For reports of past programs, please see here. For an outline of the programs and reports presented at the programs, please see here.

Delegation of the NLC

Headed by Deputy Director Mr. Zhang Yanbo, this year's delegation had the following four members: Ms. Shen Sa, Director of the Personnel Division, Mr. Wang Dongbo, Director of the Operational Division, Mr. Li Wanjian, Professor of China Society for Library Science, and Ms. Zhang Yanxia (interpreter), Deputy Director of the Acquisition and Cataloging Department.

The main theme of this year's program was "Management of national libraries" with sub-themes "Human resources development" and "Activity evaluation system." The program consisted mainly of a series of sessions held at the Tokyo Main Library of the NDL with participation from the Kansai-kan using the TV Conference System. There was also deliberation on how the two national libraries should develop specific cooperation based on the "Letter of Intent concerning Exchange and Cooperation between the NDL and the NLC" signed in 1999.

Opening session (November 9)

At the opening session, Mr. Zhang delivered a keynote speech under the title "Promotion of the modernization and internationalization of the NLC by the renovated management system and mechanism," followed by a speech by Mr. Noritada Otaki, then Deputy Librarian of the NDL, titled "The past and the future of the NDL in the new era."

In his keynote speech, Mr. Zhang introduced the principles of the new management system and mechanism developed at the NLC since 1998. He reported that the reform based on the principles had brought good results as could be seen in the usage statistics. Mr. Otaki reviewed the history of the NDL's development in three stages and introduced its undertakings for the future. After that, participants had a question period and exchanged information and views related to the keynote speeches and other issues such as a digital reference system.

Section Meeting I : Human resources development (November 10)

At the meeting, Ms. Shen from the NLC and Mr. Taketoshi Ishikawa, Senior Secretary (in charge of personnel administration) of the Administrative Department, reported on the policies and practices of human resources development of each library. After the reports, Ms. Shen gave further details about the human resources development system in the NLC in answer to questions from the NDL participants.

Section Meeting II : Activity evaluation system (November 10)

In the second section meeting, Mr. Wang Dongbo from the NLC and Mr. Hiroyuki Taya, Director of the Planning and Cooperation Division, reported on each library’s recent undertakings on the theme. Mr. Wang introduced "The Evaluation System for the NLC" established in 1998 as a part of work restructuring started in 1996 and explained how that system works. Mr. Taya presented the outline of "NDL Vision 2004" and the activity evaluation system introduced in 2004.

Visits to the Kansai-kan and other institutions

On November 11, the NLC delegation visited the International Library of Children's Literature (ILCL), a branch library of the NDL. The staff members of the ILCL told them about the activities of the library and its future plans. After that they had a discussion about several topics including a possible exchange of children's books between the two libraries.

On November 13 they moved to Kyoto and visited the Kansai-kan. They met the staff members of the Digital Library Division, Library Support Division and Asian Resources Division of the Kansai-kan, and exchanged opinions and information. The Kansai-kan staff members described some ongoing projects such as the Collaborative Reference Database Project, Web Archiving Project (WARP) and digital exhibitions. They talked about a wide range of topics such as the Kansai-kan expansion project, the coming construction of a new annex and new lending service of the NLC, digitization, training programs for librarians, and acquisition and construction of databases of materials in Asian languages.

The delegation also visited other libraries and institutions around Tokyo and in Kyoto including the Toyo Bunko (Oriental Library, a branch library of the NDL), the National Institute of Informatics, The Central Library of Urayasu public libraries and the Library and Information Technology Center of the Doshisha University.

Conclusion

In the Closing Session on November 16 held at the Kansai-kan, questions and answers in the previous sessions were summed up to be shared. To wrap up the program, Mr. Zhang and Mr. Otaki stated that they had been able to finish a fruitful program and had deepened mutual understanding and friendly relations by exchanging opinions on issues of mutual concern.

It was confirmed that the two national libraries share recognition on the importance of library management and aim for an appropriate and effective management system, developing human resources and introducing activity evaluation systems. On the other hand, there are some differences between the NDL and the NLC in their ways of renovation and the procedures of activity evaluation, which attracted the interest of the participants, at the same time making a point of what we have in common.

After completing the 10-day program, the delegation left Japan on November 17. The 25th program will be held at the NLC in 2005.

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