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This paper presents an empirical analysis of the supply-and-demand dynamics in the library and information science (LIS) academic market in China. This analysis is based on a broad concept of academic market and large-scale labor-market data. The authors find a shift in faculty positions, in which traditional positions in universities and research institutions have been replaced with relatively new, temporary academic positions, such as contract-based positions, research librarians, and army lecturers. In addition, they speculate that institutional prestige contributes to a structural mismatch in the Chinese LIS market. Confronted with a changing academic job market, LIS institutions and associations need to strengthen the training of doctoral students' transferable skills to improve their entry into the academic market. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first attempt to investigate the supply and demand of the LIS academic market in China, which can provide a reference for the global LIS academic community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, community informatization initiatives have developed throughout mainland China. The meaning of "community informatization" in China is similar to "community informatics" in the U.S. This paper aims to investigate the current state of community informatization in mainland China--with a focus on best practices, major challenges, patterns of development, developing trends, and effects. Comparing the theory and practice of China's community informatization to community informatics in other countries, especially in the U.S. and Europe, this paper asks: can government-sponsored or independent informatization efforts bridge the digital divide and help China realize digital--or information--equity? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decade in China, digital humanities (DH) has rapidly developed as a research area, attracting widening circles of inquiry and gaining prominence as an internationally recognized emerging discipline. In order to review the history and current status of DH scholarship in China, the research team conducted historical analysis and bibliometrics to reveal the conception and development of DH in China. The research findings indicate that the history of the evolution of DH in China may best be divided into two stages. In the preliminary period, DH had just been introduced into China, and emphasis was placed on the exploration of its connotation. Once the concept had been explored and research about DH had been widely accepted, DH in China gradually entered into the phase of rapid development, in which China witnessed a wide variety of DH inquiries and applications in the field of library and information science, linguistics, history, literature, art, cultural heritage preservation, and so on. DH in China is facing opportunities as well as challenges with regard to digital practice, such as DH infrastructure, interdisciplinary research, and DH education. As an essential part of DH communities in China, libraries are playing an important role in resource construction, space sharing, and training services, which may provide strong support to deal with opportunities and challenges in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]