A children’s mobile library run by a Japanese expat in northern Thailand has become more important than ever during the coronavirus pandemic. (14 Jul 2021) Horiuchi Yoshimi sees books as “friends” for the youngsters in the remote, rural areas she visits. The 37-year-old remembers how reading shaped her own childhood. Born with weak eyesight, Horiuchi…
New catalog information service corresponding to digital resources to be introduced from 2022 (7 Jul 2021) National Institute of Informatics (NII; Director General: Dr. KITSUREGAWA Masaru, Tokyo, Japan) has begun reconstruction of NACSIS-CAT/ILL, a catalog information service used by more than 1,300 institutions, mainly university libraries. This project is based on “The Vision on Future…
(Jun 2021) With the COVID-19 pandemic, remote library services are becoming more and more important. In “Digital contents of the National Diet Library (Part 1)”, we introduced the Digital Exhibition of the National Diet Library and the Web Archiving Project (WARP). In Part 2, we would like to introduce databases on the minutes of the…
(3 Jun 2021) Japan is a book lovers’ paradise. Home to internationally renowned authors such as Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto, Japan has plenty to offer both on the page and on the streets. Whether you’re in Tokyo’s book town, Jimbocho, or one of the manga cafés dotting the country, you’re never far away from some quality reading…
A new library and community center in Nasushiobara by the Japanese architecture studio of Mari Ito, UAo, takes its cues from forests (10 Apr 2021) The city of Nasushiobara has just got a new library and community centre courtesy of the dynamic Japanese architecture studio of Mari Ito, UAo. A geometric composition out of…
(1 Apr 2021) National Diet Library, Japan is announcing its new vision which will set the policy for the next five years, “National Diet Library Vision 2021–2025: The Digital Shift at the National Diet Library.” Seven initiatives that are intended over the next five years to better connect information resources with intellectual activities under the…
(March 2021) Ten years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in Japan, it caused widespread damage to the eastern coastal region, especially in the northeast. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami took a heavy toll of lives and caused massive damage to buildings and facilities, including…
Japan’s National Diet Library has 4.45 million items in its digital quake database, including over a million photos; physical artefacts are in regional museums Curators are working to make the items easily available to the general public and to preserve remnants of the disaster before they are lost (10 Mar 2021) In Japan, efforts…
(9 Mar 2021) In a landmark agreement, the Publications Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and Tokyo University of Science (TUS) proudly announce their collaboration to usher in a new era of open access publishing in Japan. Over the next five years, this agreement will bring the possibility for all publications by TUS researchers in…
(10 Mar 2021) As of June 30, 2021, the National Union Catalog of Newspapers in Japan database will no longer be available via the National Diet Library Search. The data of the National Union Catalog of Newspapers in Japan as of March 31, 2021 will be made available as described below. What will be available…