Notice on Carrying Out a National Special Action to Review and Clean up Primary and Secondary School Library Collections

Source:http://www.moe.gov.cn/s78/A06/A06_gggs/A06_sjhj/201910/t20191021_404580.html

JiaoJiSiHan (2019) No. 55

To all provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality education departments (education committees) and the Education Bureau for the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:

It is decided to carry out a national special action to review and clean up primary and secondary school library collections (hereinafter simply the "Special Action") to thoroughly learn from Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the 19th Party Congress, to implement the decisions and deployments of the National Education Congress, to fulfill the fundamental task of cultivating morality and people, to further elevate the quality of collections in the nation's primary and secondary school libraries (reading rooms, corners) (hereinafter simply 'Libraries'), to create a healthy and safe environment for education, to ensure the educational needs of teachers and students, and to give full play to the function of libraries in education. Notice on the relevant matters is given as follows.

I. Scope of Review and Clean Up

Books, periodicals, electronic reading materials, etc. in primary and secondary school libraries.

II. Basis for Review and Clean Up

Standards for Review and Clean Up of Primary and Secondary School Libraries (Provisional) (Hereinafter simply the 'standards')(see attachment 1).

III. Organization and Implementation

The special action is to be organized by the Ministry of Education's Basic Education Division with the Educational Equipment Research and Development Center participating in implementation; the administrative departments for education of each province (district, city) are responsible for efforts to review and clean up of books in their area, making rational work plans, guiding cities' and counties' administrative departments for education and primary and secondary schools' efforts to review and clean up books; and promptly summarizing and analyzing the related results.

(1) Review. Schools are to review books individually based on the standards, recording and registering those books that need to be cleaned up (see Attachment 2 for a sample form), submit an opinion on cleaning up, and report to the competent department for education at the level above for review.

(2) Clean up. Schools are to handle books by category based on the review opinions of the competent department for education at the level above, and in accordance with measures on the disposal of assets and related provisions: Resolutely clean up illegal books; stop circulation of inappropriate books and store them in another archive; separately store old books that might have value.

(3) Spot Checks. All levels of local administrative departments for education are to organize spot checks; urging, guiding, and inspecting school's self-inspections and clean up efforts. At appropriate times, the Ministry of Education is to carry out spot checks and report on the progress of each areas' efforts.

IV. Work Requirements

(1) Strengthen organizational leadership. All levels of administrative departments for education should strengthen organizational leadership for the special action, clarifying the duties and division of labor for each relevant functional department and school, connecting higher and lower levels to forming a joint force, and organically combining this special action with the strengthening of school management for their rational and orderly advancement.

(2) Implement the standards for the clean up. The standards are the primary basis for self-inspections, review, cleaning up, and spot checks in the special action, and each area and each school should check the standards and forms and correctly understand the parameters and ensure the efficacy of the clean up.

(3) Improve long-term mechanisms. Each region is to carry out the requirements of the "Primary and Secondary School Library (Reading Room) Project" and make the "National Catalog of Recommend Books for Primary and Secondary School Libraries (Reading Rooms) the major reference basis for allotment of books; establish a system of responsibility for book purchasing that follows the principles of 'reviewing all that come in', 'bearing responsibility for ones' own recommendations', and 'bearing responsibility for one's own selections' to take control of the entry of new books; establish a system of responsibility for donated books that follows the principle of 'bearing responsibility for the books one accepts' and clarify the review process to ensure the quality of donated books; Periodically update collections ensuring that primary and secondary school libraries all add (update) at least one hard-copy book each year; gradually reduce books and materials such as exercises synchronized to text books, vacation homework, test question collections, test forms, and test preparation books to continuously optimize the make up of library collections and increase their quality.

V. Miscellania

By March 31, 2020, each provincial level administrative department for education is asked to mail the "Primary and Secondary School Library Collection Review and Clean Up Summary Table" (Attachment 3） and a Primary and Secondary School Library Collection Review and Clean Up Work Report to the Basic Education Division department for equipment and informationalization after affixing official seals, and send an electronic version to the Basic Education Division and the Ministry of Education Educational Equipment Research and Development Center mailboxes.

Ministry of Education, Basic Education Division

010-66092249、66096975 (Fax)

Email：jzc@moe.edu.cn

The Ministry of Education Educational Equipment Research and Development Center

010-62514757、62514721 (Fax)

Email：jyzbtsh@163.com

Attachments: 1. Standards for Review and Clean Up of Primary and Secondary School Libraries (Provisional)

2. Form for Registering Primary and Secondary School Library Books for Clean Up (Template)

3. Form for Summarizing the Status of Primary and Secondary School Library Collection Review and Clean Up

Ministry of Education, Basic Education Division

2019/10/15

Attachment 1

Standards for Review and Clean Up of Primary and Secondary School Libraries (Provisional)

The standards for this review and clean up have been specially drafted on the basis of the "P.R.C. Constitution", "P.R.C. Criminal Law", "P.R.C. Education Law", "P.R.C. Copyright Law", "P.R.C. Pulbic Library Law", the "Regulations on Administration of Publications" and other such laws and regulations, so as to carry out a national special action to review and clean up primary and secondary school library collections, with specifics as follows.

I. Illegal Books

(1) Infringing, pirated, and other illegal books that violate relevant provisions of the Constitution, Criminal Law", "Copyright Law" and other such laws, regulations and judicial interpretations.

(2) Books that violate the "Regulation on the Administration of Publications", including books with the following content:

1. that which opposes the basic principles determined by the Constitution;

2. that which is harmful to national unity, sovereignty, or territorial integrity;

3. that which divulges state secrets, endangers national security or harms national honour or interests;

4.That which incites ethnic hatred or ethnic discrimination, or undermining ethnic unity or harming ethnic customs and practices;

5. That which promotes evil cults or superstition;

6. That which disrupts social order or undermines social stability;

7. That which advocates obscenity, gambling, terror, or violence, or which instigates crime;

8. That which insults or defames other persons, infringing other persons’ lawful rights and interests;

9. That which endangers public morality or the ethnicity's exceptional cultural traditions.

10. Other content prohibited by law, administrative regulations, and state regulations.

(3) Books contrary to the Party's line, directives, and policies; that vilify or malign Party and state leaders and heroes and models; or that overly dramatize Party, state, or military history.

(4) Books that have violations of religious policy.

(5) Foreign [non-mainland] books imported through unofficial channels.

(6) Fake books published falsely in the name of or impersonating famous persons or foreigners.

(7) Books that relevant departments order are to have circulation stopped.

II.Inappropriate Books

(1) Those not conforming to the Core Socialist Values;

(2) Those with deviant world views, outlooks on life, and values;

(3) Those advocating narrow-minded ethnic nationalism and racism;

(4) Those advocating religious teachings, doctrines and canons;

(5) Those in which clear errors on scientific concepts and rationales appear;

(6) Those not suitable for the level of mental development and cognitive ability of primary and secondary school students (other than books for use by teachers);

(7) Those of questionable taste or unhealthy thought, that include terror, cruelty, sex, and other such content;

(8) Those with old and outdated content that are of no practical use.

III. Books in poor condition for which there is not value in preservation