Free Access to “The Public Library in an Aging Society: Developing Active Library Participation in Japan”
Japan represents a typical nation with their overall demographic shifting toward the older population. In 2012, Japan’s total population was 127.5 million, of which 31 million were over 65 years of age. Now in Japan, one in every four individuals is over 65 years of age, and one in every eight is over 75 years of age.
In “The Public Library in an Aging Society: Developing Active Library Participation in Japan”, IGI Global authors Saori Donkai and Chieko Mizoue of the University of Tsukuba, Japan, discuss a new library service designed to enhance the lives of elderly citizens. The authors explore this new service from the viewpoint of lifelong learning, utilizing the results of recent government surveys and case studies, such as those done at the Izumo City Hikawa Library and the Akita Prefectural Library in Japan.
Although the elderly have been placed within the category of “disabled library patrons,” in recent years, it has become more acceptable to consider the elderly, as a whole, as an individual service category. Paying more attention to supporting elderly citizens in public libraries will engage them in the development and maintenance of their own communities, bettering their lives and the lives of those around them.
“The Public Library in an Aging Society: Developing Active Library Participation in Japan,” featured in the title Library and Information Science Research in Asia-Oceania: Theory and Practice is currently being offered for open access through the month of October. Download the full-text chapter here: http://www.igi-global.com/free-content/99964.
