The project of Free E-resources for Chinese Studies During the COVID-19 Pandemic first through June 30, 2020 was an initiative in collaboration with SCSL Committee for Information Exchange since the late March 2020. The committee members worked with leading vendors of Chinese studies databases, who generously provided free access of the databases for online teaching and research. Librarians who were interested in setting up the temporary access for their libraries contacted the corresponding vendor representatives according to the information sheet worked out. The free use was extended several times through summer 2021.
Overview
Goals: For peer librarians to know and promote wider use of the end results of digital projects of Chinese studies (including more serious digital humanities projects); for colleagues to share information on creating digital projects and inspire collaboration with faculty, students and cross-departmental colleagues; and for all of us to help enhance outreaching, user engagement and library advocacy.
Format: The workshops by digital-project-owner library (or collaborating libraries) are held flexibly on the frequency from bi-monthly to quarterly depending on the situation. Each workshop is about one hour, or up to 1.5 hours for the cases of complicated projects, with about 30-40-minute presentation, followed by Q/A and discussion. Possible video recording of the workshop presentations will be seriously explored in advance and hopefully video recording will be done with the consent of speakers.
Structure: Each workshop presentation may cover, among others, how researchers use the project results? How the project is created, with what significant contributions? What lessons learned? Plus, a brief live demonstration.
Worshops
I. Delving for Memories: an Exploration of Wu Wenguang’s Memory Project
Date: October 22, 2021, 10:30am -12pm ET
Sponsors:
The Asian/Pacific Studies Institute (APSI), Duke University
Asian & Middle Eastern Studies Department, Critical Asian Humanities, Duke University
Duke University Libraries
CEAL CCM
The Memory Project was launched by Chinese pioneer independent filmmaker Wu Wenguang (吴文光) to document oral histories from survivors of the Great Famine that devastated China as the “Three Years of Natural Disasters”, and caused the death of between 20 and 43 million people. The interviews collected widely across rural China add intimate detail and humanity to the story of the deaths and starvation of millions of Chinese, providing a unique perspective on the unofficial history of the Great Famine. Duke University Libraries is the exclusive home for the project archives making raw footage available to students, researchers and the general public. The workshop will introduce the project, provide a tutorial on accessing archival materials and feature multiple filmmakers from China.
Speakers:
- Guo-Juin Hong, Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Duke University, who introduced the project and the filmmakers to the Duke community, is also collaborator of the Memory Project archives at Duke University Libraries.
- Zhang Mengqi, a Chinese documentary filmmaker and performer, who joined the project from the beginning, has developed a series of Self-Portraits in her father’s village.
- Yu Shuang, a Duke graduate in Cultural Anthropology, who joined the project from winter 2019.
- Gao Ang, a PhD candidate in documentary filmmaking at Newcastle University in the UK, who joined the project as filmmaker and researcher.
- Luo Zhou, Librarian for Chinese studies at Duke University Libraries, who is also the curator of the Memory Project archive.
II. Contemporary Chinese Village Gazetteer Data (CCVG Data)
November 18, 2021, 1:30 - 3:00pm ET
Sponsors: University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS); CEAL CCM
Speakers: CCVG Data Team led by Dr. Daqing He and Haihui Zhang, Head of the East Asian Library, University of Pittsburgh
The East Asian Library of Pittsburgh ULS launched the CCVG Data project to create an open-access online dataset of statistics extracted from Chinese village gazetteers (村志) in 2018. So far, about 307,760 value data from 1,500 villages were extracted and opened for access and download. The datasets can be used to greatly support contemporary Chinese studies in multiple fields such as politics, economics, sociology, environmental science, history, and and public health. This workshop will start with a review of village gazetteers published in past decades, the background of the project, followed by a presentation and demonstration on data extraction procedures, data structure, data dictionary, downloading instructions, as well as the user interactive platform, etc. The current stage and the final goal of the project will be discussed as well, followed lastly by Q&A session.
III. Chinese Rare Book Digital Collection at the Library of Congress
April 13, 2022, 4:00-5:00pm ET
Sponsors: CEAL CCM; Asian Division, Library of Congress
Speaker: Dr. Qi Qiu, Head of Scholarly Services, Asian Division, Library of Congress
With 5,300 Chinese rare books in its holdings, the Asian Division of the Library of Congress has initiated a digitization project in collaboration with the National Central Library of Taiwan and consequently made a significant portion of the Chinese rare book collection accessible online. This workshop will introduce the Chinese Rare Book Digital Collections consisting of nearly 2,000 digitized Chinese rare books, among which nearly 30 titles are very rare Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) editions. The audience will learn how to navigate and access the profoundly rich digital contents of various subjects of pre-modern China such as local history, geography, social and economic life, agriculture and biology, and the most noted sets such as the largest extant collection of volumes from the Ming-era (1368-1644) Yongle dadian (Yongle Encyclopedia) outside Asia, as well as the manuscripts of Chinese indigenous peoples such as the Naxi Manuscript Collection unrivaled in the world.
IV. Taiwanese resources Matter: Taiwanese E-Resources for Sinological and Taiwan Studies Researchs
May 23, 2022, 8:00-9:30pm ET
Sponsors: National Central Library; CEAL CCM
Speakers:
- Dr. Chang Han-yun 張瀚云, Editor, Chinese Studies
- Dr. Yeh Yi-chun 葉毅均, CCS Fellowship Program Coordinator
Moderator: Dr. Brian Vivier 魏春秋, Chinese Studies Librarian & Coordinator for Area Studies Collections, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Chang Han-yun 張瀚云 (Executive Editor for Chinese Studies《漢學研究》) and Dr. Yeh Yi-chun 葉毅均 (Managing Editor for Newsletter for Research in Chinese Studies 《漢學研究通訊》 & Center for Chinese Studies Fellowship Program Coordinator) of the National Central Library in Taipei will present an introduction to electronic resources for Sinological and for Taiwan Studies research available in Taiwan. This session will cover the important results of digitization programs, especially those undertaken by the National Central Library, along with other freely available online resources from Taiwanese institutions. Following the formal introduction to resources, our National Central Library colleagues will happily answer audience questions.