This section summarizes news on international cooperation such as international conferences attended by NDL staff, and NDL's international exchange activities.

The International Seminar on Document Delivery Service was held in the Kansai-kan of the NDL. Ms. Mary Jackson (Director of Collections and Access Programs, Association of Research Libraries), Mr. Mat Pfleger (Head of Sales and Marketing, The British Library) and Mr. Uwe Rosemann (Chief Executive of German National Library of Science and Technology and University Library Hannover) gave lectures, and exchanged questions and answers. On December 16, a meeting for exchanging opinions was held with the NDL staff.

The 2nd Mutual Visit Program between the NDL and the National Assembly Library of Korea (NAL) was held in Korea. Ms. Mihoko Okamura (Researcher of the Public Administration and Judicial Affairs Division, Research and Legislative Reference Bureau) and Mr. Hiroshi Tsukada (Researcher of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division, Research and Legislative Reference Bureau) visited the NAL. They gave presentations on two themes, "Plan to enhance specialization in legislative activity supporting institutions" and "Legislative information service and copyright issues, " and exchanged questions and answers. (For more information on the Mutual Visit Program, see Exchange Activities with Foreign Libraries.)

Ms. Sharon Domier (Co-chair of AskEASL Oversite Committee, NCC (The North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources)), was invited to the NDL and gave a lecture titled "Expectations of the National Diet Library" at the Tokyo Main Library.

The 6th International Conference on Grey Literature was held in New York, USA.From the NDL, Mr. Kiyoshi Adachi (Chief of Information Services Section, Reference Service Planning Division, Reference and Special Collections Department) attended the meeting.

The Training Program for Information Specialists for Japanese Studies in FY 2004 was held under the joint sponsorship of the NDL and the Japan Foundation (JF). 17 trainees from 13 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam, United Kingdom and United States) participated.

Mr. R. Ramachandran (Secretary General of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)) visited Japan, and gave a lecture titled "The Role of IFLA and Expectations of the National Diet Library" at the Tokyo Main Library of the NDL.

In Nanjing, China, the 4th Conference of Chinese Resources Cooperation and Development was held. From NDL, Mr. Jun Tokita (Chief of the Asia Section 2, Asian Resources Division, Collection Department, Kansai-kan) participated in the conference and gave presentation titled "Chinese Materials of the NDL."

A Preservation Conference with invited specialists from China and Japan was held in the National Library of Korea in Seoul. The theme was "Development of Preservation Management and Conservation Technique." From the NDL, Mr. Hidetoshi Kanebako (Director of the Preservation Division, Acquisitions Department) and Mr. Masakazu Kuba (Conservator of the Preservation Division, Acquisitions Department) participated in the conference, and gave presentations titled "Preservation and Conservation Policy of the NDL and Future Direction" and "Basic Principles on Modern Preservation Work and its Management" respectively.

The International Conference on Archiving Web Resources: Issues for Cultural Heritage Institutions was held in the National Library of Australia in Canberra. From the NDL, Mr. Hisayoshi Harada (Assistant Director of the Digital Library Division, Project Department, Kansai-kan) attended the conference.

The 24th Mutual Visit Program between the National Library of China and the NDL was held, and Mr. Zhang Yanbo (Deputy Director), Ms. Shen Sa (Director of Personnel Division), Mr. Wang Dongbo (Director of Operational Division), Mr. Li Wanjian (Professor of China Society for Library Science) and Ms. Zhang Yanxia (Deputy Director of Acquisition & Cataloging Department, interpreter) visited Japan. Participants gave presentations on "Management of National Libraries" and exchanged questions and answers. (For more information on the Mutual Visit Program, see Exchange Activities with Foreign Libraries.

The 8th Mutual Visit Program between the National Library of Korea (NLK) and the NDL was held in Korea. Headed by Ms. Ikuko Tozawa (Director of the Branch Libraries Division, Administrative Department), three delegates visited the NLK and gave presentations and exchanged questions and answers relating to the main-theme "Future of national libraries" and the sub-theme "Acquisition and Preservation of Digital Information Resources." (For more information on the Mutual Visit Program, see Exchange Activities with Foreign Libraries.)

The International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications 2004 was held at the Shanghai Library, China. From the NDL, Mr. Hiroshi Sakamoto (Director of the Bibliographic Control Division, Bibliography Department) attended the conference.

The 15th annual conference of the European Association of Japanese Resource Specialists (EAJRS) was held in Salamanca, Spain. The theme was "Japan and Spain: Resources for Study." From the NDL, Mr. Tatsuya Koseki (Librarian of the Foreign Materials Acquisition Division, Acquisitions Department) participated in the conference, making a presentation titled "Collaborative Reference Database Project of the National Diet Library of Japan."

The 12th meeting of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries in Asia and Oceania (CDNLAO) was held at the National Library of China, in Beijing. From the NDL, Mr. Noritada Otaki (Deputy Librarian) participated in the meeting on behalf of Mr. Takao Kurosawa (Librarian) and Ms. Yoriko Sato (Assistant Director of the Planning and Cooperation Division, Administrative Department) made a presentation titled "To Share Asian Resources: National Diet Library's Library Cooperation in Asia and Oceania." Ms. Sato also attended the International Conference of Digital Library "Advance the Efficiency of Knowledge Utilization" held from September 6 to 8 at the same venue.

The 70th annual conference of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The theme this year was "Libraries: Tools for Education and Development." Five NDL staff members participated in the conference, led by Mr. Yoshitaka Ikuhara (Director General of the Kansai-kan). Mr. Ikuhara also attended the Conference of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL) on behalf of Mr. Takao Kurosawa (Librarian).

The annual meeting of the National Conference and State Legislatures (NCSL) was held in Salt Lake City, USA. The theme was "The New Legislative Reality." From the NDL, Mr. Hidehisa Oyama (Specialist of the Research and Legislative Reference Bureau) attended the meeting.

The International Conference on National Library Service (ICONLIS 2004) was held in Kolkata, India. From the NDL, Mr. Masashi Murakami (Department Director of the Collections Department, Kansai-kan) attended the meeting, making a presentation titled "Services of the National Diet Library of Japan: present state and future direction."

In San Diego, USA, the annual meetings of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) and the Council on East Asian Libraries (CEAL), and the meeting of the North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources (NCC) were held. From the NDL, Ms. Kumiko Okuyama (Reference Librarian of the Business, Science and Technology Division), and Mr. Yoshiki Onuma (Librarian of the Circulation Section, Toyo (Oriental) Library, Branch of the NDL) attended the meetings.

From the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (National Library of the Netherlands; KB), Dr. Johan F. Steenbakkers (Director of Information Technology and Facility Management), Mr. Hans Jansen (Head of Research and Development Division) and Dr. Hilde van Wijngaarden (Digital Preservation Officer) visited the NDL. They delivered presentations at a lecture meeting on the digital library held by the NDL and attended meetings with NDL staff. The KB has been operating an advanced project to acquire and preserve digital information. At the lecture meeting,84 people including specialists from related institutions attended. At the meetings with NDL staff, both sides actively exchanged opinions.