The fiscal 1999 budget bill passed the National Diet on March 17, 1999.
The total amount of the initial budget granted for NDL is 25,371,216,000 yen for FY1999 starting April 1999. An increase of 1,997,236,000 yen (8.5%) over the FY1998 level is mainly attributed to the increase in the expenses for construction of the new facility "Kansai-kan" (tentative name).

The composition of the total budget is:

• Salary and personnel expenses 40.1% (41.4% in FY98)
• Acquisition of library materials 5.4% (5.3%)
• Development of information systems 7.0% (4.6%)
• Office expenses 8.7% (8.4%)
• Buildings and facilities 38.8% (40.3%)

The following are major expenditures of the FY1999 budget:

1. Kansai-kan Project

Approximately 8.7 billion yen is appropriated for construction of the new facility Kansai-kan (tentative name) including 6 billion yen for the construction of framework of the building and 2.7 billion yen for facilities. As a result of the budget, the project took a step forward to the opening in FY2002.

2. International Library of Children's Literature

In expectation of the opening of the International Library of Children's Literature in 2000 (first stage), appropriations have been made for renovating of the Ueno Branch Library, purchasing foreign children's books, developing information systems for children's books, and preparing for the opening.

3. Information systems

After the opening, the Kansai-kan will work in tandem with the Tokyo main library. It is indispensable to build highly advanced information systems including electronic library functions. For this purpose, research expenses and expenses for outline planning of the National Diet Library Basic Plan of the Electronic Library Infrastructure System (in FY1998) and expenses for basic planning (in FY1999) were authorized.

The NDL is developing various information systems for user service and library work. Expenditure on the Science and Technology Information Supply System was newly authorized in the FY1999 budget. Expenditure on the Union Catalog of Japanese Public Libraries, the on-line processing system for the table of contents of books and periodicals, electronic network between Branch Libraries, on-line cataloguing system, and ILL system was authorized as in previous years.

4. Acquisition of library materials

Expenses for acquire library materials, the main role of NDL, increased in compensation for materials deposited and in costs of purchasing materials. Expenses for purchasing materials related to science and technology also rose for the purchase of CD-ROMs.

5. Services for the Diet

Since the NDL is a parliamentary library, enhancing and accelerating its information supply service to the Diet, as well as improving research functions, is crucial.

The three-year plan starting FY1996 to establish a Total System for Research and Information Services for the Diet has been completed. This fiscal year, a budget for the construction of a Homepage System for the Diet was authorized. This system makes it possible for the Diet members to obtain correct information promptly when they need it. The expenses of the full-text database of minutes of the Diet, being developed in collaboration with the Secretariats of both Houses and in effect since FY1996, continue to be authorized.