Ding Ye

Asian Studies Bibliographer, Lauinger Library
Age: 52
Hometown: Suzhou, China

What drew you to this job at Georgetown?
First of all, I think it’s the reputation of Georgetown, which has been nationally recognized as a very good institution for higher education. I have been both an instructor and a librarian, so seven-and-a-half years ago when this position opened up I applied and got the job.

What does your job entail?
My job is to develop the collection in Asian Studies as well as linguistics, and maintain electronic and print resources. I also provide instructions on how to use the library to different courses on campus. Besides that, I also staff the reference desk two or three hours a week, providing reference consultation and research help. 

How large is the Asian Studies print collection at Lauinger?
As far as Chinese, Japanese and Korean, the collection is about 80,000 volumes. If you include the Western language material in non-CJK languages, I think our total Asian collection is about 150,000.

How frequently do you acquire new material?
Every day. 

Are you in charge of choosing what?
Yes, I’m in charge of the budget allocation for Asian Studies and linguistics. We try to satisfy the needs of faculty members who request material to cater to their research and classroom needs. Every day we go over the catalogue in print and online to develop our collection.

Is there a particular piece in the Asian Studies collection that you’re fondest of?
I’m mostly interested in Chinese literature, and Georgetown’s collection is quite strong in modern Chinese literate. By the end of last year, we acquired a whole set on contemporary Chinese writers. From time to time, the collection is used by students who are studying in that area.

Are there many students in Asian Studies who are not themselves Asian?
I would say actually about an equal number of students who are of Asian ancestry and non-Asian ancestry studying Chinese literature.

Have there been any big changes at the library since you’ve worked here?
We’ve been working very hard to build our collection. For instance, besides the traditional areas of specialty that Georgetown was known for before my coming on board —philosophy and religion literature — we built our collection on modern Chinese economic policy writing and international relations, as well as Chinese government. In Japanese and Korean, the collection caters mostly to faculty research.

If an American student was completely new to Chinese literature, how should they be introduced to that subject?
We have several anthologies of Chinese literature in English. Some of them are in the reference collection. They can be a good introduction to students who are interested. 

Interview by Danny Funt