Major Initiatives in China s Information Resources Development

Chapter 7 - Information Resources Development in China: History, Present Situation and Problem Discussion
Managing IT in Government, Business & Communities
by Gerry Gingrich (ed)
Idea Group Publishing 2003

	Brought to you by Team-Fly

Major Initiatives in China's Information Resources Development

Under the guidance of the policies introduced in the last section, the Chinese government initiated several major information resources development projects to change the current situation of inconsistency between information resources development and information network construction and to lessen the discrepancy between information resources available and those required by the public.

CALIS (China Academic Library and Information System)

CALIS is an initiative under China's plan to build 100 key universities in the 21^st century (named "211 Project" by the Ministry of Education). It aims at constructing a networked information resources-sharing system based on the China Education and Research Network (CERNET) (details of which will be covered later) so as to parallel the development of communication networks and information resources networks thus providing university staff and students, as well as professionals in research institutions, with easy access to a national information service system characterized by abundant information resources, advanced technologies, and a convenient service system.

The service system consists of a CALIS national management center, four CALIS national information centers (covering sciences and social sciences, engineering, agricultural science, and medical science respectively) and seven CALIS regional information centers (in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Chengdu, Wuhan and Changchun respectively). The system will be also linked to major information service systems outside China to form China's Academic Library and Information System. The construction of CALIS will greatly increase the amount of information available to academic libraries and also improve their capability in information services (http://www.calis.edu.cn/).

Digitalization Projects

The China Digital Library Project was carried out under the coordination of the Ministry of Culture. In July 1997, the National Library of China (then Beijing Library), together with the Shanghai Library, Shenzhen Library, Zhongshan Library, Liaoning Library, and Nanjing Library and Cultural and Technological Development Center under the Ministry of Culture, started the Chinese Pilot Digital Library Project (CPDLP). Later in 1998, the Ministry of Culture formally put forward the proposal of constructing the China Digital Library. The project, called the China Digital Library Project, was participated in by a variety of enterprises and organizations such as China Telecom, the National Library of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China Aerospace Industrial Corporation, Peking University and Tsinghua University.

The project strived to:

• build a cross-region, cross-industry cultural and information network, making it the National Information Infrastructure (NII) in China;

• collect cultural information from nation-wide libraries, museums, memorials, press and publication institutions, art groups, sports institutions, travel agencies, etc., and build a huge knowledge repository represented by digital libraries, digital museums and digital film and TV centers;

• build an integrated information resource network based on existing backbone communication networks, so as to provide user-oriented service to satisfy users' demand for flexible network connection and fast-speed information retrieval to different kinds of resources databases; and

• develop an intellectualized user interface in Chinese and popularize the use of the Internet so that users can have access to resources on the Internet with such convenience as the easiness they enjoy when they watch TV. This will undoubtedly maximize the utilization of the cultural information resources on the Internet.

As the achievements of the project, it was expected that some twenty resource databases would be made available on the China Cultural Information Network, among which are the China Medical Science Resource Database, China Tourism Resource Database, and China Economic Resource Information Database, etc. The network will become a significant channel of spreading Chinese culture and will strongly support China's project of "rejuvenating the nation through science and education." As a cross-century comprehensive project, the construction of a China Digital Library will be conducive to the development of many related industries, especially the information industry and cultural industry, finally benefiting the national economy as a whole (Xu, 1999, 2000; Sun, 1999).

Besides the China Digital Library Project, various other digital library projects were also carried out. The construction of the China Scientific Digital Library was started in late 2001. The project, as part of the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, aims to build a digital information service system that meets the international developing trends of digital libraries and caters to the development of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It should be able to serve the needs of researchers and professionals in information accessing and knowledge innovation when it is finished in three to four years' time (Zhang, 2002).

In China's Taiwan Province, eight digital library initiatives are currently underway, including the construction of a Digital Library and Information Center and the building of Haoran Digital Library in Jiaotong University. Objectives of the initiatives are to promote information exchanges among learning and research institutions in Taiwan and coordinate their purchase of information resources, such as databases, from foreign countries. Another object is to promote research on Chinese culture, especially on Chinese history (Lv, 1999).

There are also digitalization projects other than construction of digital libraries. In January 1999, the Geology Department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences raised to the State Council a proposal on strategies of China's "Digital Globe" development, indicating the importance of building a national Global Information Infrastructure and establishing a digital global spatial information-sharing system (Information Industry Newspaper, November 22, 1999). During November 29 - December 2, 1999, the first "Digital Globe" International Conference was held in Beijing, showing that the Chinese government attached great importance to international cooperation in this area (China Computer World, December 6, 1999.).

Construction of the China National Science and Technology Library (NSTL)

In 1998, the State Council initiated a reform to scientific and technical information institutions. In June 2000, the China National Science and Technology Library (NSTL) was formally established through the cooperation among China's Ministry of Science and Technology, State Committee of Economics and Trade, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. As a virtual scientific and technical resource center, it consists of eight library and information institutions, such as Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Engineering Library of China, Library of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Library of the Chinese Academy of Medical Science, and Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China. The center utilizes advanced technologies and methods to collect information from domestic and foreign sources. It also makes standards and criteria in information-sharing. Moreover, the center serves as a bridge of cooperation between Chinese information resources management professionals and their foreign counterparts (Yuan and Meng, 2001).

Regional and Special-Topic Information Resources Development

Practice of Information Resources Development in Shanghai - Co-development and Sharing

In September 1957, the State Council of China released the "National Book Coordination Scheme" and set up two central library committees, respectively in Beijing and Shanghai, to coordinate the nationwide development of library and document resources. This initiative gained marked achievements in its early phase, although its later development was not satisfactory.

On March 25, 1994, the signing of three documents about resources sharing by 19 academic libraries in Shanghai declared the founding of the Document Resources Coordination Network in Shanghai. By the end of May 1998, members of the network had reached 30, including almost all the large and medium-sized academic libraries and public libraries, such as Fudan University Library, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Library, Tongji University Library, East China Normal University Library, Shanghai Document and Information Centre of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of Shanghai (ISTIS), and Shanghai Library.

Based on the network, libraries and information institutes in Shanghai responded actively to the "Scheme on Nation Document Resources Coordination" released in January 1999. On May 13, 1999, the "Plan on Document Resources Sharing in Shanghai" was passed. Its main aims were to establish express and effective information infrastructure with the collaboration of member libraries, to foster scientifically distributed document collection system, and to develop a quick-responding and well-equipped document providing system. The plan also aimed to recruit and train a pool of library and information professionals, well-known both within China and in the world. The implementation of the plan would establish a new system for document services, which could benefit Shanghai as well as the whole country. In 2000, one year after the start of the plan, member libraries purchased 900 more types of foreign periodicals than in 1999, and a networked interlibrary loan system was put into operation. The plan had won its first success.

Government Information Resources Development - The China Online Government Project

On January 22, 1999, the China Online Government Project Start-Up Conference was held in Beijing, sponsored by China Telecom and the State Economic and Trade Commission, together with the information sectors of more than forty ministries. At the conference, the China Online Government Project was started. Subsequently, the main Web site of the China government portal, http://www.gov.cn/, was established in 1999.

According to the White Paperon the China Online Government Project, the project refers to the practice by the government at all levels to establish their formal Web sites to promote office automation in government work, offer public services via the Internet, and fulfill the roles of management and service in the fields of society, economy, and social life.

The Online Government Project will improve the government's image on the Internet and promote the use of computers in government work. More importantly, it enables the government to provide public services via the Internet, adds to the amount of Chinese information resources on the Internet, and promotes the development of the information industry. The major aspects of the online government project, such as online government information service, B to G e-business (including e-procurement), e-government (the introduction of OA systems in the government), the restructuring of the government, and the citizen's participation in the government's decision making (Huang and Zhu, 1999) all require the development of government information resources. Therefore, the online government project is actually a great impetus to government information resources development.

Patent Information Resources Development

Patent information is an essential part of a country's technical information resources. As a typical kind of intellectual asset, patent information plays the role of both technical information and economic information. The amount of patent application reflects the technical power of an enterprise or a country. Moreover, the content of the patents usually reveals the potential marketing demand. Therefore, patent information resources development is highly valued in all the countries.

To meet the users' requirements of searching and utilizing patent information, China Patent InfoNet was established by the Retrieving and Consulting Center, under the State Intellectual Property Office in May 1998. In January 2002, its new version (http://www.patent.com.cn/) was published online and started to offer all-around services to patent users and researchers, such as patent information retrieval, introduction of patent laws and regulations, and guidelines for a patent application.

Education Information Resources Development China Education and Research Network (CERNET)

Since the 1980s, almost every developed country in the world has set up state-level education and research computer networks, which have been interconnected to constitute the cross-border academic network the Internet. The advent of the Internet has accelerated information transmission; created a brand new networked computing environment for teachers, students and research and development personnel worldwide; virtually changed and driven interpersonal communication, resource sharing, scientific computation and collaborative research and development; and become the most important infrastructure for education and research in these countries, which has significantly boosted the development of education and research in these areas.

Under such a background, the Chinese government made the decision of constructing the China Education and Research Network (CERNET), and developing it into a nationwide digital platform for sharing educational and research information.

As the first nationwide education and research computer network in China, CERNET would allow teachers, researchers, and students in most universities and colleges around the country to study and do research in a networked environment. It would link every part of the country and every corner of the world, which would significantly improve education quality and research abilities and provide Chinese universities and colleges with an easy access to the world's science and technology arena.

Funded by the Chinese government and directly managed by the Ministry of Education of China, the construction of CERNET involves the establishment of a nationwide backbone network, which connects eight regional networks, and links to the global Internet. The CERNET has a four-layer hierarchy: the national backbone network, regional networks, provincial networks, and campus networks. CERNET National Center is located in Tsinghua University, which is responsible for operation and management of the CERNET backbone network. The ten regional network centers and main nodes are distributed among Tsinghua University, Peking University, Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Central China University of Science and Technology, South China Institute of Technology, China University of Electronic Science, Southeast University, and Northeast University, which are responsible for operation, management, planning and construction of the CERNET regional networks.

A large-scale China Education Information System has been built on the CERNET. Mirroring systems for discipline-specific information of famous overseas universities and a full-text searching system for higher education information and information on key projects will soon be finished. The construction of CERNET greatly facilitates the information resources sharing among Chinese universities, adding considerable impetus to the development of higher education in China as a whole.

Construction of National Research Centers for Information Resources Management (IRM)

Three national research centers for information resources management have recently been set up in Beijing, Nanjing, and Wuhan to promote research on theories, policies, and technologies in IRM. Based on the cooperation with the Department of Information Management of Peking University, Department of Information Management of Nanjing University, and School of Information Management of Wuhan University, the centers will focus on establishing information resources management policies, mechanisms, and technologies that not only accord with the current situation in China, but also help to strengthen international cooperation in the field of IRM.

	Brought to you by Team-Fly