Managing change: East Asian libraries in transition

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to discuss the challenges and opportunities that East Asian libraries in the USA are facing in managing change at the beginning of the twenty-first century and argue that if the microcosm of East Asian collections can be understood, it will be easier to understand the direction in which America's largest research libraries are heading as they move into the twenty-first century, what challenges they will face and what opportunities they may encounter. Design/methodology/approaches - Proceeding to examine the current state of East Asian collection in the USA and their transformation, this study offers insight on the larger trends in research libraries and strategies used to cope with change. A case study of the C.V. Starr East Asian Library of University of California, Berkeley illustrates concisely particular measures and solutions. Findings and implications - At present the greatest challenge facing research collections, including East Asian collections, is the move from a print tradition to a digital and networked future. The shift is profound: mass digitization, Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and global information networks have already changed the ways research libraries operate, and these ways are multiplying constantly with the adoption of new strategic directions, including resource aggregation on the open web, creating e-science and e-humanities enterprises, keeping a healthy balance between cyberinfrastructure and in-house print collections, and collaborating with the commercial sector to create and integrate scholarly resources. Originality/value - By looking at both the microcosm of East Asian libraries and the macrocosm of large research libraries and their transition, this study demonstrates that as new discovery tools are being adopted and new services offered, research libraries must find new ways to maintain their core values through innovation while moving swiftly in new directions.