Activity Performance Evaluation in FY2021

The National Diet Library (NDL) has widely promoted its vision, "National Diet Library, Vision 2021-2025: The Digital Shift at the National Diet Library" (hereinafter referred to as "Vision 2021-2025"). Based on the purpose of Vision 2021-2025, we perform Activity Performance Evaluation at the end of each fiscal year to assess achievements in our initiatives and basic roles formulated in Vision 2021-2025.

In order to carry out these evaluations in an objective manner, we have established a set of evaluation indicators and associated indicators.
Evaluation indicators are designed to provide a means of describing internal library operations, services provided to patrons, and other library services that can be quantified in terms of time required or other objective factors, and for which targets can be established at the beginning of each fiscal year in accordance with the scale and nature of the operations involved, thereby allowing emerging trends to be identified through comparison with the achievement level of previous years.
Associated indicators are largely influenced by external factors out of the control of the NDL, which makes the establishment of targets less than meaningful, even though these indicators are useful in identifying emerging trends that affect library operations.

As the framework for the Activity Performance Evaluation is formulated based on Vision 2021-2025, we evaluate activities concerning our initiatives in addition to general activities, which correspond to the “basic roles” in Vision 2021-2025. Evaluation of each general activities category uses set phrases considering the achievement levels for evaluation indicators and trends exhibited by associated indicators, as well as the state of implementation of each activity. Evaluation of each initiatives activities category involves a qualitative assessment that includes comprehensive consideration of the status of the achievement.

All evaluation results are as follows:
Evaluation details for Activity Performance Evaluation in FY2021 (only in Japanese) (PDF: 306KB)

Overview and objectives

We will continue to utilize all available library materials as well as databases and other digital information resources to provide highly reliable responses to requests from Diet members for objective research and analysis. We will undertake research on national policy issues in order to facilitate the deliberation of national affairs, and we will publish the results of this research for use in responding to requests for research. We will also hold policy seminars at which we present our research to Diet members.

We will work to enhance our research services by strengthening cooperation with universities, research facilities, and other parliamentary institutions, both in Japan and overseas, as a means of proactively acquiring a wide range of advanced academic knowledge. We will undertake a wide range of research projects on basic national policy issues as well as policies related to science and technology—many of which are subject to legal, social, and ethical challenges—and examine these issues from a comprehensive and advanced perspective available through the expertise of outside experts. Moreover, we will make the results of these studies openly available to the public.

We will also continue to work to provide both Diet members and the general public with easy access to information generated by the National Diet, including a Full-Text Database System for the Minutes of the Diet as well as an Index Database to Japanese Laws, Regulations and Bills. These resources will be enhanced with content and functionality developed by the NDL as part of our role in helping to connect the Diet with the people it represents.

Evaluation

We achieved our objectives.

Overview and objectives

We will continue to acquire a wide range of domestic publications through the legal deposit system. We will also continue to acquire the websites of national agencies, municipal governments, and other public institutions, as stipulated in the National Diet Library Law, as well as the content of privately operated websites involved in the recording of historical events or which are otherwise of public importance, with the permission of their webmasters. Moreover, we will continue to collect e-books and e-magazines that are made available free of charge and without Digital Rights Management.

We will continue to compile databases of bibliographic information for domestically published books and magazines, such as the Japanese Periodicals Index, which are made available to the public via the Internet.

We intend to preserve and ensure future access for library materials, which are the shared cultural heritage of the nation. To this end, we will undertake measures for long-term preservation, including digitization of printed materials and the management of a proper environment for preserving and repairing damaged materials.

Evaluation

We achieved most of our objectives.

Overview and objectives

We will continue to provide remote photoduplication services available by request via the Internet, as well as interlibrary loans and reference services via public and university libraries. In addition, we will make available a wide range of value-added information, such as search guides and digital exhibitions.

We will also continue to work to digitize materials as well as make those for which copyright protection has expired available via the Internet. Through the Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Libraries, we will let patrons of public or university libraries access digitized versions of difficult-to-obtain materials that are not ordinarily available via the Internet.

We will continue to offer browsing, copying, and reference services at the Tokyo Main Library, the Kansai-kan, and the International Library of Children's Literature (ILCL), and we will also hold events such as lectures, with due attention to prevention of the spread of COVID-19.

In cooperation with our affiliated institutions, we will continue to convert academic literature into text data or audio books and collect DAISY and braille data produced by other libraries, and will provide these materials to qualified users via the Internet.

The ILCL will continue to provide children with the opportunity to become familiar with books and libraries through support for the promotion of children's reading activities and services for children.

Evaluation

We achieved only a part of our objectives.

Overview and objectives

We will continue to provide training and information to libraries in Japan, including by online means, in support of their activities and human resource development, sharing our expertise in library sciences to help improve the operations and services of libraries throughout Japan.

We will continue to participate in the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and other international activities, through which we interact with other national libraries and their affiliated institutions in working to solve problems that are universal to all libraries as well as promote cooperative and collaborative projects with organizations that share common goals.

Moreover, we will continue to employ data linkage via the Internet to provide our patrons with a variety of data-linkage platforms that access digitized materials or search guides for Japanese libraries, with the intent to support comprehensive access to and utilization of information resources in Japan.

Evaluation

We achieved most of our objectives.

Overview and objectives

We will increase the volume of digital materials available via the Internet or at local libraries. We will pay close attention to the movements about revising the limitations of rights in the Copyright Act which relate to libraries and do what is necessary to launch a transmission service of difficult-to-obtain materials for individuals, such as building consensus among stakeholders, revising regulations, and upgrading our systems.

Reading materials for those with print disabilities will be acquired, cataloged, and made available in a variety of formats to facilitate access to information including additional support for the production of text data. We will start converting academic literature into text data at full scale based on the trials held up until FY2020.

Using our accumulated expertise, vast amounts of materials and information will be curated and made available to the general public, including guides to efficient research and introductions to materials about specific fields.

Evaluation

With the promulgation of the Act Partially Amending Japan's Copyright Act (Act No. 52 of 2021), we compiled an Agreement on the Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Individuals by the National Diet Library with stakeholders, revised regulations and upgraded our systems in order to launch a transmission service of out-of-print or otherwise difficult-to-obtain materials for individuals.

Aiming to facilitate introduction of accessible e-books to libraries, we convened a review meeting composed of experts and concerned bodies and wrote up a summary report. We started converting academic literature into text data at full scale and produced 51 titles of corrected data and 123 titles of uncorrected data.

To renew the Research Navi, we organized and integrated its contents. Access counts to the data of our digital exhibitions are increasing.

Overview and objectives

We will digitize about 45 million frames of our collection to achieve our vision of making all domestic publications available in digital form. We will also convert them to full-text data, making them searchable and suitable for processing with machine learning.

Based on the report of the Legal Deposit System Council, we will make specific operational adjustments with relevant parties for the start of acquisition of commercially available e-books and e-journals under the provisions of the law. Moreover, we will strive to achieve long-term preservation of digital materials by collecting digital materials of other institutions, converting media that are no longer playable into usable formats, and other initiatives.

Japan Search will connect digital archives across a range of specializations in support of the creation of an environment that enables information and data to be made open and fully utilized.

Evaluation

We digitized about 49 million frames of our collection such as books, magazines, newspapers, and old materials. Moreover, we converted almost all digitized materials in the NDL Digital Collections to full-text data by OCR and made some which had expired copyright protection available in the Next Digital Library.

We coordinated regulations, collection flow, certification of repositories to be excluded from collection targets, metadata linkage, etc. for the start of the acquisition of commercially available e-books and e-journals under the provisions of the law. Moreover, we received the data of the Ibaraki Prefecture Great East Japan Earthquake Digital Archive, which was scheduled to be closed, and made it available on the National Diet Library Great East Japan Earthquake Archive.

8 aggregators and 53 databases were newly connected to Japan Search. We promoted utilization of it by releasing the "My Gallery" function and holding events for museums.