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9th CDNLAO Meeting: Japan Country Report
Update on the National Library of Japan
Mr Masao Tobari, Director
Library Administration
(1) Library Organisational Structure (as of 1999)
- Number of Library Councils/ Associations/Foundations
| Associations | 14 | |
| Councils | 24 | |
| Learned societies | 12 | |
| Study groups | 17 | |
| Liaison Committees, etc. | 35 | |
| Local Associations and Institutions | 394 |
- Number of Libraries
| Public Libraries | 2,585 | |
| Academic Libraries | 1,638 | |
| Special/Private Libraries | 1,105 | |
| Government Libraries | 183 |
(2) New libraries tjat are being built (av. Anually, how many last FY)
- New libraries built in 1999:
| Public Libraries | 91 | |
| Academic Libraries | 34 |
Collection Profile
- Total volume of collection at the national level (as of 1999)
| Public Libraries | 276,573,000 | |
| Academic Libraries | 262,323,000 | |
| Special/Private Libraries | Approx. 27,901,000 | |
| Government Libraries | Approx. 10,551,000 | |
| National Diet Library | 7,312,178 (as of FY 1999, books only) |
- Unique Collections/Rare Collections
Major special collections of the National Diet Library:
- Modern Japanese Political History Documents
- Materials on the Allied Occupation of Japan
- Laws and Parliamentary Records
- Map collection
- Materials related to science and technology
- Rare Books and Old Materials
- Musical Materials
- Foreign Books on Japan - Bibliographies and Indexes Published
Bibliographies and indexes published by the National Diet Library in FY1999
- Index to the Japanese Laws & Regulations in Force (FY1999)
- JAPANAMARC [Japanese national bibliography on magnetic tape] (S) [serials]
- JAPAN/MARC (S) UNIMARC version
- JAPAN/MARC (M) [monographs]
- JAPAN/MARC (M) CD-ROM Current Edition
- JAPAN/MARC (A) [authorities data]
- JAPAN/MARC Retrospective Edition Taisho Period
- JAPAN/MARC Retrospective Edition Children's books
- Japanese national bibliography (No. 13-50, 1999, No. 1-12, 2000)
- National Diet Library Catalog of Japanese Serials (Supplement, January 1999 - June 1999)
- National Diet Library Catalog of Foreign Serials (Supplement, as of March 1999)
- National Diet Library Catalog of Foreign Books (1998)
- NDL CD-ROM Line: National Diet Library Catalog Taisho Period
- NDL CD-ROM Line: Japanese Periodicals Index. Current Edition
- NDL CD-ROM Line: Japanese Periodicals Index. Retrospective Edition (1975-1994)
- NDL CD-ROM Line: National Union Catalog of Braille and Recorded Books
- Japanese Periodicals Index Current edition on magnetic tape
- Japanese Periodicals Index Cumulative edition on magnetic tape (19/5-1998)
- Materials on Asia - accession list and review (Volume 37, No. 2-6, Volume 38, No. 1)
- Accession list - Chinese and Korean language publication (No. 98)
- List of Materials on Makoto Saito: Documents
- National Diet Library Inventory of Photographic Collections 1926-1945 Others - National Databases
a) NDL databases:
- Catalog of Japanese Books
- Catalog of Foreign Books National Union
- Catalog of Braille and Recorded Books in Japan
- And others
b) National Union Catalog Network (mainly for public libraries)
c) Services provided by the National Institute of Informatics (mainly for academic libraries):
- Webcat (Union Catalog)
- NACSIS-IR (Information Retrieval/Members only)
- NACSIS-ELS (Electronic Library/Retrieval is free)
- NACSIS-CAT/ILL (Catalog Info. Service/for library)
- And others
Infrastructure
- Dedicated Library Networks in the country
- Connectivity at the National level - broadband cabel, VSAT (etc)
Services
Update on the state of:
- Lending Services
Volumes lent out: (as of 1999)
| Public Libraries | 505,326,000 | |
| Academic Libraries | 28,082,000 | |
| Government Libraries | 251,172 | |
| National Diet Library (as of FY1999) | 34,007 |
- National Bibliographic (Agency) Services
a) Legal deposit system reformed
In view of the rapid increase of electronic publications such as CD-ROM and DVD, the Partial Amendment Law to the National Diet Library Law was approved on March 31, 2000, to make offline electronic publications included in the legal deposit system. The law came into effect on October 1, 2000. Though this amendment did not cover online publications, the NDL plans to collect them selectively. The offline publications are to be listed in the Japanese National Bibliography.
b) Provision of the national bibliography from 2002
The NDL has recently decided on its new-policy on the provision of the nationalbibliographies, which the NDL has been providing. From April 2002, "Japanese National Bibliography", which is now provided in printed form, will be available only on the NDL website. It will cover books, serials, electronic publications, maps, audio-visual materials, and Asian materials published in Japan, and be published weekly on the Internet. - Reading promotion
Commemorating the opening of the International Library of Children's Literature, the resolution was adopted to make the year 2000 the National Year of Reading for Children. The year 2000 saw many nationwide reading promotion activities for children and young adults. - Digital Library Services
Digital Library Services and project of the NDL:
- Web-OPAC - Online catalog of Japanese books acquired by the Library since 1948 (approx. 2 million volumes) and western-language books obtained since 1986 (approx. 200,000 volumes). - - Full Text Database System for the Minutes of the Diet
- Full-text database of the Diet session proceedings since the 126th session (January, 1993).
- Rare Books Image Database - Colorful images (approx. 23,000 items) from the collections of the NDL published mostly in the Edo Period. Image data can be searched and enjoyed.
- Electronic Exhibition (provided on the NDL Website) - "Rare Books of the National Diet Library", "Nippon in the World", "NDL Gallery", "Stacks in the Gallery"
Training
Number of Professional Librarians (as of 1999)
| Public Libraries | full-time librarian | 7,848 | |
| full-time staff | 7,606 | ||
| concurrent librarian | 130 | ||
| concurrent staff | 1,074 | ||
| part-time librarian | 2,010 | ||
| part-time staff | 2,666 | ||
| temporary librarian | 1,187 | ||
| temporary staff | 3,090 | ||
| Academic Libraries | full-time staff (including librarians) | 8,675 | |
| concurrent staff (including librarians) | 1,481 | ||
| part time staff (including librarians) | 2,124 | ||
| temporary staff (including librarians) | 2,791 | ||
| Government Libraries | full-time staff (including librarians) | 258 | |
| concurrent staff (including librarians) | 127 | ||
| National Diet Library (as of 2000) | full-time staff (including librarians) | 867 |
References: Library Year Book 2000 Annual Report of the National Diet Library (FY1999)
- Number of Library training schools
Number of schools that have courses for librarians and for teacher librarians: (as of FY 2000)
| For librarians | 12 | |
| For teacher librarians | 77 |
Copyright
- Number of Copyright/IPR Watchdogs or Associations - 59
(According to "Chosakuken Jiten" published in March 1999, edited by Copyright Research and Information Center) - Number of Copyright Clearance Centres - 4
- Major changes in the Copyright/IPR laws impacting libraries
The revised Copyright Law was enacted on April 27, 2000. By this revision, recording and transmission of data in Braille for the visually impaired through a network has been enabled. The revision came into force on January 1, 2001.
(Annex)
Other major news in the Year 2000 library community in Japan
1. Amendments to the Library Law of Japan
The Amendment to
the Library Law of Japan came into force on April 1, 2000. In the revised law,
the following two articles were deleted: Article 19 which provides that the
chief librarian of a library receiving state subsidies should have the
qualification of librarian, and Article 13 paragraph 3 which prescribes the
minimum standards necessary for a library to receive state subsidies.
2. "Desirable standards for the establishment and operation of
public libraries: report"
On December 8, 2000, the Special Committee on
Libraries of the Council on Lifelong Learning submitted a report to the
Minister of Education on standards for public libraries, for example, about the
acquisition of materials, quality of the staff and its improvement. If the
Minister of Education issues the standards as a notification as provided in the
Library Law, it will be for the first time in 50 years since the promulgation
of the Law.
3. Delegations of North and South Korea attended the 86th All-Japan
Library Conference
From October 25-27, the 86th All-Japan Library
Conference was held in Naha, Okinawa prefecture. The conference welcomed the
delegations of both Library Associations of North and South Korea for the first
time in its history. Before the opening of the conference, the Korean delegates
had a tripartite meeting with Mr. Nagao, President of the Japan Library
Association, and other Japanese representatives. The Japan Library Association
hopes to deepen its relations with both countries, and will continue to
cooperate in interchange between North and South Korea.
4. Opening of the International Library of Children's
Literature
The International Library
of Children's Literature (ILCL) (Japanese language site only), the first
national library of its kind in Japan, partially opened on May 5, 2000, in Ueno
Park, Tokyo, as a branch library of the NDL. The library as a whole is to open
in 2002. Besides collecting a wide range of domestic and overseas materials, it
aims to make use of its digital library functions to provide information.
5. National Institute of Informatics established
The
National Institute of Informatics (NIl) was
established on April 1, 2001, as a national center for integrated research of
information science, development of scientific information infrastructure, and
personnel training. It was set up as a result of the reorganization and
expansion of the former National Center for Science Information Systems
(NACSIS). The various kinds of service provided by the NACSIS, such as
NACSIS-CAT/ILL, NACSIS-IR, and NACSIS-ELS, are continued by the NII.
6. Dr. Makoto Nagao, President of Kyoto University, appointed as
new President of the JLA
On May 26,'2000, Dr. Makoto Nagao, President o
Kyolo University, was appointed as new President of the JLA. His main interest
is information processing and electronic telecommunications. A pioneer in the
electronic library system, he developed the prototype system Ariadne and made
it public in 1990. He has written many books, and is famous both in and out of
Japan as one of the leaders of the library world in the new age.
7. Reorganization of the NDL's branch libraries in the executive
agencies
On January 6, 2001, as part of the government reorganization,
the branch libraries of the NDL established in the executive agencies were
reorganized and renamed. As a result of this reorganization, the branch
libraries in the executive and judicial agencies have decreased in number from
36 to 27.
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Last updated
Monday 07-Jun-2004 |