A National Diet Library (NDL) delegation visited China from November 22 to 29, 2005 on the 25th mutual visit program between the NDL and the National Library of China (NLC). 

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

NDL delegation in front of the Branch Library

Headed by Mr. Masashi Murakami, Director General of the Bibliography Department, the delegation consisted of the following four other members: Mr. Mitsuaki Okamura, Director of the Acquisition Administration Division, Mr. Shunsuke Hasegawa, Director of the Business, Science and Technology Division, Mr. Toshiyuki Muto, Director of the Digital Library Division, Kansai-kan of the National Diet Library, and Ms. Kaori Murakami, Chief of the Cooperation Section, Branch Libraries and Cooperation Division (interpreter).

The theme of the 2005 program was "Acquisition, preservation and provision of digital resources". Six speakers introduced each library's recent activities and both parties had a lively exchange of views on this theme. It is a common issue among libraries in the world: how libraries acquire digital, especially online, resources and make them accessible to the public now and in the future. They found the NLC and the NDL were standing at nearly the same stage and facing many common difficulties. 

In the latter part of the program, the group visited the Branch Library of the NLC at Wenjin Street, Tsinghua University Library, Tsinghua Tongfang Knowledge Network Technology, Capital Library and Shanghai Library. The purpose of these visits was to understand the current situation of Chinese library services and the digital resources of each institution. 

More details of this program will be published in NDL Monthly Bulletin no. 539, February 2006 (in Japanese). 

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