I. Overview of the National Diet Library and current status of preservation work 

(1) Overview of the National Diet Library

The National Diet Library (NDL) was established in 1948 based on the National Diet Law and the National Diet Library Law. The mission of the Library is defined in the preamble of the National Diet Library Law as follows: "The National Diet Library is hereby established as a result of the firm conviction that truth makes us free and with the object of contributing to international peace and the democratization of Japan as promised in our Constitution." One of its main characteristics is that it is a parliamentary library which belongs to the legislature and has a research function, while at the same time it is the national library of Japan.

The NDL currently has 939 staff members and holds 8.14 million books, 183,000 titles of periodicals, and 7.26 million sheets of microfiches as of March 2004. It consists of the following facilities: Tokyo Main Library located in Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; the Kansai-kan, established in Seikacho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, in April 2002; and the International Library of Children's Literature, a branch library, which was opened in full scale in May 2002 in Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo, after the renovation of the building of the former Ueno Branch Library. The Oriental Library and libraries in the executive and judicial agencies of the government are also branch libraries of the NDL.

(2)Current status of preservation and conservation

The Acquisitions Department takes the main responsibility for the NDL's preservation work. The Department has a Library Counselor in charge of preservation and the Preservation Division. The Preservation Division comprises one director, 12 conservators and 6 administrative staff. As of October 2004, it has 4 sections: Western Binding Section (7 members), Leather Binding Section (2), Japanese Binding Section (3) and Planning Section (6). In addition, we appoint, from outside of the Preservation Division, several staffers with special knowledge or insight as Cooperative Staff for Preservation to conduct research on the preservation and conservation of library materials. 

The Preservation Division has three major responsibilities: 1. Formulating plans on preservation at the NDL and coordinating their implementation, 2. Conservation and binding of NDL materials, and 3. Cooperation activities under the Preservation Cooperation Program. Since 1989, the NDL has been acting as the IFLA/PAC Regional Centre for Asia. The Library Counselor serves as director of the Centre, and the Preservation Division functions as the secretariat of the Centre. Preservation of digital resources, which is an issue of current importance, is covered by the Digital Library Division of the Kansai-kan.

Restoration and binding work is divided into two parts. A large part of the binding is commissioned to a binder company, while conservators of the Preservation Division are in charge of repair and mending which requires advanced techniques suited to each material's characteristics. In FY2003, 76,000 volumes were bound or repaired in total, of which 69,000 were bound by the subcontractor and 7,200 were repaired and mended by the library staff.

II. From binding to preservation and conservation : 1986 -

Preservation and conservation work at the NDL reached a major turning point in 1986. In 1986, the Annex of the Tokyo Main Library was completed and the whole library went through a structural reform. Taking this opportunity, the NDL changed its basic policy for preservation and conservation with organizational backup.

(1) From binding to preservation and conservation

The section in charge of preservation work at the NDL has its origin in a binding workshop set up in 1934 in the Imperial Library. Since then, the section's main duty had been always mending damaged materials and binding materials to protect them from getting scattered and lost, although the name of the section was changed several times. 

In the 1980s, problems with acidic paper and the IFLA Principles for the Conservation and Preservation of Library Materials, which were drawn up because of the acidic paper issue, were introduced to Japan. Libraries in Japan, including the NDL, were forced to change their basic concept of preservation and conservation.

As a result, the basic concept shifted from "preservation for preservation," which focuses on repair and mending of individual damaged materials, to "prevention rather than treatment" and "proactive preservation rather than passive." The importance of preservation from the perspective of the whole collection were strongly recognized and the concept of "guaranteeing current and future usage of library materials" by preserving the whole collection or the material groups in an appropriate way rapidly spread into the whole library community of Japan.

In response to this movement, the NDL fundamentally reviewed its policy on preservation, drew up a basic policy "Preservation of the NDL after the completion of the Annex," and shifted emphasis from the traditional binding work to preservation and conservation.

(2) Organizational reform in 1986 : Reorganization into the Preservation Division and setup of the Preservation Planning Office

By the organizational reform in 1986 upon the completion of the Annex, the Binding Division was transformed into the Preservation Division and the work of the Division was expanded. In addition, the Preservation Planning Office was established in the Acquisitions Department as an office specializing in the planning of preservation policy and cooperation with related libraries and organizations inside and outside of Japan. The Preservation Division did the secretarial work for the Preservation Planning Office and was also responsible for collecting information on preservation, study and research of repair and mending techniques, involved more deeply with the planning of preservation work of the whole NDL, in addition to the traditional binding and mending of materials. 

In 1989, the NDL started activities as the IFLA/PAC Regional Centre for Asia. The director of the Preservation Planning Office concurrently served as the director of the Regional Centre. Subsequently in 1990, the Preservation Cooperation Program was developed to conduct long-term preservation programs and preservation cooperation activities from a broader, both domestic and international, standpoint. The Library also appointed several staffers who had the knowledge and interest in preservation and conservation from the related Departments as plural-duty staff for the Preservation Planning Office. They were involved with the planning and research of measures for preservation and conservation.

III. New developments in and after 2002

(1) Situation in 2002

Throughout the 1990s, the NDL conducted preservation activities based on the "Preservation of the NDL after the completion of the Annex" and "Preservation Cooperation Program" and produced fairly good results. However, the scope and responsibilities of the preservation work of the NDL expanded because of the rapid diversification of media and the ever-increasing collections. In addition, in April 2002, a major organizational reform was carried out when the Kansai-kan was established.

By the reorganization in April 2002, the Preservation Planning Office, which had been the strategic center of the Library's preservation and conservation activities, was abolished and the Preservation Division took over all of its duties. Because of this reorganization and the increase and diversification of the collection, "Preservation of the NDL after the completion of the Annex," which had been the base of the NDL's preservation work since 1986, needed to be revised. We also had to review urgently the preservation cooperation program to respond to the changing times, by strengthening the function of the NDL and the PAC Regional Centre for Asia, and setting up new concrete objectives. We were facing a situation that required reorganization of the entire preservation work at the NDL from a long-term perspective and nurturing of the library staff for preservation.

(2) Basic policy - "Preservation and Conservation in the National Diet Library"

Responding to this situation, we started to formulate a new basic policy and drew up "Preservation and Conservation in the National Diet Library" in February 2003. 

The new policy paper defined the objective of the NDL's preservation activities as to guarantee permanent access to the NDL collections and roughly prioritized the collections to be preserved.

In the paper, various measures of preservation such as preventive preservation, systematic and gradual restoration, and media conversion, were introduced, from which we apply the most appropriate measure so that we can balance preservation with user services. Moreover, as concrete steps, enforcement policies and points to notice were specified in the following areas: 1) preventive preservation, 2) restoration, 3) media conversion, 4) disaster prevention, and 5) research and study on preservation. 

Based on the recognition that preservation is not a duty of only one department in charge of preservation work but also a basic function of the whole library, the paper stipulates that it is necessary to keep in mind the preservation issues in every aspects of library work. The following actions to promote preservation and conservation are mandated: drawing up a preservation action plan for the whole library and conducting performance evaluation, fostering preservation specialists, education of the library staff about preservation, formulation of guidelines for disaster prevention, environment for preservation, deacidification and others, and formulation of various manuals such as an anti-insects and molds manual.

Cooperation activities for preservation were also to be developed and concrete goals were set in the policy paper relating to strengthening the activities of the IFLA/PAC Regional Centre for Asia and cooperating with related institutions in Japan.

(3) Action Plan - "National Diet Library Preservation Plan for FY2003 - 2005"

Based on the basic policy, an action plan "National Diet Library Preservation Plan for FY2003 - 2005" (Preservation Plan in short) was formulated. This Plan covers all the preservation measures the NDL should take from FY 2003 to 2005. The Plan consists of the text and attached annual schedules on actions to be taken in each year. Concrete projects on preservation are stipulated in the text part and responsible bodies for each project are specified in the agenda. 

As projects to be implemented in three years, the following are listed: (1) Research and study on digital preservation, (2) Overall survey on the deterioration level of the NDL collection, (3) Research and study on long-term preservation of paper materials, (4) Preventive preservation, (5) Preparation for rescue of library materials in a time of disaster, (6) Media conversion, (7) Measures in accordance with the media of materials, (8) Development of human resources, and (9) Promotion of preservation cooperation. Concrete contents of each program are laid out and goals for each fiscal year are also specified in the agenda.

It is also stated in the Plan that the Preservation Division should monitor the progress of the plan, review and revise the annual schedules, evaluate the whole plan in the final year, and make a report. Although FY2005 is the final year of the Preservation Plan, we will probably formulate a new plan based on "Preservation and Conservation in the National Diet Library."

IV. Human resource development

Recently in the NDL, several conservators who had been in charge of repair and mending for a long time, retired one after another. Taking over and developing repair and binding techniques for paper materials is one of the major issues for the Library. Since the work of restoration and binding has gradually changed over the years, we need to foster preservation specialists in expectation of the changes over the next 30 years. Concretely speaking, we should establish our basis on highly skilled mending techniques as before, and then enhance preservation work based on conservation science and bibliographic knowledge, and systematically foster staff who have the ability to put that enhanced preservation work into practice.

Moreover, preservation experts in the next generation will need not only to upgrade their technique but also to be capable of planning, coordinating, and implementing various types of preservation plans and to have the information literacy and language skills to support their work. These abilities and skills will be necessary in preservation activities in the NDL, in Japan, and in cooperation activities with overseas institutions. Our next step is to open the door for our conservators to participate in the formulation and implementation of preservation plans in the NDL.

To meet these challenges, as the first step, the NDL has radically changed recruitment methods for preservation specialists. Traditionally, new staff were recruited as binding experts mainly by oral interview. However, since FY2003, we created a category of the examination for preservation specialists. Applicants must take paper tests in liberal arts, special knowledge of preservation, and English and those who pass the paper tests also take an interview and an aptitude test. Moreover, we developed a new curriculum of training programs for them after employment, based on a review of the old ones, considering the basic knowledge necessary for a preservation specialist.

For staff other than the new recruits, too, a training plan is being worked out aiming at enhancing their skills and abilities to plan and carry out projects. In addition, as a part of the Preservation Plan, we provide a three-year technical training program for the staff of the Preservation Division for the purpose of the general improvement of preservation and restoration techniques.

V. Activities of the IFLA/PAC Regional Centre for Asia

Since its establishment in 1989, the IFLA/PAC Regional Centre for Asia in the NDL has actively worked on preservation cooperation and conducted various activities such as receiving trainees from Asian countries, sending preservation specialists overseas, and holding symposiums and forums on preservation.

We have conducted training programs 13 times so far accepting 26 trainees from 8 countries and 1 area, including Thailand and Malaysia, to the NDL. Preservation specialists were dispatched 12 times to 11 countries in total such as Indonesia and Mongolia. The total number of dispatched specialists is 14.

Currently, we focus our support on the Nepal National Library (NNL). In 2003, the NDL received a request for cooperation, mainly on preservation, from the NNL. We sent the Director of the PAC Regional Centre and researched the situation of preservation in the NNL. This year from October 18 to December 1, we are providing a training program to a staff member of the NNL at the NDL. In cases of cooperation programs, we sometimes have difficulties in carrying them out because of the cost and other conditions. This time, for the first time in association with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), we got financial support to carry out the program. As we have received requests for cooperation related to preservation from other countries, we will proceed with the next cooperation programs in close cooperation with related organizations. 

Each IFLA/PAC Regional Centre is expected to contribute to the library community in the world. The field of contribution of our Centre is the preservation of paper materials. The NDL has worked on the promotion of wider use of acid-free paper for almost two decades addressing the acidic paper issues. Since 1986, we have regularly conducted pH surveys of the books newly published in Japan, announced the results to the public and continuously urged the paper industry and the publishing industry to produce and use acid-free paper. The 17th survey conducted in 2003 revealed that the percentage of acid-free paper in Japan reached more than 90% of the new publications.  We are planning to put together our experiences and know-how, from the methods of pH survey to the appeal to the related parties, and to publish "a guidelines for increased use of acid-free paper" to be used worldwide. 

Other activities of the Centre include preservation symposiums, held 10 times from 1990 to 1999, and preservation forums, 16 times since 1990 until now, for both of which we invite preservation specialists from overseas to share information and exchange opinions.

VI. Conclusion - issues, measures, and directions for the future

The NDL is operating its preservation work in accordance with the "Preservation and Conservation in the National Diet Library" formulated in 2003 and its action plan "Preservation Plan." Some plans have already been implemented according to the annual schedule, while others have not made much progress yet. When we consider the major trend in preservation, it is certain that the materials and fields to be dealt with will be continuously expanded and that the actual work of preservation will be more advanced and complicated. Therefore, we need to make strong efforts to address the issues that have not made much progress, and in the meantime envisage the future preservation work, decide on the next direction, and make necessary preparations such as nurturing of human resources.

Presently in the NDL, the following three points are the core problems relating to preservation: promotion of the Preservation Plan, fostering preservation specialists, and the promotion of preservation cooperation. As I have already talked about the fostering of preservation specialists, I would like to briefly touch on our efforts, problems, and directions to take about the other two points and share our awareness of issues.

The promotion of the Preservation Plan depends on the extent to which we can implement the projects presented in the Plan. The projects of immediate importance are a comprehensive survey on the deterioration level of the NDL collection, measures against acidic paper, and systematic media conversion with an eye toward digitization. As we got a budget for urgent actions against deterioration of microfilms and microfiches from FY 2004, we will draw up an implementation plan, make arrangements, and proceed with the action. In addition, members of the Cooperative Staff for Preservation are working on an anti-insects and molds manual. The Preservation Plan presents various projects and in order to promote them we need a strong administrative office responsible for progress management and coordination. That is one of the current major issues for us.

Activities for the promotion of preservation cooperation can be divided into two: activities in cooperation with domestic institutions, and activities of the IFLA/PAC Regional Centre. As cooperation programs in Japan, we will continue the NDL Preservation and Conservation Training Program for librarians in Japan, and the Forum on Preservation, a discussion with preservation specialists. In addition, since FY2003, we hold a "Social Meeting for Experts in Preservation" centering on preservation of paper materials with related institutions, which conduct preservation activities such as archives, aiming at exchange of opinions and strengthening coordination. 

This year, the National Library of Korea is holding this conference on preservation and the National Library of China has established an IFLA/PAC national center. We expect that the preservation activities can be activated further in Asia. As the Regional Centre for Asia, the NDL will promote support and cooperation for preservation by enhancing communication with each country in Asia and actively advancing cooperation with the whole region. For example, we are planning a symposium on preservation, which we have not held for a few years, and are currently considering a theme for it.

This concludes my report on the current situation of preservation at the NDL and its future direction. We have a vast amount of diversified and ever-increasing work to do. The NDL, including its preservation activities, is in a time of transition. We will do our best to preserve and guarantee permanent access to our collections as the intellectual heritage not only for Japanese people but also for all of humankind. We have many challenges such as the securing of budget and staff, fostering of human resources, improvement of systems. We would like to learn from the experience and good results of our colleagues from the National Library of Korea and the National Library of China and cooperate with each other to promote our preservation and conservation activities.