• Index of this issue

No. 64, March 2009

Basic Policy on Human Resource Development

Staff training in the National Diet Library (NDL) is based on the Basic Policy on Human Resource Development. This policy was formulated in May 2004 aiming at enhancing the qualifications and morale of the staff in the changing social situation and information environment under which the work of the NDL is being innovated and expanded.

The policy covers our recognition that management skills to deal with outsourcing and system development should be enhanced in addition to expertise to fulfill our main functions such as "services for the Diet" and "services as the national central library."

Human resource development is in principle based on each employee’s on-the-job experience and self-study. In addition, the NDL offers opportunities for the staff to enter various in-house and external training programs, to accumulate experience by going abroad for study or business, and to have the experience of working for an external institution under personnel exchange programs. Here, we would like to briefly introduce our training programs and research abroad programs to respond to globalized operations.

Programs on foreign language study

The NDL provides a variety of in-house foreign language study programs. Every year, two 20-hour spoken English courses (advanced and intermediate) are held. An English letter writing course (four to six hours) is offered every other year. In order to develop the skills of staff members who are engaged in the mutual visit program with the National Library of China or the National Library of Korea, a Chinese or Korean conversation course (twenty hours each) is alternately offered every year.

Aiming at providing the Diet promptly with information on foreign legislation, systems and policies, grammar and reading courses are annually held on foreign languages other than English. In 2008, for the purpose of helping research on China for the Diet, a Chinese grammar and reading course was provided because in recent years the number of requests for research on China is ranked the fifth after the U.S., U.K., Germany and France.
A basic grammar course to learn Asian Languages is annually held to assist the acquisition and organization of Asian materials. A Persian course was offered in 2008 because Persian is important to enrich the contents in the AsiaLinks (links to information on Asia on the NDL website), and to exchange materials with the National Library & Archives of IR of Iran. A grant is offered to staff members who attend external language lessons to prepare for their research abroad (see the next paragraph).

Research abroad programs

The NDL has long-and short-term programs to research abroad. Under the long-term program, staff members go to university or graduate school for one to two years and earn a degree. Under the short-term program, staff members go abroad for three weeks to a year to research on a theme or to acquire specialized skills. Dispatched staff members can cultivate a cosmopolitan way of thinking and attain a high level of language skills in addition to gaining a degree or research results. Recently the NDL dispatched a staff member to attend a graduate program of library and information science at the University of Pittsburgh for two years from July 2007. It also dispatched a staff member for a long term to attend a graduate program in public law at the University of Florence.
In 2008, three staff members were dispatched under the short-term research abroad program. They did research on the "technology assessment in the German parliament" for two months, "preservation and conservation in major libraries" for a month in Europe and the U.S. and "organization of materials, services and digitization in the National Library of China" for three months respectively.

New policy for human resource development and training programs

We are considering drawing up a new policy so that each staff member can be proactive in pursuing his/her carrier. We also plan to enhance foreign language programs to cope with operations which are ever more advanced and globalized.