Preface

I was working for the International Cooperation Division, Library Cooperation Department, for two years until March 1997. Concisely speaking, the Division is the window for the circulation of people, materials and information between Japan and overseas countries.

In this paper, I would like to describe what the National Diet Library (NDL) is expected to do, especially what overseas libraries expect from us in respect of providing bibliographic information bases for Japanese studies, easy and prompt contents provision, and support to overseas Japanese studies libraries.

To make it more concrete, I would like to present six cases I encountered.

Activities and role of a national library

Before presenting the cases, I think I should refer to our role as a national library here, though it might lengthen this draft.

The NDL fulfills the role of a parliamentary and national library, and as the only deposit library in Japan, based on its comprehensive collection that has been preserved for the future, it prepares the "Japanese national bibliography," JAPAN/MARC (since 1981) and J-BISC in the form of CD-ROM (since 1988). Online databases are open to prefectural and major municipal libraries.

We have collected by international exchange governmental publications which are otherwise difficult to acquire. We also make efforts to collect materials on Japan published in overseas countries as one of our most important policies. International lending, photoduplication and reference services are also provided.

We send some officers to IFLA, and act as the Asia Regional Center for the IFLA-PAC (Preservation and Conservation) program, and since 1976 by undertaking the work of the Japan Center for ISDS (International Serials Data System), we have contributed to the standardization of bibliographic information. In reference to domestic cooperation, in addition to the lending, reference and photoduplication services, we send out guidebooks on our services, and hold Interlibrary Cooperation Seminars.

Taking these activities into account, the NDL seems to be fulfilling its role as a national library positively and energetically. In an international context, how are they estimated, and what are the issues to be worked out?

Case 1: A stir created by discontinuance of Japanese Periodicals

Index in book form

Japanese Periodicals Index is a useful tool for retrieving articles carried in major Japanese periodicals. Its publication in book form ended in January 1996, and it is now provided in the form of database and CD-ROM. At the same time, we diminished its time lag and increased the number of periodicals and articles contained, which many people welcomed. To overseas libraries, however, it was a bombshell, because many of them cannot afford to subscribe to the CD-ROM.

Better ways have been devised to provide the Japanese Periodicals Index, such as service via NACSIS-IR (the information retrieval service of the National Center for Science Information Systems), CD-ROM software applicable to Windows, PC communications, and the Internet.

Case 2: Discussion at CULCON (United States-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Exchange)

CULCON was established in 1961 by the agreement of the then Prime Minister Ikeda and the then President Kennedy, and has been held biennially.

In the 17th meeting in 1995, a working group was established to remove obstacles to resource sharing, and in the 18th meeting in 1997, in a discussion over access to the information super highway, US delegates asked those from Japan to make it easier to access our bibliographic data, and consider a convenient system of payment.

Case 3: Cooperation in the preparation of the Maison de la Culture du Japon ? Paris Library

Maison de la Culture du Japon ? Paris opened in 1997. Its role is to provide a place for European people who wish to get a deeper knowledge of Japan and Asia, and one of the goals to fulfill this purpose is to offer a wide variety of up to date information, and the Library is expected to become important in being responsible for the task.

Responding to a request of the planning office, we conferred with them about many things, from the concept of the Library, selection and retrieval system, including the significance of librarians. Since April 1997, one of our staff members has been seconded to cooperate in the preparation of the Library, I believe it will be an important base offering Japanese information, in addition to Japanisches Kulturinstitut (Cologne), Istituto Giapponese di Cultura (Rome), and Japanisch-Deutsches Zentrum Berlin.

Case 4: Training Program for Senior Japanese Studies Librarians

From February 17 to March 7, 1997, a Training Program for Senior Japanese Studies Librarians was held under the joint auspices of the Japan Foundation and the NDL. The Program was a result of the cooperative efforts of the related organizations. The participants were eleven people from China, North and South America, Australia and Europe.

The aims of the Program were:

(1) to renew and deepen the knowledge of materials and information on Japan, (2) to improve the existing methods in handling Japanese-language materials and to learn new methods, (3) to share experience and develop human networks.

Among the subjects were "Processing of Japanese books and JAPAN/MARC," "Practice of J-BISC," "Digital information and digital library services" and a two-day training program at NACSIS. They also visited six related institutions.

They showed a high expectation of continual and systematic support such as this program. Comments of participants are carried in National Diet Library Newsletter No. 103 (June 1997).

Case 5: Introduction of our activities through English media

National Diet Library Newsletter, which is our English public relations magazine, is issued quarterly and distributed mainly to our exchange partners. It saw its 100th volume in 1996, and its contents are also carried on our Web site.

CDNLAO Newsletter is edited and distributed by the NDL on behalf of the members of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries in Asia and Oceania, following the recommendation of the second CDNLAO meeting in Tokyo in 1982 to publish and distribute a newsletter which will help librarians in the Asia and Oceania region to exchange information effectively. It has been issued since 1983, though the title has changed slightly.

Books on Japan (officially, Books on Japan in western languages recently acquired by the NDL) dates from 1961, though the format has changed since then. To acquire overseas materials on Japan is one of our important acquisition policies. We acquire materials in English, French, German and Italian by blanket order, and other languages by selective purchase or international exchange. Books on Japan is the fruit of such efforts. Japanese studies overseas are sometimes conducted based on documents written in languages other than Japanese. Prompt service of up to date Books on Japan is a definite need.

Case 6: International use of library materials

Since 1960, when the NDL officially affiliated to the IFLA international lending system, we have been lending materials to overseas libraries and institutions (not to individuals).

We have provided a photoduplication service since 1953, for which we also respond to individual applications. You can pay for international photoduplication service in such ways as bank transfer, foreign postal money order, or check. A high bank charge is added to bank transfer and check, which might not only be a serious obstacle to dispatching Japanese information, but could also regarded as an excessive charge by foreign countries. The International Cooperation Division and the Photoduplication Division are now working on this matter.

We render reference service to overseas libraries, institutions and individuals. Among reference requests from individuals, I sometimes found vague inquiries about Japan, and felt the necessity of cooperating with libraries in the applicants' country.

Summary

Some of the achievements the NDL can be proud of as a national library are the information bases we have been making, such as an enormous bibliographic data input into computer that will soon have a rage of about 130 years, and the fact that we are providing an article index, the Japanese Periodicals Index.

It is an era in which every country delivers information which circulates worldwide via networks, and I think "global work sharing" is necessary now. As for publication, each country should be responsible for its domestic materials, and it is important for national libraries or organizations which have similar functions not only to prepare bibliographic data but also to assure worldwide access to them.

Concerning the governmental publications, Canada is experimenting on providing them via Internet. Mutual access to governmental publications will be important from now on. Taking all this into account, the most significant task for us is to make it clear to other countries where to make contact to get information on and contents of Japanese publications.

One difficult problem that hampers users in accessing Japanese information is the Japanese language itself, in which most of the information on Japan is provided. I would like to expect that development in Japanese language education abroad will solve it, though this is admittedly a roundabout route. The Japan Foundation has been tackling the problem positively. One of its programs is the Japanese-language Study Program for Librarians. It has been held at the Japan Foundation Japanese Language Institute in Urawa, Saitama Prefecture, and at the Japanese Language Institute, Kansai from 1997.

Conclusion

It will soon be 50 years since the NDL was established in 1948.

I think it is our duty to make our collection, which ranges over 1,200 years, fully available to readers, whether the media are paper or electronics. We have to be the reliable provider of Japanese information for foreign counties as well as in Japan.

For that purpose, we should rapidly make an environment for offering bibliographic data. Japanese studies librarians overseas, who act as Japanese cultural attach?s, and at the same time support the NDL, are waiting for our improved service eagerly. I think the mutual relationship between Japanese studies libraries overseas and the NDL is important.

Supporting Japanese studies libraries abroad contributes to the global distribution of information on Japan. The role of the NDL is not small for Japan to link to the world via networks.