Thousands of long-hidden literary treasures from two of the top Chinese collections in North America will soon be accessible thanks to a unique library project.
UBC Library is honoured to be a supporting partner in a collaboration led by the University of Washington that has won a grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). This marks one of only two international collaborative efforts funded by the Washington, D.C.-based CLIR, and the first involving a Canadian university.
The Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant, worth $183,500, is for a project entitled “Discovering Modern China: University of Washington (UW) & University of British Columbia (UBC) Collections.”
This project involves the cataloguing of special Chinese-language materials at the UW’s East Asia Library and UBC’s Asian Library. It is set to begin on June 1, 2014, and wrap up within 18 months; when finished, up to 2,000 special Chinese publications – including pre-modern texts and rare publications of the Chinese Republican era – will be made accessible to scholars worldwide.
Yi tong pa guan ci chao, 1831-1861, from the Puban Collection. Photo courtesy of UBC Library Digital Collections.
“UBC Library is excited to work alongside the University of Washington on this innovative partnership,” says Ingrid Parent, UBC’s University Librarian. “Our work will help both institutions bring to light an array of amazing Chinese materials for research, teaching and learning.”
“The ‘Discovering Modern China’ project is an incredible opportunity to make widely accessible significant Chinese collections owned by the University of Washington and the University of British Columbia,” says Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, UW’s Dean of University Libraries. “We are grateful to CLIR for its generous support of this cross-boundary collaboration, which ultimately will benefit scholars and students worldwide.”
UBC’s collection is strong in the area of pre-modern books, while UW’s collection focuses on 20th-century publications. Materials date from 1600 to 1949, and include books, manuscripts and letters that cover topics such as the social sciences, literature, the humanities and traditional medicine.
The two universities will share a Chinese rare book specialist who will assess the special collections at both institutions. Two cataloguers, specializing in classic and modern Chinese, will also be hired; one will be based at UBC, and the other at UW.
The universities will also provide matching in-kind services that focus on preserving and digitizing the items, among other tasks.
About CLIR
The grant was made as part of CLIR’s Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives program, which is generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. CLIR (www.clir.org) is an independent, nonprofit organization that forges strategies to enhance research, teaching and learning environments in collaboration with libraries, cultural institutions and communities of higher learning. It aims to promote forward-looking collaborative solutions that transcend disciplinary, institutional, professional and geographic boundaries in support of the public good.
Media contacts:
Glenn Drexhage
UBC Library
Tel: 604-827-3434
Email: glenn.drexhage@ubc.ca
AC Petersen
University of Washington Libraries
Tel: 206-543-9389
Email: acpete@uw.edu
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