR (Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules) and chair of the ALA Resources and Technical Services Division Catalog Code Revision Committee. He was a founding member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Study Group on the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records, which resulted in the publication, Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records. As chair of IFLA's International Standard for Bibliographic Description (ISBD) Review Group, Mr. Byrum led the continuing revision and maintenance of the family of ISBDs for the full range of materials in library collections. Additionally, Mr. Byrum published and spoke widely on topics related to bibliographic control. Mr. Byrum received many honors for his contributions to librarianship. In 1975, he was awarded the ALA Esther J. Piercy Award, given to an outstanding librarian with not more than ten years of professional experience. He received the ALA Margaret Mann Citation for outstanding professional achievement in cataloging in 1998. For his work both nationally and internationally, he received ALA's prestigious Melvil Dewey Medal and Citation in 2006 for creative professional achievement in library management, training, cataloging and classification, and the tools and techniques of librarianship. He is a member of Beta Phi Mu. While in "retirement," Mr. Byrum continued his love of learning by auditing courses at George Mason University and contributed to his local community through volunteer service to nursing homes and animal shelters. Mr. Byrum is survived by his 43-year partner, Billy Rivera, to whom he was married on October 20, 2017, and will be grieved by the many whose lives he touched. Services were previously held.

Published in The Washington Post from Jan. 18 to Jan. 20, 2018.

Source: JOHN BYRUM

Xiaoguang Gu's New Book on the Beauty of Reading

A book on the beauty of reading, with 120 photos from 27 countries in 10 years by 1 photographer/librarian. It is a very special book! Mr. Xiaoguang Gu is a librarian of the Information Management Department, Peking University, and is very active in Chinese library community.
The Books is just published by the Tsinghua University Press, September 2017.

书名: 旅行之阅 阅读之美
作者: 顾晓光
出版社: 清华大学出版社
出版年: 2017-9
页数: 228
定价: 78.00
装帧: 平装
ISBN: 978-7-302-48003-7

My Blog Book Published

My blog book Bookworm speaks (书山蠹语) is published by National Library of China Publishing House in May 2013.
书山蠹语 / 顾犇著 ; 韩盈插图. — 北京 : 国家图书馆出版社, 2013. — 350 页. — 978-7-5013-5056-8.
This book includes blog posts from my Sina.com blog during the last five years.
Mr. Ying HAN provides 15 illustrations for my book.

Cover

Catalogers are chefs

Colorful Memories, a Video Clip about the Foreign Acquisitions & Cataloging Department, NLC

Colorful Memories, a Video Clip about the Foreign Acquisitions & Cataloging Department, National Library of China, was released today at:

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/IK70ntdDgp8/

It shows all aspects of the department, including routine work, researches and organizational culture.

As the director of the department, I am very glad to have the video clip released at the end of 2012, which is the second year of my term of office in this department after my three-year term in the Chinese Acquisitions & Cataloging Department.

Ren Jiyu's Farewell Service was held in Beijing yesterday

Prof. REN Jiyu's Farewell Service was held in Beijing yesterday morning. Prime Minister WEN Jiabao and other government officials attended the service.
There were about 3000 participants, including 600 staff of National Library of China.
REN Jiyu was Director of National Library of China (1987-2005) and Honorary Director of National Library of China (2005-2009). He is a notable scholar in Chinese philosophy, especially in Buddhist research.

Prof. REN Jiyu, Honorary National Librarian of China, passed away

Prof. REN Jiyu passed away this morning at 4:30am (Beijing Time).
Prof. Ren was a famous philosopher, and used to be the Director (1987-2005) and Honorary Director (2005-2009) of National Library of China.