No. 114, June 2000

International Library of Children's Literature opened on May 5

The International Library of Children's Literature (ILCL), a branch library of the NDL, partially opened on May 5 in the Ueno Park, Tokyo. 470 people, including Her Majesty The Empress, Diet members, children, and guests from abroad, attended the opening ceremony of the Library on May 5 (Kodomo no hi - Children's Day, a national holiday in Japan), 2000. The library as a whole is to open in 2002.

The ILCL is the first national library of its kind in Japan. The Library supports the activities of local libraries, providing direct services for children as well as a national center supporting research and study on children's literature.

In addition to the domestic books and documents acquired via legal deposit, the ILCL collects a wide range of literature and related materials from overseas. The limited capacity of the facilities at present means that the bulk of the collection remains housed at the main library of the NDL until the full opening in 2002.

Composition of the ILCL collection (as of May 2000)

The ILCL is supported by two digital library functions, the Digital Archives and the Digital Museum. For Digital Archives, the ILCL provides the union catalog database of children's literature (in Japanese only) on the ILCL website. The catalog includes bibliographic data on children's books in the holdings of major libraries in Japan such as the International Institute for Children's Literature, Osaka (IICLO).

Books in the ILCL collection are also searchable through the NDL Web-OPAC.When the searched book is in the ILCL collection, the message "International Library of Children's Literature collection" appears at the top of the display screen.

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued a commemorative stamp for the Library's opening (above). The delightful design, full of dreams and hope, shows children coming to the ILCL for the pleasure of reading.