The Political Economy of Public Library Development in post ... - Libri

Liangzhi Yu & Jianye Xueducational needs of individuals; and the lowertiers (libraries at county level and below) servingmainly the recreational and educational needs oflocal residents. The theoretical guidance for thesystem’s development was allegedly derived fromMarxist theories which assert that the cultural institutionas part of the superstructure is subordinateto the economic base.In 1978, China inaugurated a program of economicreform. During the subsequent two and halfdecades, this reform brought about sweeping effectson nearly all aspects of Chinese society. Thepublic library system consequently underwentdramatic change as the country unfolded one reformstrategy after another, and as other public institutionsundertook sectoral reforms to keep pacewith the political and economic changes.The transformation of the Chinese health careand education sectors has been fairly extensivelyexplored and reported in English (Blumenthal andHsiao 2005; Hsiao 1995; Law 2002; Mahmoudi 2006;Mok 2000; Rong and Shi 2001; Venter 2004; WangChengzhi 2002; Wang, Yip, Zhang, Wang and Hsiao2005; Wong and Lee 2001). Few studies, however,have offered a thorough political economyanalysis of public libraries. An early study by Ting(1983) was an exception, but at that time the newpolitical economy had scarcely emerged. Consequently,current understanding of Chinese publiclibraries in the world’s literature is inevitably dilutedby the lack of contextual awareness; it is alsovery much overshadowed by the pre-1978 pictureof a fairly uniform service provision across thecountry. Lin (1998) and Liu (1996), for example,both spoke of the post-1978 public library as anactive player in national economic development;neither, however, gave adequate analysis of theadverse effect that economic development had onpublic libraries. Likewise, Gong and Gorman(2000) talked about major types of public library activityand function without noting the increasinglymarked trend of geographical diversities. Suchincomplete understanding pervades even the librarianshipliterature in Chinese (Feng 1996;Huang 2000; Kang 1997; Li 2004; Yang 2003; Yangand Wang 2005, Wang Xiangnan 2001; Wang Xueguang2001; Zou et al. 1999a, 1999b).This paper attempts to provide an analysis ofthe contemporary Chinese public library by situatingit in the post-1978 political and economiccontext. It is hoped that such a discussion will notonly improve the knowledge about current Chinesepublic libraries of comparative librarianshipstudents, but also provide relevant lessons forlibrary professionals in other transforming economieslike China.Data sourcesThe analysis presented in this paper is based primarilyon two strands of data source. The firststrand consists of published statistics (mid-1980sto present), professional literature and publishedspeeches of government officials relating to publiclibraries. The second is empirical data collectedthrough a series of site visits to twelve localitiesof four provinces (including one municipality andone autonomous region), during which, library directorsand local officials were interviewed. Thefour provinces (one in the East, one in the North,and two in the Northwest) were selected to reflectthe varied development levels across China.Within each province, three different localities (respectivelyunder the jurisdiction of the provincialgovernment, the city government and county government)were visited. Thematic threads of howeconomic reform mandated the change of publiclibraries and how public libraries responded toeconomic reform were pulled from both of theabove sources to inform the discussion in thispaper.Data collection and the discussion focused deliberatelyon the period between 1978 and 2001.The year 2002 was made special by the conveningof the 16 th National Congress of the Chinese CommunistParty and the transition of the party leadership,which was followed by the formation ofthe new government leadership in 2003. Whetherthis transition formed a watershed in the politicaland economic reform of China is open to dispute,but the past few years have seen the new leadershiptake strategic directions that were distinctlydifferent from those of the preceding decades.Having laid out the strategic target of “buildingup well-off society in an all-round way” at the 16 thNational Party Congress in 2002, the CPC pledgedto build up a harmonious society of socialism atthe 4 th Plenum of the 16 th Party Congress CentralCommittee in 2004, and proposed to build “a newsocialist countryside” at the 5 th Plenum of the 16 thParty Congress Central Committee in 2005. Howthese strategic directions (and the resulting politi-118

The Political Economy of Public Library Development in post-1978 People’s Republic of Chinacal economy) will impact public library developmentis yet to be seen.The Institutional Framework for PublicLibrary DevelopmentAs mentioned in the introductory section, the currentChinese public library system consists of multipletiers, ranging from provincial libraries downto township libraries.Ministry of CultureThe Ministry of Culture (MOC), a state governmentagency under the jurisdiction of the StateCouncil, oversees the development of this systemas a whole. Through its Mass Culture and Librarydivision and in conjunction with the local government’scultural department, the MOC drawsup national public library development policiesand plans, provides guidance for library practices,advocates/coordinates national cooperativeschemes and promotes standardization and modernizationof library operation.In the policy-making domain, the MOC haspromulgated a number of national policies thatare relevant to public library service provisionsince 1978. These include, among others, the 1982Regulations for Provincial (Autonomic Region, Municipal)Library Work, the 1987 Provisional Methodsof Implementing Fee-based Services and Business Activitiesin Cultural Institutions, the 1991 Report on aNumber of Economic Policies for Cultural Institutionsand the 2002 Ministry of Culture Notification onEnriching Cultural Activities at the Grass-root Level.Of these, the 1982 Regulations for Provincial (AutonomicRegion, Municipal) Library Work providedthe general policy framework for provincial andlarge city libraries during the 1980s; the ProvisionalMethods of Implementing Fee-based Services and BusinessActivities in Cultural Institutions authorizedcultural organizations like public libraries to developfee-based services; the Report on a Numberof Economic Policies for Cultural Institutions urgedlocal governments to ensure funds for cultural developmentand reiterated the legitimacy of feebasedservices. Meanwhile, the MOC has alsodrawn up a series of five-year plans for nationalcultural development. In its Outline of the 10 th FiveYear Plan for Public Sector Cultural Development,for instance, the MOC laid out the target to have80% of libraries at and above the prefecture level,and 30% of libraries at the county level connectedto the Internet. These policies and developmentplans are illustrative of the directive role of theMOC in public library development.In addition to this directive role, the Ministryof Culture also plays a leadership role in nationalschemes of service provision. In recent years, forexample, the MOC has led a number of nationwidelibrary initiatives, such as the “Public LibraryPerformance Measurement Initiative” (a libraryassessment exercise on a quadrennial basis),the “Digital Library Initiative of China” (a projectled by the National Library of China to build upthe world’s largest digital information repositoryof Chinese language materials), the “KnowledgeInitiative” (a reading promotion scheme across thecountry) and the “Shared National Cultural Resources”(a national scheme to build up a distributedand shared digital cultural resource).Local GovernmentNotwithstanding the strategic role of the MOC inlibrary affairs, Chinese public library developmentin the post-1978 era has been essentially a localbusiness. Individual libraries at each tier areprimarily financed and administered by the correspondingtier of local government. With theDepartment (Bureau) of Culture as the primaryagency for archives, museums, libraries and othercultural institutions, the local government plays anumber of distinct roles in public library development.Firstly, it provides the dominant segmentfor both the capital expenditure and the operatingexpenditure of libraries, thereby functioning as theprovider of local public library services. Secondly,through its department of culture, the local governmentalso takes part in the administration andmanagement of local public libraries. This role enableslocal governments to be involved in a widerange of professional practices, such as personnelmanagement, continuing professional education,performance assessment, fund raising and publicrelations. Thirdly, the local government alsofunctions as the governing authority for libraries,responsible for drawing up local library developmentpolicies and plans, and for making major decisions.During the latter half of the 1990s, whenthe 1982 Regulations for Provincial (Autonomic Region,Municipal) Library Work became increasingly119

Liangzhi Yu & Jianye Xuobsolete in the new political and economic context,a number of provincial governments issued regionalpublic library regulations. The Culture Bureauof the Shanghai Municipal Government issuedthe Measures for Public Library Managementin Shanghai in 1996; the Shenzhen Government issuedthe Public Library Regulations of Shenzhen SpecialEconomic Zone in 1997; the Beijing MunicipalGovernment issued the Library Regulations of Beijingin 2002. Like the national regulation of 1982,these regional regulations also cover areas likelibrary expenditure, material acquisition, staffingand opening hours, etc.The Communist Party of ChinaApart from the MOC and local governments, theCPC (Communist Party of China) and the People’sCongress at national and local levels alsoexert great influence on public library development(see Figure 1). The CPC sets out the nationalpolicies and frameworks that control the nation’ssocial and economic development. Through theCentral Propaganda Department and other partyorganizations, the CPC also issues decisions, instructionsor opinions that have a direct policy effectfor cultural institutions. In 1980, for example,the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee issuedthe Outline for Library Work, and in 1987, theCentral Propaganda Department, together withthree other governmental organizations, issued theReport on Improving and Strengthening Library Work.Both documents played an instrumental role inrestoring and strengthening library work in theaftermath of the Cultural Revolution. During thepast decade, the 6 th Plenum of the 14 th Party CongressCentral Committee held in 1996 adopted theResolution of the CPC Central Committee on a Numberof Issues Related to the Enhancement of Socialist SpiritualConstruction, which urged local governmentsto pay greater attention to the strategic role of culturein socio-economic development; the 15 th CPCCongress held in 1997 proposed to build “socialistculture with Chinese characteristics”, whichaimed to bring the spiritual standard of Chinesepeople to the level of great ideals, high morality,and great sense of culture and discipline; the16 th CPC Congress held in 2002 adopted the ThreeRepresents theory, with one of its elements dealingspecially with the cultural dimension of the partyline, stating that the CPC represents the progressivedirection of advanced Chinese culture. It isparty resolutions, decisions and theories such asthese that have guided the formation of governmentcultural policies at both the national andlocal levels.In addition to policy-making, the CPC can alsoexert influence on public libraries through its authorityin personnel appointment. In accordancewith regulations governing the Chinese cadre system,key personnel in public libraries, as in otherpublic institutes, are either appointed or approvedby the party organization at corresponding levels.For example, the appointment of key personnelin provincial libraries is controlled either by theOrganization Department of the Provincial PartyCommittee or the Party Committee within thelocal Department of Culture. Personnel thus appointedcan often play an important role in ensuringthat libraries develop in the ideological andfunctional directions intended by the party andthe government.The People’s congresses are the lawmaking bodyenshrined by the Constitution. Of them, the NationalPeople’s Congress (NPC) is the highest andcomprises representatives elected from the nation’sprovinces, autonomous regions, directly administeredmunicipalities and the army. NPC has thepower to make national laws. When the plenarysession is in recess, the NPC Standing Committeehas the power to enact, amend and interpret laws.Regional and local congresses are the next level oflegislature. Provincial level congresses can maketheir own regional laws and send them to the NPCStanding Committee for the record, whereas localcongresses can make local laws, but need approvalfrom their respective regional congresses beforepromulgation. The NPC can also delegate to thegovernment a certain degree of legislative power.Therefore the State Council and ministries underits aegis (including the MOC) all have designatedlegislative power to make regulations and ruleswithin their own administrative areas (Law 2002,583). At the moment, a national public library actdoes not yet exist, but there are already a numberof provincial regulations which provide the policybasis for public library development in regions.At the local level, the People’s Congress is alsoenshrined with the power to approve local government’sbudgetary plans and can thus have determinantinfluence on the outcome of proposedlibrary projects. During the past two decades,120

The Political Economy of Public Library Development in post-1978 People’s Republic of ChinaFigure 1: The institutional framework for public library development in Chinamany People’s Congresses endorsed the constructionof new libraries in their constituencies. InSuzhou city of Jiangsu Province, for example, aproposal for the city’s new library was submittedto the local People’s Congress in 1997-1998, andwas approved unanimously at the first meetingdiscussing it. According to the local officials interviewedby this study, no other social utilities orbusiness outlets had such unanimous support.The National Political Economy for PublicLibrary Development in Post-1978 EraThe history of the People’s Republic of China isdivided into two distinct eras in political and economicterms. The first era was from 1949 to 1978.It was characterized by a state-planned economy,radical socialism, economic self-sufficiency and afair degree of egalitarianism. It is also an era inwhich stable economic development was periodicallyinterrupted by political movements, thelongest and the most destructive of which was theCultural Revolution (1966–1976). The second erawas from 1978 to the present. This is an era characterizedby determined economic reform, steadymovement from a planned economy to a marketeconomy, rapid economic growth and greater divisionof society.It is the second era that provides the major contextfor current Chinese public library development.The era was heralded by the 3 rd Plenum ofthe 11 th Party Congress Central Committee in December1978, which ruled that the long held emphasisof the CPC on political and ideologicalcampaigns was to be abandoned; and future workof the party was to be centred on economic development.The decision to focus on economicdevelopment was officially interpreted as a shiftof the party’s central concern from political andideological campaigns to economic construction,but in reality, it was also implemented to prioritiseeconomic development over social development.These resolutions institutionalised a breakingaway from the focus of the first era and paved theway for economic reform.GlobalizationThe subsequent economic reforms centred on threemain themes: globalisation, marketization and decentralization(Wei 2002, 114). Globalisation wasa process in which China became increasingly121

Liangzhi Yu & Jianye Xuinvolved in the world economy through her opendoorpolicies, culminating in her entrance into theWTO in 2001. In 1979, shortly after the 3 rd Plenumof the 11 th Party Congress Central Committee, alegislative framework to encourage foreign investment,namely the Joint Venture Law, was enactedand a decision to establish a production base forexport in Shenzen was made. In 1980, the ShenzhenProduction Base for Export was changed tothe Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, along withthe establishment of Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamenspecial economic zones (SEZs). A new economybased on a great intake of foreign investment anda large degree of market mechanism was thus setrunning within these SEZs. Beginning in 1984,many more coastal and inland cities were openedup for foreign investment and trade, and in themeantime, new policies for attracting foreign capitalwere instigated. These policies soon transformedthe country into one of the largest recipientsfor foreign investment in the world. Theofficial admission of China into the WTO in 2001heralded a new era of her participation in theglobal economy. Since then, China has furtheropened many of her previously withheld sectorsto foreign capital, including, to the great concernof library and information professionals: the telecommunicationsector; the wholesale market ofbooks, newspapers and periodicals; and the advertisingmarket.MarketizationMarketization in the aforementioned triple transitionwas a process in which the state-plannedeconomy was gradually transformed to a marketbasedeconomy. In the early 1980s, the marketmechanism was first introduced to the pricingsystem. A two-track price system was created toreplace the previously state controlled pricing systemwhere all goods were fixed with prices fromthe centre. In the mean time, the ownership structureunderwent gradual reform to allow non-publicinvestment. The course of marketization wasdramatically furthered in 1987 when the “theoryof the early stage of socialism” was adopted at the13 th Party Congress, and in 1992 when the “theoryof the market socialism” was adopted at the14 th Party Congress, and again in 1997 when theprivate economy was upgraded from a complementarypart of the national economy to thestatus of an integrated part. As a result of theabove process of reform, the number of privateenterprises and small businesses increased rapidly.By the end of the 1990s, there were alreadyover 1.76 million private enterprises in China,over 48 thousand (or 2.7%) of which were informationconsultant companies (Trade and ForeignEconomy Division of National Bureau of Statisticsof China 2002). Incomplete statistics provided respectivelyby the Statistical Yearbook of ChineseCulture and Relics (2001) and the Ministry of Culture(Wang Xuan 2002) showed that, in 2000, therewere nearly 30,000 audio-video rental outlets inregions excluding Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin;and in 2002, there were nearly 120,000 registeredInternet Bars across the country.Various forms and degrees of marketizationhave also been extended to the educational and culturalsectors since the mid-1980s. In the educationsector, a series of CPC resolutions and Ministry ofEducation policies were instigated to attract nongovernmentfunds. These include the 1985 CPCdocument Decision of the Central Committee of CommunistParty of China on the Reform of the EducationalStructure and The Outline of Education Reform andDevelopment in China (promulgated by the CentralCommittee of the CPC and the State Council). Inthe cultural sector where the public library is located,there were even more dramatic reforms tointroduce market forces. These included the transformationof a large section of the sector frompublicly funded institutes to self-sustaining enterprises,the introduction of private capital and thelegitimating of income generation in previouslypurely publicly funded organizations such as libraries.Instrumental to these changes were suchgovernment regulations as the 1987 ProvisionalMethod of Implementing Fee-based Services and BusinessActivities in Cultural Institutions, which authorizedcharges for services in organizations likelibraries; the 1991 Report on a Number of EconomicPolicies for Cultural Organizations, which furthercalled for publicly funded cultural organizationsto generate income so as to reduce their relianceon the government; the 1994 Decisions on ContinuedPreferential Fiscal Policies for Cultural PropagandaOrganizations, which stipulated that culturalpropaganda organizations should speed up theirreform to adjust themselves to the socialist marketsystem.122

DecentralizationDecentralization of the aforementioned triple transitionwas a process in which the state graduallyloosened its central control through devolution ofadministrative and economic power to local governments.Details of this process and its impacton the local political economy will be elaboratedin the next section; it suffices here to note that theprocess led to a dramatic shift of the central-localrelationship, with a great degree of power and responsibilitybeing transferred from the centre tolocal governments. This brought public libraryservices, together with education, health care, socialsecurity and other public sector services, outof central aegis and into local control. Under theinfluence of local political economies, the Chinesepublic library system began to show less uniformityand more local colours.The Local Political Economy for PublicLibrary Development in Post-1978 EraPrior to 1978, the Chinese local economy constitutedpart of the national planned economy tightlycontrolled by the central government. Under thissystem, virtually every aspect of the country’ssocial and economic development, from resourceallocation to price setting of commodities and topublic service provision, was determined by centralgovernment plans. Local governments playedan agent role in organizing the implementation ofthese plans. To facilitate the central government’scontrol, a network of hierarchically organized institutionswas established which carried out centralplans in different fields through a “verticalsystem”. Long and Ng (2001, 217) likened this central-localrelationship to the relationship betweenfather and sons in a traditional family, wherethe father controlled all the family’s resourcesand shouldered the responsibilities for the livelihoodof the whole family, whereas the sons implementedall the family’s rules and regulationsand worked hard for the property of the family.Devolution of powerThe Political Economy of Public Library Development in post-1978 People’s Republic of ChinaStarting from 1978, in an attempt to improve the efficiencyof the economy and to offer incentives forlocal participation in economic reform, the Centralgovernment began to delegate powers andresponsibilities to local governments. The devolutionof power took place on many fronts of thecentral-local relationship, but was particularlynotable in administration, investment and thefiscal system. In the area of administration, forexample, local governments were empowered tomake broad regional economic regulations, to takecharge of some previously centrally controlled enterprisesand to approve investment projects. Localgovernments also became independent entitiesto make investments and establish new firms. Inthe area of fiscal authority, the 1985 fiscal reformestablished a system which allowed lower-levelgovernments to submit a fixed amount or a fixedproportion of their fiscal revenues to its superiorgovernment, while retaining what remained forthemselves. Under the new fiscal system, thecentral government’s control of state revenuesinevitably declined in favor of local government’sfiscal power. During the first half of the 1990s,local governments contributed only 60% of staterevenues and accounted for 70% of expenditure,in contrast with 85% of contribution and 46%of expenditure during the first half of the 1970s(Yabuki and Harner 1999, 160). As more administrativeand economic powers were delegated tolocal governments, the central government alsobegan to reduce its involvement in financing publicservices. In education, for instance, the centralgovernment not only shifted the responsibility forprimary and secondary education to local governments,but also reduced its financial support forpost-secondary education. In such waves of dualdelegation of powers and responsibilities, localautonomy steadily grew.Economic growthFor those who want to situate Chinese publiclibrary services in the context of the new localpolitical economy, it must be further noted thatas provinces and sub-provincial units assumedan autonomous economic role, the political interestsof local governments and their officialsbecame increasingly tied up with their economicperformance. Good economic performance wouldfirst of all give local governments enhanced bargainingpower when they negotiated with thecentre on local affairs. From the early days ofeconomic reform, the devolution of power was123

Liangzhi Yu & Jianye Xunever evenly distributed across the country. Thedegree of autonomy granted to local governmentswas, at least in part, the result of central and localnegotiation. During such negotiation, three areasof local governments – economic performance,reliance on central subsidies and the degree of autonomyattained, were almost always interrelated(Hendrischke 1998). Provinces with stronger localeconomic standing were normally less dependenton central support and subsidies, and in return,they were often given greater power to controllocal affairs. Moreover, as this type of central-localinteraction developed, provinces with bettereconomic performance tended to enjoy greaterpolitical influence both within their own regionand in the national arena. Secondly, economicperformance would also produce personal politicalgains for local government officials. Provincialand sub-provincial leaders tended to have a highpolitical stake in the successful development oflocal economies. They were likely to be promotedafter their region or localities had demonstrated asteady and fast economic growth. Tan (2002, 739)contends that Zhao Ziyang’s promotion to Premierin 1980 was the result of his economic successin Sichuan and the ascendance of Li Ruihuanto the standing Committee of the Politburo in 1990was due to his mayoral performance in developingTianjin’s economy.During the 1980s and 1990s, such economicand political interests fueled local governments’pursuit for economic growth. Through mobilizationof local resources and bargaining for centralsupport, many provinces started to pursue developmentstrategies that could maximize local economicgrowth. Jiangsu (a coastal province north toShanghai), for example, first pursued a developmentstrategy underpinned by the strength oftownship and village enterprises (TVEs) and thenmoved on to a development strategy based mainlyon science, technology and culture. Fujian (aprovince facing China’s Taiwan Island) adoptedin 1984 a development strategy that focused ontransforming its agriculture-based economy intoan industrial one, taking advantage of relativelyeasy access to overseas Chinese investors. Guizhou(a Southwestern province with many impoverishedareas), on the other hand, took up adevelopment strategy that capitalized on its richindigenous culture. By and large, these strategieswere mainly economy driven, focusing on the targetof GDP growth and deploying whatever resourceswere deemed conducive to the growth.Public servicesUnder this context, it is not surprising that localgovernments would carefully weigh localresources and expenditures for their economicpotential, and prioritize local enterprises andinstitutions according to their possible contributionto GDP. Areas that had foreseeable or at leastpromising economic returns were more likely toattract governments’ support, while most publicservices, including public libraries, dropped inpriority on the local political agenda. Local governments’pragmatic, if not short-sighted viewtowards socio-economic development manifestednowhere so markedly as in the cultural sector.Here it became almost customary for cultural outletsthat had potential to boost the local tourismand that fit well into the local cultural industry toenjoy greater political visibility than those withoutobvious economic value. This tendency was wellreflected in local governments’ generous investmentin building infrastructure for local historicalsites and applying for world heritage membershipfor them. It is reported that, at the end of 1990s, inapplying for the world heritage membership forLongmen Grottoes and Dujiang Weir, local governmentsinvested respectively 150 million and220 million [2] Yuan to demolish nearby buildings(Huang 2002; Quan 2004). As some of the commentatorsobserved, in many places, the drivebehind such commitment had been mainly economic(Song 2001).As local governments directed their attentionand resources towards more profitable sectors ata time when the central subsidies diminished,public institutions in many regions began to facesevere financial difficulties. During the 1980s and1990s, in an attempt to revive this declining sectorwhile mitigating local budgetary pressure, localgovernments, with endorsement from nationalregulations and policies, started to introduce nongovernmentfunds and market mechanisms intopublic institutions. Sponsorship and private capitalwas sought in the education sector, user feeswere levied in the public health sector and incomegeneration was encouraged in the cultural sector.In education, for example, the proportion of nongovernmentfunds rose from 25.7% to 38.4% be-124

The Political Economy of Public Library Development in post-1978 People’s Republic of Chinatween 1990 and 2000 (Zhou 2002). In public health,the health care system was almost entirely operatedin line with market principles. In this processof transformation, both local governments and theprofessions associated with public institutions becamevery much market minded.It is against this backdrop of increasing local autonomy,growing emphasis on economic developmentand active embracing of market forces thatlocal governments began to take on a new outlooktowards public library development.Public Library Development in the Post-1978Political and Economic ContextBefore 1978, public library service, like educationand health care, was centrally provided by the statethrough a vertically managed system. The systemconsisted of provincial libraries, prefecture/municipallibraries, county libraries and townshiplibraries and was managed by the Ministry ofCulture through its local agents, i.e., the culturedepartment of local governments.The 1978 reform shifted the responsibility forproviding public library services to local governments.With this shift, however, did not comeany clear national guidance as to how well localgovernments should provide these services. The1982 MOC Regulations for Provincial (Autonomic Region,Municipal) Library Work stipulated that “thenecessary funds for provincial libraries should beguaranteed”, but exactly what it meant by “necessary”was not clearly defined. The regulation alsohad a bylaw stating that the regulation was, inprinciple, also applicable to other types of largelibraries. There were neither bylaws nor articlespertaining to small and medium-sized libraries. Inthe absence of clear national guidance, the standardof “necessary funding” for provincial andlarge libraries and the level of support for smalland medium-sized libraries was left entirely to localgovernments. Public library development became,therefore, very much contingent on local economicperformance and the importance that localgovernments attached to library services in thescheme of general socio-economic development.Construction of new librariesAcross the country, economic growth, to a varyingdegree, enabled the number of public librariesto grow and the working condition of libraries toimprove. In the interval between 1980 and 1999,the number of public libraries at and above thecounty level increased from 1732 to 2769; floorspace for public use increased from 0.92 millionsquare meters to 5.06 million square meters (Xiao1999, 482–485; Xiao 2001, 354–357; Editing Boardof Statistical Yearbook of Chinese Libraries 1997,480). As of the end of 2000, 20 out of 30 existingprovincial libraries had moved into new premises;another six were waiting for the construction ofnew buildings to be completed (Wu 2001, 9). Althoughofficial statistics do not exist for rural libraries(township and village libraries), sporadicevidence suggests that this group of libraries expandedat an even greater rate. In Hunan Province,for example, the number of township and villagelibraries grew from 1800 in 1985 to 14000 in 1997(Zou et al. 1999b: 3); in Guangxi Autonomous Region,the corresponding number increased from 50in 1994 to 1342 in 2000 (Wang Xueguang 2001, 45).A number of factors may have encouraged localgovernments’ input into library construction.Rapid economic development enabled local governmentsto invest more generously than beforein urban construction. Public libraries, as one ofthe major cultural edifices of urban life and onewhich was rather neglected during the CulturalRevolution, naturally came to the fore in urbanconstruction. The Sixth Five-Year Plan (1981–1985)proposed to eliminate library-less counties. Thisfurther prompted library construction all over thecountry. And in 1994, the Ministry of Culturestarted a national public library assessment initiative,in which libraries down to the county levelwere all assessed for their condition and services.Floor space and other input measures were givennotable priority in the assessment with a view tourging local governments to improve library construction.Since 1994, there have been three rounds of assessment;each produced three grades of comparativelygood libraries. This fuelled the localgovernments’ interest in library construction evenfurther. Wanting to have more graded libraries inthe list, local governments made great efforts toincrease the floor space and facilities of their libraries.In Hunan Province, for example, the 1998assessment prompted local governments to provide10 million in ex-budgetary funds for libraries(amounting to 41% of the budgetary library125

Liangzhi Yu & Jianye Xufund for the year 1999), all earmarked for buildingmaintenance, material acquisition and equipmentpurchase (Jin 2003).Focus on efficiencyThe fact that library services had to be financed outof the local purse made local governments muchmore conscious of efficiency and output thanthey used to be. Local public organizations wereencouraged to adopt managerial methods to improveefficiency. Into public libraries, a variety ofefficiency- or effectiveness-oriented managementtechniques were thus introduced. One of such techniqueswas to set working quotas for jobs whoseproduction could be measured quantitatively (atechnique explicitly derived from the scientific approachof modern management theories) (Li 1989;Ye 1986). Classification, cataloguing and other materialsprocessing activities were often subject tosuch management. In one of the libraries visitedin this study, for instance, the quota for a cataloguinglibrarian of Chinese materials was 50 booksper day, and that for her counterpart of foreignlanguage materials was 10 books per day. Thesecond example of widely adopted managementtechniques was management by objectives, whichwas applied in many libraries to ensure maximumlibrary effectiveness and to provide individual departmentsand staff members a framework to definetheir responsibilities. In Hunan Province, forexample, management by objectives became establishedduring the 1980s, whereby libraries wererequired to define their annual objectives and signa formal agreement of accountability with theirgoverning authorities (Zou et al. 1999b).The third example of widely adopted managementtechniques was performance appraisal atboth the staff and the organizational levels. At theorganizational level, many local governments hadin place an appraisal system for local cultural institutionswhich often led to the rewarding ofcharter marks or medals to the best institutions. InHunan Province, organizational performance appraisalhad been carried out biannually since 1984;the winning libraries were entitled “Civilized Libraries”(Zou et al. 1999b). The fourth example ofmanagement techniques adopted in many largelibraries during the 1990s was downsizing: to reducestaff positions and to substitute casual workersfor permanent staff positions so as to reducecost and increase efficiency. As a result of suchstaffing, casual workers have become a significantpart of the library workforce since the 1990s. In alarge city library that was visited by this study, theproportion of permanent staff members to casualworkers was close to 1:1 as of 2001; in another, itwas just below 4:1.In addition to these management practices, anarray of modern management techniques, e.g.,customer relationship management, service levelagreement, total quality management and knowledgemanagement were also enthusiastically discussedin the public library literature (Chen Chao2002; Chen Li 2002; Li 1989; Li 2000; Wang Bing2002; Yang 2001). In many places, the adoptionof management techniques has reportedly raisedlibraries’ profiles and improved service provision(Yang 2001; Li 2000; Wang Bing 2002; Zou et al.1999b). In the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone,for example, improvement of library managementwas believed to have raised the library’s politicalvisibility in the region (Wang Bing 2002).MarginalizationIn tandem with the introduction of managerialtheories and techniques, local governments alsobegan to see public libraries’ role increasingly ineconomic terms. Prior to 1978, the role of publiclibraries in Chinese society was primarily definedin line with Lenin’s views of former Soviet Unionlibraries, which saw libraries as an important organizationin spreading socialist ideology and infostering socialist construction. Such definition,hence the established role of Chinese public libraries,appeared somewhat out of place in localgovernments’ heightened pursuit of economicgrowth. Attempts were made to transform thepublic libraries in keeping with the new priorityof economic development. As early as in 1979, aprovincial meeting in Hunan was specially convenedto address the issue of shifting the libraries’mission to serving economic construction (Zouet al. 1999b, 5). The regional regulations of the late1990s put even greater emphasis on public libraries’economic role. The Henan Public Library ManagementMethod, for example, explicitly definedpublic libraries as part of the local cultural industry(Song Xueqing 2002, 10).With local governments’ vision being distinctivelyfocused on the economic value of local insti-126

The Political Economy of Public Library Development in post-1978 People’s Republic of Chinatutions, public library development inevitably declined,to a varying degree across the country, onlocal political agendas. This was evidenced first ofall in local governments’ reluctant provision forlibrary operational costs. In many places, apartfrom staff salaries and limited materials funding,provision for maintenance, electricity and the likewas meagre. In 1991, 217 (or 10.7%) libraries atand above the county level did not get their shareof materials funds (Liu 1995, 5); in 1997, this figurereached 592 (or 22%) (Huang 2000, 39). In the faceof rapidly rising prices of books and journals, localgovernments’ reluctance to increase the library’soperating expenditure inevitably resulted in a drasticdecline in materials acquisition. Annual bookadditions of all public libraries declined from13.6 million in 1986 to 6.9 million in 2000 (EditingBoard of Statistical Yearbook of Chinese Libraries1997, 480; National Bureau of Statistics of China2001). In recent years, it also greatly hamperedthe development of library automation and networkaccess. Although initiatives such as nationalpublic library performance assessment promptedsome local governments to invest in computersand networks, these efforts remained piecemealin most cases.Public libraries’ declining importance on localpolitical agendas was also reflected in the interviewsundertaken by this study during a site visitto 12 public libraries. In one of the county level librariesvisited, for example, the library director lamentedthat her library was below in almost everythingthat merited local government’s support.“Government officials here don’t value public librariesvery much... They don’t think any workunit is a good one if it is unable to bring immediateeconomic returns. They actually think they cando without it. So it is very difficult for us to applyfor funds, including materials funds” (interviewdata). This lament was echoed in a number ofother libraries visited.Marginalization of public libraries was moreacute in less developed western (inland) areasthan in eastern (coastal) areas. Unlike their easterncounterparts, which enjoyed a greater degreeof autonomy and preferential treatment from thecentral government, provinces in the west reliedvery much on central subsidies even after the inceptionof economic reform. As central subsidiesdiminished, these provinces increasingly laggedbehind in public service provision. From 1995–1999, local government’s funding for public librariesincreased by just 48% in Ningxia, 52% inHeilongjiang, 53% in Qinghai, 56% in Gansu and58% in Xinjiang, in contrast with the increasingrate of 222% in Beijing, 209% in Zhejiang, 200% inShanghai, 123% in Shandong, 109% in Guangdongand 103% in Fujian [3] (Editing Board of StatisticalYearbook of Chinese Libraries 1997, 478; Xiao1999, 357). Recent statistics showed that of allthe county libraries which failed to get materialsfunding in the past few years, 80% were in thewestern regions (Zhou and Li 2006, 16). Site visitsconducted by this study also revealed a dire lackof funds in libraries of the western regions, particularlyin libraries at the county level. Accordingto the interviewed county library directors, it wasnot unusual for a county library in these regionsto go without materials funds for a number ofconsecutive years.Demand for income generationEconomic reform and development also instilledin local governments a fairly strong faith in themarket forces to push public library development.The rise of various private and self-sustaining informationproviders, such as consultant companies,database developers and vendors, digitallibrary providers, audio-visual rental services andInternet Bars, convinced local governments that ifpublic libraries were competitive enough, therewas space in the market for them to share. In localgovernment officials’ speeches, libraries were constantlyreminded that they should discard theirtradition of “waiting, depending and asking” (thatis, the tradition of relying on the government forfinancial support) (Gao 1988; Xu 1997; Yan 1995;Zhang 1995). The following comments from agovernment official’s speech is illustrative of localgovernments’ stance towards this tradition:[Public libraries] need to exploit two different sources [toensure annual increase of funding]. The Department ofFinance will squeeze its resources to provide some, butlibraries need to find their own means to get the rest. Librariesmust change their old way of thinking, i.e., to wait,depend and ask [for support] solely from the government.They must broaden their sources of income. While fulfillingtheir [social] responsibilities, they also need to exploittheir literature resources for fee-based services, that is, tosustain culture with culture; and to conduct tertiary sectoractivities of some sort so as to enhance their self-developmentpotentials. (Zhang 1995, 5)127

Liangzhi Yu & Jianye XuTable 1: Public Library Income Generation: 1986–1999YearGenerated income(10 thousands Yuan)Percentage of total libraryincome1986 821 4.131987 1030 4.761988 1991 7.691989 2943 9.751990 3032 9.381991 4174 11.341992 6344 13.991993 7960 15.631994 13947 18.71995 13856 13.391996 10023 11.371997 14022 12.871998 13745 11.21999 13309 10.19Data Source: 1) Data for 1986–1995 is from: Editing Board ofStatistical Yearbook of Chinese Libraries. Statistical Yearbookof Chinese Libraries 1996. Beijing: Beijing Library PublishingHouse, 1997: 478; 2) Data for 1996–1999 is from: Xiao Dongfa.Statistical Yearbook of Chinese Libraries 2001. Beijing: Beijing LibraryPublishing House, 2001: 357.Note: Due to the varied statistical units in the original sources,generated income for the years 1986–1995 was the “total[generated] income” in the original source; that for the years1996–1999 was the summed amount of “income from feebasedservices, income from business activities and incomefrom affiliated work units” in the original source.With this rhetoric, local governments persistentlyencouraged libraries to seek various means ofincome generation, including fee-based servicesand business activities. They also encouraged libraries’efforts to seek private capital for librarydevelopment, e.g., in the form of cooperative provisionof certain services.This local government perspective soon spurreda fairly large-scale implementation of fee-basedservices and business activities in public libraries.This study’s site visits to 12 public libraries revealeda wide range of fee-based services andbusiness activities. These included: rental of libraryspace to local businesses, rental of meetingrooms and exhibition areas, lectures and training,reproduction of rare books and special materials,value-added information services, Internet access,rental of audio-visual materials and access to“special collections” – these can be anything fromfashion magazines and best sellers to a publishercommissionedbook store. The majority of librariesalso charged membership fees in the form ofannually renewed library cards. In some libraries,which fortunately do not seem to be numerous,even the use of seats in reading rooms requiredpayment. As a result of this expansion of fee-basedservices, the proportion of self-generated incomein total library income rose from 4% in 1986 to 10%in 1999; it peaked at 19% in 1994 (see Table 1).Erosion of the public service ethosEvidence showed that the expansion of fee-basedservices and the influence of market forces have,at least to a certain degree, eroded the library profession’spublic service ethos. This was first evidencedin the profession’s interest in developingspecialized public libraries or special collectionswithin existing public libraries. Special collectionsis a separately managed section of the libraryholdings, which consists of materials on a particularsubject discipline, a particular document typeor of a particular genre. Such collections usuallytarget a very specialized user group and often, ifnot always, require specially designated accessrights. When a library has a predominate proportionof specialized collections in its stock, this libraryis also called a specialized public library.During late 1980s and early 1990s, there was asurge of interest in developing specialized collections/libraries.There were economic incentivesin establishing such services from the onset: accessrights to special collections can be chargedfor and the growth of specialized collections cannaturally lead to value-added services. Evaluationof this endeavour is a complex issue and this briefdiscussion may not do it justice, but one thing iscertain: specialized collections require a considerableproportion of library resources (funds, staff andspace) but serve only the specialized need of a minorityuser group. However, as Professor Huang(2000, 39) of Wuhan University observed, theextent to which these services were offered at thecost of services to the general public was seldomquestioned.In a similar vein, there was a growing interestamong public libraries to serve the local businesssector as a profitable clientele. A variety of approacheswere attempted to tap into this sourceof income. The first and most common approachwas through value-added information services. InHenan Province, for example, public libraries providedadvanced services for 156 R&D projects withina period of two years (Yang 1995); in Guang-128

The Political Economy of Public Library Development in post-1978 People’s Republic of Chinadong Province, value-added services for localcompanies were widely offered by libraries of alllevels and sizes (Fang 1998; Xiao, Pan and Chen2004). The second approach was through cooperativeprovision of library services. A case in point isthe cooperation between Jinzhou City Library andJinzhou Mountain Machinery Factory. The formeris a prefecture level library in Liaoning Province,northeast China; the latter is a state owned factory.In 1995, they formed a cooperative schemein which the City Library opened up all its technologicalresources to the factory to meet its R&Dneeds, and set up a book-lending outlet inside thefactory to meet the workers’ reading needs. Thefactory, in return, provided part of the materialsfunding to the library (Liu and Wang 1997).Apart from this kind of cooperation, there werealso instances of cooperative schemes where thepublic library serves as certain manufacturer’ssales agent (Shi, Wang and Yang 1995). The thirdcommon approach to exploiting the business sectorsupport was to look for benefactors. However,such benefactors were rare, and donations, if therewere any, were often attached with strings of commercialinterests.Serving the local business sector presented agreat challenge for public libraries, not least becauseit often required the devotion of professionallibrarians and highly specialized informationresources. Although business users were usuallywilling to pay at a relatively high rate for a successfulservice, this did not change the fact thatstrategic services to the business sector requiredconstant input of trained staff and the most costlyinformation, which may turn out to be quite astrain on public library resources. However, aswith the case of developing specialized collectionsfor small market niches, the potential impact ofstrategically serving the business sector on servicesto the general public was seldom critiqued.The erosion of the public service ethos becameeven more evident in 1990s, when a faction of thelibrary profession, albeit small, persistently calledfor the public library service or part of it to becommercialised (chčn yė huà), which means thatthe whole library or at least part of it should providefull-fledged paid services. These paid services,it was argued, should be managed as consultantcompanies and should be targeted at profitablemarket niches (Wang and Chen 1994; Wangand Xue 1994). Services that were recommendedfor commercialisation included library basedadult education, audio-visual services and valueaddedinformation services; some librarians evenproposed community services as a candidate forcommercialisation (Tao 2000). Added to this listwere marketing services, real estate agency services,exhibition services, and other services thathad little to do with knowledge-based librarypractices.ConclusionChina’s economic reform since 1978 brought publiclibraries into a very different political economyfrom what they faced previously. In this new politicaleconomy, local governments were made anindependent provider for public services whilethe central government reduced its involvementin local affairs and diminished its subsides to localneeds. As there did not exist a macro-level regulatoryframework for public library service provision,which meant that local governments couldnot be held responsible for even the most basicpublic library services, the degree of support forpublic libraries was determined entirely by localpolicies. The level of service provision thereforebecame dependent on both the local economicstrength and on the significance that local governmentsattach to these services. Across the country,level and pattern of service provision were oftenthe result of a trade-off between long-term socialinterests and the short-term economic growth, andthey tended to vary greatly from region to region,and even county to county.As this study shows, this political economy, althoughit has brought about considerable improvementto library infrastructure (building, servicefloor area) and management, has adversely affectedpublic library development in many otherways. In many places, public library developmentwas shoved down the local political agenda as localgovernments manoeuvred resources and prioritisedsectors to maximize economic growth.The decline of public library services was particularlydramatic in western regions where localfiscal revenue could not even guarantee adequategovernment support for more pressing issuessuch as poverty alleviation and health care.Market forces appear to have eroded serviceprovision, and, perhaps more damagingly, thepublic service ethos of the library profession in129

Liangzhi Yu & Jianye Xuthis context. Fee-based services were expanded,resources were manoeuvred to favour the specializedneed of small market niches, and full-fledgedprofit-making companies were established withinlibraries. The term “one library, two systems” (yìguăn liăng zhì) was coined to justify the establishmentof such companies. Some of these erosions,e.g., the advancement of specialised libraries andspecialised collections led some scholars to rightlyquestion where the interests of the 1.2 billion peoplewere (Huang 2000, 39).The 21 st century will undoubtedly unfold yetanother political economy for Chinese public libraries.As a matter of fact, the 16 th Party Congressheld in 2002 and the 4 th and 5 th Plenums ofthe 16 th Party Congress Central Committee havealready ushered in a fresh breeze of reform which,in contrast with those hitherto implemented, putmuch greater emphasis on social cohesion and inclusiveness.Under such a national developmentcontext, some aspects of local political economy(e.g., strategies for development) will inevitablychange, some (e.g., local governments’ wish tospend less and obtain more, hence their enthusiasmfor income generation) will perhaps continue.It is important that the library profession sharpenits political economy awareness to ensure that localgovernments’ attitudes and policies for publiclibrary development will not run counter to thenation’s strategic target to build up a “well-offsociety in an all-round way”.Notes1. This dual nomenclature of libraries at the same administrativelevel reflects primarily rural and urbandemarcation. For example, while libraries atthe lowest level in rural areas are called townshiplibraries, their urban counterparts are called neighbourhoodlibraries.2. To put these figures in context, in 1999, governmentfunds for all public libraries in Sichuan Province(where Dujiang Weir is located) was 25.6 millionYuan; government funds for all public libraries inHenan Province (where Longmen Grottoes is located)was 30 million Yuan (Xiao 2001, 356).3. Apart from Heilongjiang, which is one of the threenortheast provinces, all other provinces or regionswith the lowest rate of increase of library fundingare located in the west, while all provinces with thehighest rate of increase are located along the coast.AcknowledgementThe authors wish to express their gratitude to thefollowing organizations and individuals: NationalOffice for Philosophy and Social Science Researchof China and the Business School of Nankai Universityfor funding this research; Mr. Hao Yufengand Mr. Yan Hui, postgraduate students at the Departmentof Information Resource Managementof Nankai University, for assistance in data collection;and Mr. James Adams, guest lecturer atthe English Department Nankai University forEnglish proofreading.ReferencesBlumenthal, David; Hsiao, William. 2005. Privatizationand its discontents: The evolving Chinese healthcare system. New England Journal of Medicine 353 (11):1165–1170.Chen, Chao. 2002. Strategic marketing managementin public libraries. Library Tribune 22 (5): 113–115 (inChinese).Chen, Li. 2002. Suggestions for customer relation managementin public libraries. Library Tribune 22(5):116–117, 108 (in Chinese).Editing Board of Statistical Yearbook of Chinese Libraries.1997. Statistical yearbook of Chinese libraries,1996. Beijing: Beijing Library Publishing House (inChinese).Fang, Wen-zhen. 1998. Public libraries’ informationconsultant services around the Zhujiang Delta. Journalof Chinese Library Science (5): 33–37 (in Chinese).Feng, Xingnan. 1996. Public library development inHenan Province during the past 10 years. Henan LibraryJournal (1): 46–49 (in Chinese).Gao, Zhanxiang. 1988. To subsidize culture with cultureand promote culture development. Library Journal(5): 3–4 (in Chinese).Gong, Yitai and Gorman, G. E. 2000. Libraries and informationservices in China. Lanham, Md.: ScarecrowPress.Hendrischke, Hans. Provinces in competition: region,identity and cultural construction. In: Hendrischke,H. and Feng, CY, ed. The political economy of china’sprovinces. New York: Routledge: 1–25.Hsiao, William C. L. 1995. The Chinese health care system:lessons from other nations. Social Science andMedicine 41 (8): 1047–1055.Huang, Yi. 2002. Dujiang Lasher of Chengdu increasesinvestment to create a win-win situation for localecology and tourism. In China Economic News Database[online database], provided by China INFOBANK130

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