Jidong Yang

About

Welcome to my page! As the Head of Asia Library and Chinese Bibliographer, I am responsible for managing the operation of the Asia Library, developing the Chinese Collection, and providing bibliographical instruction and reference services as related to Chinese Studies.

Background

I was born in Shanghai, China, during the turbulent years of the Cultural Revolution. As I grew up, China became less revolutionary and more open towards the outer world. I had long been majoring in history. The first three of my high-education degrees, BA (Beijing University, also known as Peking University), MA (Beijing University), and PhD (University of Pennsylvania), are all related with the history of pre-modern China. At the beginning of the 21st century, I became a Chinese Studies Librarian at Penn. Several years later, I obtained a MLIS degree from Rutgers University. I joined the Asia Library of the University of Michigan in the summer of 2008.

I have academic interests and have been publishing in a number of areas, such as information technology and its application in East Asian libraries, medieval Chinesese history and literature, pre-Islamic Central Asia, Silk Road archaeology, and Chinese Buddhism. In addition to Chinese and English, I can read Japanese and Russian.

Responsibilities

In addition to my routine responsibilities as the Head of Asia Library, I serve on the executive committee of the Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan.