Ching-chih Chen (Traditional Chinese: 陳劉欽智; born 1937) is a Taiwanese-American information scientist. She is a professor emeritus at Simmons College since June 2010, and president of Global Connection and Collaboration, Inc., a non-profit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.
Early life and education Ching-chih Chen was born in Gulangyu Island, Fukien Province, on the southeastern coast of China, to a family that prioritized education. Her father was an economics professor who died when Chen was a young child. She moved with her mother to Taiwan in 1949 shortly before the Communist takeover of the mainland where she completed her elementary and secondary schooling.
As a Rotary Scholar, she attended National Taiwan University, where she received a B.A. degree in foreign literature and language in 1959. As a Barbour Scholar, Chen went on to receive an M.L.I.S. from the University of Michigan in 1961. After graduation she worked as a librarian on campus and took undergraduate classes in mathematics. She received a Ph.D. in information science from Case Western Reserve University in 1974 with the late Prof. Philip M. Morse of MIT as her Ph.D. Supervisor on operations research with data from the Countway Library of Medicine of Harvard University.
Administrative and academic career Prior to July 1971, Chen held administrative positions at various organizations, including the University of Michigan, head of Science Library at McMaster University (1963–64), head of Engineering, Mathematics and Science Library at University of Waterloo (1965–1968), and associate head librarian at MIT Science Library (1968–1971).
Chen moved to Canada in the summer of 1962. After working briefly at the Windsor Public Library she accepted a position at the McMaster University Library as a reference librarian and, within six months, was promoted to the head of the engineering and science library. In September 1964 Chen started work as a senior reference librarian at the University of Waterloo. In July 1965, after holding an appointment as the supervising librarian, Chen was named head of the engineering, science and math library.
She joined Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science as an assistant professor in 1971 and retired in June 2010, after a 39-year teaching and research career. She was full professor from 1979 to 2010, and also associate dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science from 1979 to 1998.
Her focus throughout her academic career was in the areas of information management, new information technology applications, and international librarianship. Since 1985 her focus has been digital humanities, optical technology, digital media, multimedia technologies, and web-based development related to global digital libraries, archives, and museums.
Between 1980 and 2010, she offered more than 60 continuing education institutes at Simmons College and about 50 globally in more than two dozen countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Germany, India, Israel, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, and UK
Chen's interdisciplinary career attracted collaborators from many subject areas, including computer science, photography, chemistry, art, and humanities.
The First Emperor of China Since the mid-1980s, Chen's research has focused on developing multimedia applications for educational purposes. Her work includes the production of the award-winning interactive multimedia videodisc (1985)The Cindy Competitions - Cinema in Industry, Previous CINDY Winners. Retrieved 7 November 2011. and multimedia CD (1991) by the Voyager Company, entitled The First Emperor of China (Qin Shi Huang Di ()), supported by the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of her project entitled PROJECT EMPEROR-I. The videodisc and CD provide interactive access to images, videos and descriptive information about the 7,000 lifesize figures of terra cotta warriors and horses found in the archeological excavations near Xi'an, China, in March 1974.Chen, Ching-chih, "The First Emperor of China's ancient world uncovered: From Xian to your electronic screen," Academic Computing 3 (7): 10-14, 54-57 (March 1989). The First Emperor of China CD was voted one of the 50 Best CD-ROMS by MacUser in 1979.Bickford, Carolyn, "50 Best CD-ROMS" MacUser, October, 1994, p. 79.
Chen's Project was written up by authors in various computer and videography publications including Multimedia Solutions,"Once and future king: IBM multimedia brings history back to life," Multimedia Solutions 5 (2): 11-13 (March/April 1991). Computerworld Special Report,"Data base development project explores China's past: Promotes videodisk as medium for information storage, retrieval," ComputerWorld Special Report, June 24, 1985, pp. SR/22-23. and in Library and Humanities Literature such as the Library of Congress Gazette,Hall, Mark F., "Ching-chih Chen leads computer tour of China," The Gazette (Library of Congress), April 26, 1996. p. 9. Visual Resources,"Wu Tung on Project Emperor-I: An Interview," Visual Resources 3 (2): 97-1O5 (1986). and Library Journal."Ching-chih and the Emperor," Library Journal 110 (11): 10 (June 15, 1985). It was the lead cover article in Academic Computing in March, 1989. In 1992, The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted her work in their Information Technology Section.”Videodisks Offer a Detailed Portrait of Qin, the First Chinese Emperor,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, Information Technology Section, February 5, 1992, p. A20-A23.
The First Emperor of China was one of three university projects selected for inclusion in Sun MicroSystems’ brochure for worldwide distribution to higher education and research institutions.Sun: Systems for Campus Computing published by Sun MicroSystems, Inc., April 1989. It was also chosen for debut presentation at the TECH 2000 Preview Reception at the new TechWorld Plaza, Washington D.C. in 1990, in the company of Robert Abel's multimedia version of Picasso's Guernica, National Geographic Society's "GTV," "Ice Run," and "Mandala Systems;" and it was included in a Museum Exhibit at The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio.February 10, 1988 - April 10, 1988. "Tomb sculpture of ancient China," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH. Concurrent showing of the excerpts from the videodiscs, "The First Emperor of China," with a display of actual sculptures from the First Emperor's terracotta army.
The Visual Almanac (a videodisc with a set of 20 floppy disks with HyperCard programs) produced by the Multimedia Group of Apple Computer, Inc. includes contributions from PROJECT EMPEROR-I. PROJECT EMPEROR-I has also contributed to the CD-ROM and Videodisc Samplers for Higher Education, produced by Apple Computer, Inc. in the beginning of 1990.
Information Technology Advisory Committee With an Executive Order, Chen was appointed by President Clinton in February 1997 to serve as a member of the U.S. President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC)."Former PITAC Members (1997–2001)." Networking and Information Technology Research and Development(NITRD). Retrieved 7 November 2011. As a PITAC member serving under both Presidents Clinton and Bush between 1997 and December 2002, she co-chaired the PITAC Subcommittee on International Issues, and was a member of the PITAC Subcommittees on Next Generation Internet (NGI) and IT*2 Initiative Review; and Panels on Digital Divide, Digital Library, Learning of the Future, Individual Security, and others.1999–2001 PITAC Reports to the President - Archive. Retrieved 7 November 2011. She also chaired the PITAC's activity on Digital Divide for Smaller Institutions.
Digital Library Development Chen's work in multimedia led her to work toward developing global digital knowledge bases"Multimedia and The First Emperor of China: Moving Toward A Digital Knowledge Base," Multimedia Today (IBM) 2 (2): 68-71 (April 1994). and digital global information sharing. As early as 1993, she introduced her global digital library concept as the central theme of her keynote speech in Taipei, Taiwan at the International Conference on National Libraries – Towards the 21st Century."Technological Potentials for the Global Library: Realities and Challenges," in Proceedings of the International Conference on National Libraries: Towards the 21st Century, Taipei, Taiwan, April 20–24, 1993. (In celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the National Central Library of ROC) Taipei, Taiwan: National Central Library, 1993. p. 859-868. Chen's PITAC involvement led her to work toward universal access of digital information, and she collaborated from 2001 to 2008 with the co-chair of PITAC, Prof. Raj Reddy of Carnegie Mellon University, as the Co-Principal Investigator of the China-US Million Book Project which he initiated.Universal Digital Library, US Advisors: Dr. Ching-chih Chen, Co-Principal Investigator, China-US Million Book Project Retrieved 7 November 2011.
Chen made her proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) / International Digital Library Projects (IDLP) in 2001, and has led two major NSF Projects since then: (1) Global Memory Net and (2) International Collaboration to Advance User-oriented Technologies for Managing and Distributing Images in Digital Libraries.National Science Foundation IDLP: International Collaboration to Advance User-oriented Technologies for Managing and Distributing Images in Digital Libraries, Ching-chih Chen Investigator.
Global Memory Net, launched for public access in July 2007, is a global image digital library and gateway to the world's cultural, historical, and heritage multimedia resources, with collaborators from different parts of the world.Global Memory Net. Retrieved 7 November 2011. The system for this project was modified and enhanced for the development of World Heritage Memory Net in partnership with UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC), which provides instant multimedia and multilingual access to all World Heritage Sites inscribed by UNESCO WHC.World Heritage Memory Net. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
American Library Association Throughout the years, Chen has been active in professional associations such as The American Library Association (ALA), Library Information Technology Association (LITA), American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T), and the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE). In 1995, Chen became the first Asian American formally nominated by the American Library Association as a presidential candidate,“ALA News Releases: Three seek election as ALA president “ (August 8, 1995) and was named by Avenue Asia as one of the “500 Most Influential Asian Americans in the US.”“500 Most Influential Asian Americans in the US,” Avenue Asia, Special Tribute Issue 1996–1997, p. 64."Portraits of Achievement in the Asian-American Community," Avenue Asia Special Tribute Issue 1997–1998, p. 28.
Conferences