National Diet Library Newsletter
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National Diet Library's network
with libraries
in the executive and judicial
agencies:
Branch Library System (part 1/2)
This article is based on
the article in Japanese of the same title in the NDL Monthly
Bulletin
No. 545 (August 2006)
1. What is the Branch Library System of the NDL?
The NDL assists the members of the National Diet in performing their duties as its primary mission and also provides library services for the executive and judicial agencies and for the people of Japan (National Diet Library Law, Article 2). The Branch Library System, through which the services for the executive and judicial agencies are provided, is a library network formed by the NDL as the central library* and its branch libraries in government ministries, agencies and the Supreme Court. Library services and the management of the branch libraries under this system are stipulated in Articles 17 to 29 of the National Diet Library Law. *Hereafter
called "(NDL)
central library" in this article in order to distinguish the NDL which
functions as the principal body in the Branch Library System from the
NDL
as organization which includes all the branch libraries. For further
details
on the NDL's organization, please visit our
website.
In addition to providing library services to the branch libraries, the NDL central library supports them by, for example, providing staff training programs and carries out various activities to keep the entire network operating effectively. This network enables the NDL to conduct a wide range of library activities including legal deposit of official publications, exchanges of publications among ministries and agencies, and interlibrary loans. Executive and judicial agencies have been responding to the new knowledge-based society and the central library has been promoting improvement of information infrastructure for the branch libraries. The primary mission of the branch libraries is supporting staff members of the individual ministries, agencies and the Supreme Court to which they belong by providing library services such as copying, lending and reference. While this may be the mission of every government library in the world, the branch libraries also provide library services to other branch libraries and to the NDL central library, through the network. Government publications of ministries and agencies that are indispensable for the legislative activities of the Diet are provided to the legislature based on the legal deposit system. These government publications are also used extensively by the public. The NDL central library, acquires government publications of other countries mainly through the international exchange of publications, and Japanese official publications deposited through branch libraries are sent to other countries in return. This Branch Library System is
said to be unique and it is
regarded as
a pioneering library network in Japan. The Branch Libraries and
Cooperation
Division of the NDL central library is in charge of the Branch Library
System while the services to the branch libraries are offered by the
entire
library with the Division as a liaison and coordination
office. 2. History of the Branch Library System of the NDLThe administrative bodies and
the judicial branch before World War
II had their own libraries. Their collections often had distinctive
features
dating from the first year of the Meiji era. The Branch Library System
was established on the basis of these libraries.
After the war, in December 1947, a U.S. Library Mission came to Japan at the request of the presiding officers of both Houses who asked the GHQ to send U.S. library specialists. The Mission consisted of Verner Warren Clapp, the then Chief Associate Librarian at the Library of Congress, and Charles Harvey Brown, the then Honorary Librarian of Iowa State University and the former President of the American Library Association. With their counsel, a basic concept was formed as the basis of the National Diet Library Law. The establishment of the Branch Library System also came from their counsel and recommendation. They thought that one of the most important functions of the NDL should be "bibliographical research and reference services for all departments of the National Government."** Accordingly they recommended "the formation of a great coordinated system of government libraries, with the National Diet Library as the nucleus or keystone."** More specifically they mentioned the need for branch libraries in the Supreme Court building and in the various ministries. **"Report of
the United
States Library Mission To Advise on the Establishment of the National
Diet
Library of Japan (1948)" Thirty Years' History of the National Diet
Library:
Documents and Records, National Diet Library, Tokyo, March 1980,
p.426-465
Based on their recommendation, the National Diet Library Law included the Branch Library System, which came into existence on August 25, 1948, as a network of libraries of the executive and judicial agencies. Starting with 18 libraries, the network has experienced various changes of participants in accordance with several reforms of the administrative structure and for other reasons. There are 26 branch libraries and 6 sub-branches as of 2006 (see the list). 2.2. Development of the SystemThe Branch Library System of
the NDL, established in this way, required
some adjustments because it was the first of its kind and especially
because
it covers the three powers of legislative, administrative and judicial
branches of the government. Because of this, adjustments were
continually
being made during the period from its establishment to the mid-sixties.
Coordinating
Committee In the Branch Library System,
the NDL, which belongs to the
legislature,
has its affiliated organizations in each administrative and judicial
body.
With respect to the separation of the three powers, the Coordinating
Committee
is dedicated to the smooth operation of the system. The Committee
consists of the chairs of the Committees on Rules and Administration of
both Houses, one of the Supreme Court Chiefs appointed by the Chief
Justice
and one of the ministers appointed by the Prime Minister (by
convention,
the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)
(National
Diet Library Law, Article 12 and 13).
This Committee makes recommendations on improvement of the NDL’s services for the executive and judicial agencies to the Committees on Rules and Administration of both Houses. The Committee issued recommendations eight times between 1945 and 1964, which led to the strengthening and development of the system. Council
on the
Branch Library System As mentioned above, the fact
that the NDL, belonging to the
legislature,
has its branch libraries in the executive and judicial agencies, caused
legal and practical problems after the establishment of the system.
Especially
for the branch libraries of executive agencies, their status in each
organization,
budget and personnel affairs, which had not been defined in detail,
required
clarification.
Therefore the Council on the Branch Library System was
established in
July 1962 with the objective: "clarify the legal status and structure
of
the branch libraries to enhance their functions." With the Deputy
Librarian
of the NDL as the chair, council members from both central and branch
libraries
conducted studious deliberations and submitted an "opinion brief" to
the
Librarian on March 2, 1970. Since then, the operation of the Branch
Library
System has been carried out based on this opinion brief. 3. Outline of the Branch Library System of the NDL
3.1.
Appointment of the directors of the branch libraries and the regular
number
of branch libraries staff The number of the branch
libraries staff is in total 203 as of the
end of March 2006. Seven branch libraries out of 26 have more than 10
staff
members.
The director of each branch library is appointed by the Librarian of the NDL upon the recommendation of the members of the Coordinating Committee as prescribed by Article 17 of the National Diet Library Law. In many cases, the branch libraries are organizationally placed in the administrative, public relations, information or research-related department/division of each agency. Thus some directors of the branch libraries are also designated as chief of such sections or higher, while some are the full-time director. Although the staff of the branch libraries belong to their own executive and judicial agencies of the government, the directors of executive agencies have to confer with the Librarian of the NDL on the regular number of the full-time staff allocated to their branch libraries, in accordance with the law on the branch libraries. This process is of great significance in assuring the numbers of the branch library staff in executive authorities. A representative from each branch library is appointed concurrently as a librarian of the NDL central library for closer coordination and cooperation between the central and its branch libraries. Article 18 of the National Diet
Library stipulates that the budget
for the library of each executive or judicial agency of the government
shall be included as a distinct item under the title "library" in the
budget
of the agency concerned, and appropriations made thereunder shall not
be
transferable to any other item in the budget of the agency nor be
reduced
without the approval of the member of the Coordinating Committee who
represents
an executive or judicial body of the government and the Librarian of
the
NDL. The budget for the item “library" is allocated only to purchase
library
materials for each branch library, even though other various expenses
are
necessary for operating the library.
In addition to traditional paper-form materials, an increasing number of digital-form materials have been published in recent years. It is necessary for each branch library to develop its collections in order to respond to such changes. This is the reason why it has become more and more important to secure the budget. The NDL central library and the
branch libraries take diverse
opportunities
to exchange opinions and share information. In particular, one of the
conferences
held regularly by the central library, the "Annual Meeting between the
NDL Librarian and the Directors of the Branch Libraries of Executive
and
Judicial Agencies," provides an important opportunity to discuss
coordination
and cooperation annually. The "Conference of the Central and Branch
Libraries"
is hosted by the Director General, Administrative Department of the NDL
central library, and invites the directors of all the branch libraries
for the sake of the smooth operation of the Branch Library System. In
recent
years, this conference has been held three times a year to discuss
planning
for the fiscal year, the budget issues, etc. In addition, an executive
board under the Conference of the Central and Branch Libraries, and
meetings
of the branch library librarians who are concurrently appointed as
central
library librarians are arranged by the central library.
3.4.
Training The Branch Libraries and
Cooperation Division, Administrative
Department
of the NDL central library, offers training programs for the staff of
the
branch libraries. Because most of the branch libraries staff start out
as newcomers, various training programs by the central library are
precious
opportunities for them. The central library provides a wide variety of
training. In particular, the "training program for librarians of branch
libraries in the executive and judicial agencies" offers systematic
programs
customized mainly for new staff to digest the basic knowledge and
skills
of general library services. The central library also holds information
retrieval workshops for databases, tours of other libraries and related
institutions, lectures on various aspects of library services and so
on.
For the purpose of better
cooperation among the branch libraries and
other special libraries, the NDL central library has been publishing a
community magazine titled "Biblos"
(Japanese only) since April 1950. The paper version was changed into
electronic
version in October 1998, which is available on the NDL website.
 *Click on the graph for clearer image (PDF file, 122KB) |
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