EAALC Conference Held at Hsi Lai Temple and University of the West: A Harmony of Bibliothecary and Ch’an

Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple
October 9, 2025

The East Asian Academic Librarians of California (EAALC) convened its biennial conference on October 2 at Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple’s Assembly Hall, bringing together 25 librarians from academic institutions across California—including the University of California system, the Claremont Colleges, the University of Southern California (USC), and the University of the West—for a two-day gathering that blended scholarship, culture, and spiritual reflection.

The EAALC conference, held every two years, aims to promote collaboration and the exchange of professional experiences among East Asian academic librarians. Representatives from each institution presented updates on developments in administration, staffing, budgeting, and collection management over the past year, followed by lively discussions on emerging trends and opportunities for interlibrary cooperation.

The first day’s program took place at Hsi Lai Temple, with the second day hosted at the University of the West. In his welcoming address, Venerable Hui Dong, abbot of Hsi Lai Temple, shared the temple’s origins and mission. Founded in 1988 by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Hsi Lai Temple is one of the largest Buddhist temples in North America and serves as a vital center for promoting Humanistic Buddhism—a philosophy that integrates compassion, wisdom, and social engagement into everyday life through the fusion of spiritual practice, education, culture, and charity.

Venerable Hui Dong highlighted Fo Guang Shan’s extensive global network of over 300 temples and several universities across five continents. Through education and cultural outreach, he said, Fo Guang Shan seeks to help people discover clarity and wisdom within daily living. Beyond religious services, Hsi Lai Temple also organizes art exhibitions, environmental initiatives, and youth programs to embody the contemporary relevance of Buddhist teachings.

To deepen participants’ experience of Buddhist culture, the temple arranged guided tours to the Main Shrine and art museum, followed by a vegetarian lunch and dinner. In the evening, Venerable Miao Zhong led a meditation session, offering attendees a moment of calm amidst the day’s scholarly discussions. Venerable Hui Dong also invited everyone to return for the temple’s upcoming “Under the Moon” Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration.

The conference continued on October 3 at the University of the West, focusing on East Asian collections and digitization trends. During the closing session, members announced that the 2027 EAALC Conference will be hosted by the University of California, Davis, with Librarian Qian Liu elected as the next EAALC chair.

After the morning sessions, participants visited the Panda Express headquarters nearby to learn about its corporate culture and operational philosophy, before returning to the University of the West for an afternoon collaboration meeting among University of California East Asian libraries. The conference concluded successfully at 2:30 p.m.

Highlights of the two-day program also included academic presentations. Dr. Randy Laun, professor at the University of the West, shared his discovery of rare East Asian manuscripts at Jagiellonian University in Poland, providing new insights into global library studies. Meanwhile, researcher Alex Amies presented his paper, “Analysis of Anonymously Produced Texts in the Chinese Buddhist Canon,” applying digital tools to Buddhist textual analysis and showcasing the innovation of a new generation of scholars.