Professor Boyue Yao and Mr. Ya Min Wu Join the UW-UBC CLIR Project as Consultants and Librarians for Chinese Rare Books and Cataloging
On behalf of
University of Washington Libraries and
University of British Columbia Library, we are very pleased to announce that two excellent Chinese rare-book and cataloging librarians,
Professor Boyue Yao and
Mr. Ya Min Wu, have joined the team of the UW-UBC CLIR project,
Discovering Modern China, UW and UBC Chinese Collections, recipient of a 2014 CLIR grant to catalog the hidden Chinese collections at UW East Asia Library and UBC Asian Library. It is one of the first two CLIR grants awarded to two collaborative international institutions.
Mr. Boyue Yao, Professor and Chinese rare-book librarian of Beijing University Library in China, arrived at the East Asia Library of University of Washington on January 6th, 2015, for a 13-month appointment as the CLIR project librarian for Chinese rare-books and cataloging. He will also spend two months in April and May at the UBC Library as a Chinese rare-book consultant. Prof. Yao is a well-known rare-book expert in China. He served as head of the rare-book department of Beijing University Library for many years and also taught at Beijing University’s School of Library and Information Science on Chinese rare-book identification and cataloging, textual bibliography, and copyright. This is his third visit to the United States: He spent 2 months at UC Berkeley’s East Asia Library between 2000 and 2001; and served as a rare-book cataloging librarian at Harvard Yen-Ching Library for a full year in 2005, helping catalog Chinese Rubbings and other traditional Chinese books.
Professor Yao has published numerous articles on Chinese rare-books assessment and cataloging, and several monographs about Chinese rare-books and book history. His book,
A Critical Biography of Huang Pilie, published by Nanjing University Press in 1998, won several national awards in China. His current research projects include “collection and research on the Atlas drawing in the Qing Dynasty,” “Studies on Cataloging and Retrieval of the Chinese Rubbings,” and “Studies on the Classification of Chinese Ancient Books,” among others. Prof. Yao graduated with a BA and MA, both in library and information science from Beijing University. He has worked at Beijing University as a teaching faculty member and librarian for about 30 years.
Mr. Ya Min Wu has been appointed the CLIR Project-cataloging librarian for Chinese rare-books and classical materials held at the Asian Library of UBC effective December 1, 2014. During this one-year appointment, Mr. Wu will focus on authenticating, cataloging, classifying and providing subject access to Chinese print materials produced between the 14th century and the end of the Republican Period.
Mr. Wu is a seasoned Chinese studies librarian with 15 years of professional library experience in China. Started as a cataloger, he later served as senior librarian and assistant director of Liaoning Provincial Library. He has a rich experience working with Chinese rare and ancient books and participated in several major cataloging projects such as the RLG Chinese Rare Books project. He also played a leading role in some major library system initiatives in China. Through his extensive training and experience, Mr. Wu has accumulated substantial knowledge of Chinese literature, history, and culture, as well as research expertise on Chinese book history, publishing history, and bibliography. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Wu worked as the Chinese Collections Support Assistant at the UBC Central Technical Services from March to November 2014. Mr. Wu holds a library degree from Beijing University and a graduate program degree in Philosophy of Science and Technology from Northeastern University in China.
We are delighted to welcome Professor Boyue Yao and Mr. Ya Min Wu to join the team for this important international collaboration. Prof. Boyue Yao can be reached at Room M236 Gowen Hall in the EAL, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195; 206-685-3705 (office phone); email:
boyuey@uw.edu. Mr. Ya Min Wu can be reached at the Rare Books and Special Collections, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z1; by phone (604) 822-9430, and via email at ya.min.wu@ubc.ca.
Zhijia Shen
CO-PI of the UW-UBC CLIR Project and
Director of East Asia Library
University of Washington
Jing Liu
CO-PI of the UW-UBC CLIR Project
Chinese Studies Librarian, Asian Library
University of British Columbia.
