20世紀60年代以來,隨著美國東亞圖書館事業的發展,美國華人圖書館員群體得以形成并不斷發展。文章通過對美國華人圖書館員群體的文獻調查,闡述了1978-2016年間中外圖書館界和學界對這一群體的研究概況,揭示美國華人圖書館員的職業選擇和發展狀況。美國華人圖書館員群體在美國圖書館事業、圖書館和信息科學發展,以及中美圖書館交流與合作等方面作出了重要貢獻。與此同時,美國華人圖書館員群體也面臨著文化差異、溝通交流能力等職業發展障礙,以及領導崗位代表性不足、增長趨勢放緩和年齡結構分布不合理等現實挑戰。

With the proliferation of East Asian libraries in the United States from the 1960 s of the 20 th Century,communities of American Chinese librarians were evolving and flourishing. Through literature review,this article expounds the research on American Chinese librarians in the period between 1978 and 2016 and uncovers the career choice and advancement of them. The American Chinese librarians have made important contributions to the development of libraries, librarianship and information science in the United States, and to the exchange and cooperation between Chinese and American libraries. At the same time,this group of librarians is also faced with cultural difference,insufficient communication and other barriers in their career development. They are under-represented in the senior positions. There is also a trend of slow growth in numbers and uneven distribution in the age groups for Chinese American librarians.