Lois Mai Chan (Chinese: 麥麟屏, July 30, 1934 – August 20, 2014) was an American librarian, author, and professor at the University of Kentucky School of Library and Information Science until 2011. Her publications on

cataloging In library and information science, cataloging ( US) or cataloguing ( UK) is the process of creating metadata representing information resources, such as books, sound recordings, moving images, etc. Cataloging provides information such as auth ...

library classification A library classification is a system of organization of knowledge by which library resources are arranged and ordered systematically. Library classifications are a notational system that represents the order of topics in the classification and al ...

, and

subject indexing Subject indexing is the act of describing or classifying a document by index terms, keywords, or other symbols in order to indicate what different documents are ''about'', to summarize their contents or to increase findability. In other words, it ...

were recognized with various awards.

Early life

On July 30, 1934, Chan was born in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

to Mai Wuzhi and Tuen-Mok Sau-Ng.

Education

Chan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...

. After moving to the United States, Chan obtained a Master of Arts from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. Chan earned a Ph.D. degree in English literature from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

Career

In 1966, Chan began her library career as a serials cataloger at the University of Kentucky. By 1980, Chan was a professor in the library sciences department at University of Kentucky. Chan began publishing books in the late 1970s, beginning with ''Library of Congress Subject Headings: Principles and Application'', a text on the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

(LC) system of subject headings. She followed with texts on library

, the LC classification scheme, and the

Dewey Decimal Classification The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), colloquially known as the Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary library classification system which allows new books to be added to a library in their appropriate location based on subject. Section 4.1 ...

. Chan received the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

Margaret Mann Margaret Mann (4 April 1868, in Aberdeen, Scotland – 4 February 1941, in Los Angeles, California), was a Scottish-American actress. Biography Margaret Mann starred in a number of major silent films such as ''Black Beauty'' in 1921 and playe ...

Citation for her contributions to the library science profession.

Awards

* 1980 University of Kentucky Alumni Association Great Teaching Award. * 2006

Beta Phi Mu Beta Phi Mu (also or βφμ) is the international honor society for library & information science and information technology. Founded by a group of librarians and library educators, the society's express purpose is to recognize and encourage "su ...

Award for Distinguished Service to Education in Librarianship.

Bibliography

*''Library of Congress Subject Headings: Principles and Application'' *''Cataloging and Classification: An Introduction'' *''Immroth's Guide to the Library of Congress Classification'' *''Dewey Decimal Classification: a Practical Guide''

Personal life

Chan was married to Shung-Kai Chan. They had two children, Jennifer and Stephen. On August 20, 2014, Chan died in Kentucky. She was 80 years old.

References

External links

"Telling Chinese American Librarian's Stories: Lois Mai Chan"
(2014 YouTube video),

Chinese American Librarians Association The Chinese American Librarians Association or CALA (), promotes the Chinese culture through the outlet of libraries and communicates with others in the profession of librarianship. History The Mid-West Chinese American Librarians Association beg ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Lois Mai 1934 births 2014 deaths American women librarians American librarians Women textbook writers University of Kentucky alumni University of Kentucky faculty National Taiwan University alumni Florida State University alumni Taiwanese expatriates in the United States American librarians of Asian descent