was an ultimate honor for Hwa-Wei to have LC as the apex of his career; no other library could have given him such a strong feeling of accomplishment. When being interviewed earlier by the American Folklife Center of LC, Hwa-Wei told the interviewer Dr. Nora Yeh:
The Library of Congress is by far the world’s largest and one of the most prestigious national libraries. It is therefore an ideal place for me to windup my library career. I don’t think I’ll go to another place for another job, because, after this, nothing could attract me to continue my work. And I want to make sure that, in my five years here, I have built a good structure in the Asian Division, under which it can continue not just on what I’ve done, but also could go even further to a higher plateau. I have every reason to believe that I have instilled in my staff a strong sense of mission and self-confidence. They actually have been doing a lot of great things, much more than I was hoping for them to accomplish. That’s why I think they can do even more. Sometimes I teased and said to them, “Now you people can take a break after my retirement; you don’t have to work that hard anymore.”
But I don’t think they are going to stop or slow down. They will continue. They are a group of talented and dedicated professionals. And they have a lot of good ideas. I am sure they will continue to carry on. One of the good things that I have done was to combine the best talents of newly hired staff with those who have been here many years, and have had a lot of experience. The young staff needs to learn the experience. And the old staff needs to share their experience. Often times I encourage the young staff to do things in the way they see as best for their professional development and in their own way make the library better. The combining of the strengths of these two groups of staff in a harmonious way, in my view, is very important. I have really done as much as I can to build that kind of working relationship, as well as fostering the culture of mutual respect, mutual support, and also mutual trust. This is most important for the success of any organization. I think we are now getting to have a very good working environment, and now have all these elements for success in place. So, I am very happy to leave at this time, because I feel this is the best time for me to leave. You can’t find a better time for me to retire when you see that positive things will continue, and may even be better.
Working as an administrator, I want to encourage all staff members to bring out their hidden talents and feel free and encouraged to use them. Everyone has talents. But you have to give them the opportunity and create the environment for them to do it. Otherwise, hidden talents will remain hidden. That would be a waste. And they would be unhappy. So, the best management skill is to bring out the best in your colleagues and coworkers. And I think maybe that’s one of my best strengths, to be able to do that because I really feel that I have great respect of the ability of my staff. I was able to empower and encourage them to do what they are capable of doing without fear of failure or reprisal.
In the past five years, Hwa-Wei had experienced an extremely complicated and difficult working environment. Yet, miraculously, he was able to transform the Asian Division from a poorly operated and notoriously divided department suffering from low morale to one that was energetic, enthusiastic, and harmonious. The pleasant outcome, however, was achieved only through a heavy workload, resulting in mental and physical exhaustion. In his mid-seventies, Hwa-Wei had to work as hard as a much younger man, frequently extending his office hours to evenings and weekends. He often felt he was at the upper limit of his physical endurance; that feeling had been getting worse.
Since the previous winter, he often felt weary. Every day, Hwa-Wei had to make several trips back and forth among the various departments through the underground tunnels connecting the Jefferson, Madison, and Adams Buildings. But just several weeks before his planned retirement, he had felt a tightness in his chest and a shortness of breath, forcing him to make several stops during one of these trips.
Hwa-Wei had suffered the same symptoms back in 2005. Then, the diagnosis from his doctor had indicated a clogged artery, necessitating a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with the installation of two coronary stents. With the reoccurrence of those symptoms, his physician alerted Hwa-Wei that the state of his artery clog had been getting worse and suggested that a coronary bypass operation should be done as soon as possible. These constant and amplified signals from his body made Hwa-Wei realize that the time had come for him to say goodbye to the heavy workload. He had to face the reality of his physical limits.
5
The retirement party, including the luncheon, lasted about three hours. As the main honoree, Hwa-Wei, with his courteous and graceful bearing, expressed his gratitude to the attendees for everything they had done for the celebration. But mixed with his heartfelt appreciation was the sadness of saying goodbye to friends and colleagues.
During the past five years, this approachable and unflappable elderly gentleman had revitalized the Asian Division. Throughout the library, no one failed to pay tribute to him. Hwa-Wei was known as being mild yet courageous, lenient yet principled, steady yet determined, low-keyed as a man yet highly committed as a professional. These personal attributes made Hwa-Wei the perfect administrator—one who, seemingly, could never be defeated by any hardship, obstacle, or challenge. Rather, his tolerance and wisdom would always point the positive energy and spirit of other people in the right direction.
Ms. Judy Lu, the head of the Collection Services Department of the Asian Division, once told a World Journal reporter:
Dr. Carolyn T. Brown, director of The John W. Kluge Center and head of the library’s Office of Scholarly Programs, hired Hwa-Wei as chief of the Asian Division at the Library of Congress.
Excerpt of a congratulatory letter, dated February 1, 2008, from Dr. James H. Billington, librarian of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Excerpt of a congratulatory letter, dated February 15, 2008, from Dr. Deanna B. Marcum, associate librarian for Library Services at the Library of Congress
The Asian Division was a “sleeping lion” five years ago, and then all of a sudden was awakened by Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee’s magic stick . . . As a savior, he aroused the once-isolated Asian Division, and led us to learn walking, running, and ultimately presenting ourselves in front of the world. Under his leadership, we have been able to gain a lot.1
Dr. Mi Chu, the head of the Scholarly Services Department of the Asian Division, also commented on Hwa-Wei’s years at LC. As an employee of the Library of Congress for thirty years, Dr. Chu had witnessed many changes; none of which, however, were comparable to those made under Hwa-Wei’s administration.
He has accomplished a lot with limited funding sources, having to undergo numerous negotiations with his supervisors on the sixth floor of the Madison Building. In addition to his already busy work in the library, Hwa-Wei has given numerous speeches and lectures all over the world in the promotion of the Asian collections and has written many papers about them. The newly established Asian-American Pacific Islander Collection by Dr. Lee should have a very profound and meaningful impact.
Dr. Chu also admitted that it had been her honor to be able to work under Hwa-Wei’s leadership.2
Hwa-Wei understood completely that all his success was reflected in the new and unprecedented public image of the Asian Division. It had been necessary to change the old public perception of the division. The Asian Division, revitalized by a positive public image combined with many improvements, now provided Asian studies readers and researchers a totally new experience. Of course, those five years were not always as rosy as were the compliments at the retirement party. At times, they seemed more like a journey
