A dynamic organization devoted to library services for the East Asian studies communities in North America since 1958.

About CEAL

Welcome to Council on East Asian Libraries (CEAL)!

CEAL is a committee of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS). It was founded in 1958 as the Committee on American Library Resources on the Far East (CALFRE), building on earlier organizations going back to 1948. The objectives of CEAL are to serve as a forum for discussions about issues of common concern relating to East Asian libraries and East Asian Librarianship, to formulate programs for the development of East Asian library resources, services, and systematic organization of all types of recorded information and knowledge, and to promote interlibrary and international cooperation in East Asian librarianship. CEAL membership is open to all current AAS members who pay CEAL annual membership dues (currently USD $30.00). In addition to its Executive Board, CEAL currently has nine standing committees and several taskforces. CEAL members are encouraged to serve on committees and taskforces and to run for office on the Executive Board.

CEAL publishes Journal of East Asian Libraries (JEAL), a peer-reviewed online journal published semiannually in February and October. The entire set of back issues of JEAL (1963 – current) is available online at http://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jeal/. CEAL also conducts and publishes annual statistics on collections, budgets, staffing, and services in East Asian libraries in North America. All historical and current data are available online in the CEAL Statistics Database at https://ceal.ku.edu/.

Organizations sharing CEAL’s objectives may become affiliates of CEAL or its committees, subject to the approval of the Executive Board. Applications for affiliation or renewal should be submitted to the CEAL President with a statement of purpose, rationale, and other relevant information about the organization.

More information about CEAL is available at its web site at https://www.eastasianlib.org. The CEAL listserv is for discussions and communications among CEAL members. Its news section provides updates on topics of interest. Job opportunities in East Asian librarianship are posted on the jobs section.

Inquiries may be directed to:

Hong Cheng, CEAL President (2022-2024)

chengh@library.ucla.edu