Abstract: [Purpose/Significance] Since its inception in 1983, the National Bibliography Symposium has been successfully held eight times, becoming an important platform for promoting construction of the discipline and facilitating academic exchange of Chinese bibliography. Reviewing the development history of previous symposia as a whole helps provide historical insights and path references for the contemporary development of bibliography studies. [Design/Methodology] This paper systematically examines the core topics and representative viewpoints of previous symposia using an academic history method, thereby clarifying the shifts in focus and the evolution trajectory of Chinese bibliography research across different historical backgrounds. [Findings/Conclusion] The discussion is conducted from four dimensions: reviewing the historical process of previous symposia and the continuation of academic traditions, building a bibliography discipline system with Chinese characteristics, the role of the academic community in supporting discipline development, and the adherence to principles and innovation in Chinese bibliography, clearly outlining the process of how Chinese bibliography has moved towards "disciplinary self-awareness" through the mechanism of academic symposia. [Originality/Value] This paper is the first to provide a comprehensive review and analysis of the eight symposia as a continuous sequence of academic history events, revealing the inherent mechanism of symposia served as a core engine of discipline development; this offers valuable references for constructing a bibliography discipline system with Chinese characteristics.

Keywords: Bibliography, Academic symposium, Disciplinary self-awareness, Chinese characteristics