personal life with absolute freedom to arrange one’s own activities 24/7.
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As Hwa-Wei walked into the conference hall, he was immediately greeted by many familiar faces. His wife Mary, son Charles, and daughter-in-law Erika were there, mingling with administrators and his colleagues from the Asian Division and other parts of the LC. There were also reporters from the World Journal and other news media, as well as members of the Asian Division Friends Society. Permeating the warm party ambience was a reluctance to part from many of Hwa-Wei’s friends and colleagues.
Hwa-Wei was surprised to see Dr. James H. Billington, librarian of Congress, and Dr. Deanna Marcum, associate librarian for Library Services, show up simultaneously at the party. In most cases, only Dr. Marcum, or one of the directors, would have attended such a retirement party. And, in addition to the two LC top administrators, several congressmen and senior federal officials including Mike Honda, a highly acclaimed congressman, were among the attendees. Honda, a Japanese-American, had long fought for minority rights and was the chair of the Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus. He was also one of the deputy chairs of the Democratic National Committee.
Dr. Billington, a renowned historian and scholar, began the proceedings with his heartwarming speech:
Thank you for your dedicated service to the Library of Congress and the breadth of institutional and international experience that you brought with you five years ago . . .
Your international librarianship and professionalism have been exceptional since your arrival at the Library of Congress on February 10, 2003. During your tenure, you worked tirelessly to build our collections and to ensure that our reference service and outreach activities served the nation in the best possible ways. The reorganization of the division; the establishment of collaborative digitization projects with major national libraries and research institutions in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan; your establishment and support of the Asian Division Friends Society and the Florence Tan Moeson Fund; as well as your recent establishment of the Asian-Pacific American Collection Fund will carry on your good work long after you leave these halls.
The speech by Dr. Marcum was also most sincere and personal. She had direct supervision over two-thirds of the more than four thousand employees at LC and had been active in academia and various organizations across the country. As an efficient and demanding administrator, Dr. Marcum always appreciated dependable and hardworking library employees. She thought highly of Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee.
It is an honor to write this tribute on the occasion of your retirement. You should feel enormously gratified in knowing that you have made a huge difference in this institution, and you have touched the lives of a great number of LC staff, librarians around the world, and international scholars. The phrase “a life well lived” refers specifically to you!
You know better than anyone else how badly you were needed when the library recruited you to head the Asian Division. Collections were unavailable to the public, bibliographic records were not in the online catalog, staff relations and morale were in disrepair. You had already enjoyed a highly successful career at Ohio University as the University Librarian and, as a consultant, you set OCLC on a path to become highly influential in China. You could have insisted—with complete justification—on enjoying retirement with your family. Instead, your sense of obligation and service led you to accept the job here, and the scholarly and library communities owe you a great deal.
There is almost no comparison of today’s Asian Division to the one you inherited. The reorganization has removed the language-based independent units. The staff works harmoniously and productively. The collections are well organized and can be served to the public. You have exponentially raised the public profile of the Asian Division with your seminars and the formation of a Friends group. We have partnerships with countless libraries in all parts of Asia.
At your stage of life, it would have been perfectly understandable if you had been more leisurely. But not Hwa-Wei! You have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to form partnerships, acquire collections, and create goodwill for the Library of Congress. You have not relied solely on federal dollars, either. You have been a supremely talented fundraiser and a builder of relationships.
Finally, you have shown that you are not simply looking to others to sustain the Asian Division. When you announced your retirement, you made a substantial financial contribution to your latest campaign—the development of an Asian-American Pacific Islander collection. You have set a high standard for those who follow.
Your retirement is bittersweet for me. You certainly deserve some peaceful, more relaxed time with your family and friends, but I shall miss you very much. Your intellect, your passion, and your wisdom have given me great confidence in the capacities and capabilities of the Asian Division.
Dr. James H. Billington, librarian of Congress, praises Hwa-Wei for his accomplishments during his retirement party from the Library of Congress.
Frank Joseph Shulman, president of the Asian Division Friends Society, presents a souvenir book to Hwa-Wei during his retirement party.
Hwa-Wei accepts a plaque from a representative of the Chinese American Librarians Association.
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The compliments from the two LC top administrators were extremely heartfelt. Immediately following the utter stillness during the speeches came prolonged applause throughout the conference hall. Standing up with a sincere and modest smile on his face, as always, Hwa-Wei nodded his head toward the audience to show his gratitude. At this moment, all his hard work over the years had been well recognized. As a library professional who had immersed his life in librarianship, what else could he ask for?
Dr. Carolyn T. Brown, who supervised all area studies divisions in the library, including the Asian Division, had been the key person to get Hwa-Wei on board. Not only did Dr. Brown persuade Hwa-Wei to take the division chief’s position after his first retirement, but she also was extremely supportive of Hwa-Wei during this radical reform across the Asian Division. Dr. Brown especially noted, in her remarks to Hwa-Wei:
When you came to the library, you promised me that you would stay for five years. We are all reluctant to see that five years have come to an end, but what an astonishing five years you have given to the Asian Division . . .
If I have had a small part in your success, it has only been to explain an arcane bureaucratic system to a newcomer and to remove as many obstacles as I could so that you could be the very best that you are capable of being in the often-challenging environment. Your tenure as chief has been a triumph and demonstration of what is possible with a leader of vision and experience, one who long ago discarded the encumbrances of ego and who has led with deep appreciation for the gifts of others, with great humility, and with a rare wisdom.
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Hwa-Wei’s own remarks were concise, highlighting his appreciation to Dr. Carolyn Brown and his professional shift from working in an academic institution to a government agency. In addition, he recognized that he himself would not have accomplished as much at LC without the support of his colleagues. He also mentioned that he planned to give his prime time back to his family, while at the same time to continue his service as an advisor for the planning of the Fifth China-U.S. Library Conference, to be organized jointly by the Library of Congress and the National Library of China.
It
