student assistant to Dr. Lee, who was then the dean of Ohio University Libraries.
I started writing this biography in 2008. Back then, Dr. Lee had just retired from the Library of Congress, but he remained as the project evaluator for the Sino-U.S. Library Professional Exchange Program. He continued to travel between China and the United States for the program and to attend other conferences, allowing me the opportunity to interview him and record his story and to complete the wish of several Ohio University alumni, of which I am one, who had been respectful and thankful to Dr. Lee.
It has been a happy writing experience. Every day, I had two highly anticipated and enjoyable time slots: one in the morning, after sending my two daughters to school and before going to the office; and the other in the evening, after the girls went to sleep. Sitting in front of the computer, I went through Dr. Lee’s life as if I were experiencing an expedition. What has impressed me most, from time to time, were his trust of humanity, his calmness and firmness, and his dedication and professionalism, as well as the responsibility he had taken for his family, relatives, and friends. To me, his life has been so wise, so rich, and so balanced, even beyond his success in the library field.
In recent years, I have met and interviewed, in my role working for CCTV News Center, people from various socioeconomic backgrounds, including government and business VIPs, celebrities, tycoons, civilians, migrant workers, and mothers and children in poverty. Their personal beliefs, ideologies, and conducts have shaped my way of looking at contemporary Chinese society, and have also triggered my concerns and thoughts. I was even at the age of innocence, asking myself what kind of life would be most worthy. Over the course of writing this biography, I came to understand that a moment of glory and victory could be an astonishing magnificence, but what is really meant for a life is a sustained and balanced style, of which the quality would be measured by its breadth. The richness of Dr. Lee’s life just lies in the “breadth” of his constant calmness and composure, whether granted favors or subjected to humiliation.
Through personal contact with him, I have witnessed his diligence and sincerity. He was always busy and always worked overtime. And work seemed to be the only thing he enjoyed. One day around the end of 1993, I stayed late for work. Upon walking into his office, I saw him lying on the carpet along with piles of documents while holding one document to read. I was deeply shocked by the scene, which still remains in my memory. He explained, with an apologetic smile, that his back hurt a lot and lying down made him feel better. He also told me that a surgery had already been scheduled. Thinking him always a forebear-ing gentleman, I guessed his pain must have been too severe to endure. I quickly handed him the document and rushed out of the office with tears in my eyes.
Most Chinese students and visiting librarians from China, like me, have been taken care of by Dr. Lee in Athens. Sometimes, he cares for people who come to him with a sense of humor. I still remember a mishap I had on campus—a falling tree branch hit me and injured my forehead. I was urged by Dr. Lee, as soon as he learned of my accident, to go to the university’s health center for treatment. He also jokingly comforted me, saying that being hit by a falling tree branch would have the same low probability as winning a lottery, and I might have become lucky and should try the lottery. Later, he did drive me out to purchase a lottery ticket, which failed to win me anything. He laughed, “Too bad. Your luck seems to have run out. No wonder you did not win.”
Dr. Lee has encountered numerous people and circumstances over many years through different historical periods and changing work environments, in both Eastern and Western cultural settings. Librarianship, however, has been his only ambition and passion, and the kingdom of books has always been his center. His world is vast and boundless, like a sea. We can learn so much about libraries, the place for human knowledge and wisdom, from his life and understand the revolving path of the cathedral of books. What I have done, over the course of writing, is to collect as many source materials as possible, via interviews and literature reviews, and then to put together the fragmented anecdotes to form a not-so-perfect theme of the book. Many times, I had to face a situation of more willingness than capability, which caused me irreparable regret at the end. The only thing that makes me satisfied is that I have completed this rewarding and meaningful project.
I cannot express enough thanks to Dr. Lee, his wife Mary, and his children for their help in the project. I am very thankful to Dr. Huanwen Cheng, the university librarian of Sun Yat-Sen University, for his enthusiastic assistance in writing and publishing the book. My deep thanks also go to Mr. Xi Wu, the director of Shenzhen Library; Mr. Shoujing Zhuang, the former university librarian of Peking University; and Mr. Zheqian Dong from the Ministry of Education of China for their forewords to the biography.
The completion of the project could not have been accomplished without the support and trust of my husband, who is also an alumnus of Ohio University and has been the first reader of the book manuscript. My two daughters have been extremely curious and anxious, waiting for the birth of the book. Also, I want to thank Ms. Qi Gan, an old friend of mine from school and one of the founders of the All Sages Book Garden, the first privately owned bookstore in mainland China. She has been so encouraging and offered many constructive suggestions. Without her encouragement and advice, I probably would have never rediscovered, from the depth of my heart, the desire for writing and would have never enjoyed such a wonderful authoring experience.
Yang Yang
August 2011
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE
In this world, there are countless smart, brilliant, and successful leaders; and there are also numerous personable, approachable, and dedicated men. However, I see that there are very few people who belong to both groups. Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee is one of the few. Our profession is very fortunate to have him lead us and help us thrive.
THIS IS what I wrote in 2011 for the occasion of celebrating Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee’s eightieth birthday, organized by the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA). Anyone who wants to know the story behind these words is encouraged to read this biography. It has taken me more than a decade to learn the richness and success of his life through in-person contacts and, most recently, this biography.
Personally, I have had only a few direct interactions with Dr. Lee. But each interaction gave me an opportunity to discover one or more new traits in him. The first time I met him was sixteen years ago when I was a visiting scholar under the International Librarian Internship Program at Ohio University (OHIO) Libraries. Dr. Lee was then the dean of the Libraries. The immediate impression he conveyed was that of a “hybrid” gentleman, one possessing Confucian constraint mixed with a western “ladies-first” manner, presumably rooted in his personal experience in both cultures. As soon as I arrived, along with three other visitors from China, he took us to OHIO’s guest house, a nice two-story building for special guests of the university, and assigned me, the lower-ranked visitor in the group, to the best bedroom. He said while smiling, “Ying is the only lady here, so she gets this room.” The following days, we had several meetings with him. Dr. Lee, during the meetings was serious, listening more than talking. When talking, he was concise and always got to the point. Over the course of my six-month stay in Athens, I learned many times from his library employees as well as from campus and local community members about his strength, ability, and reputation.
After returning to my home institution in China, Sun Yat-Sen University, I had another opportunity to learn more about Dr. Lee. That was in 2000 during a workshop on knowledge management and metadata that was taught by Erik Jul from OCLC. Jul was accompanied by Dr. Lee, then a visiting distinguished scholar at the organization. Seeing that I grew frightened to death for being called to provide on-site translation for Jul’s lectures, Dr. Lee comforted me, saying, “Don’t worry. I will help you.” Staring at the encouraging look in his smiling face, I felt less uneasy, standing at the podium. Dr. Lee corrected me on a few technical terms, where I failed to give precise translations. But he did this in an appropriate manner, apparently
