Science and technologymaterials and digital information are indispensable to promote scienceand technology. The NDL has endeavored to acquire and organize domesticandforeign science and technology materials and digital information, so asto develop a foundation for the science and technology information("STI") of the whole nation. The NDL makes available these collectedmaterials and digital information, to provide information regardingscience and technology for the National Diet, to help the researchersand engineers in their research and development, and to increase theuse of STI by the general public. In step with the progress of thedigital library in recent years, the NDL is also accentuating provisionofinformation on subjects, by introducing efficient ways to use thesecollection and information sources and showing how to research eachsubject related to science and technology. Today, I would like tobriefly report on our measures that have been conducted to promotescience and technology.

First I would like to explainour history of developing STI, focusing on plans formulated by NDL inconnection with science and technology development, and with therelations to the development of STI in Japan.

The beginning of developing STI

Our development of STI datesback to 1952, not long after our establishment, when the necessity fora central library to develop an STI collection was consideredimportant. After a resolution was adopted in the Subcommittees onManagement of the National Diet Library in the House of Representativesand the House of Councillors, the NDL began to accumulate "PB Reports"- theresearch reports published under grants of the US government. Anotherresolution, concerning the development of science and technologydocuments in Japan, also passed the House of Representatives on January21, 1957. These movements indicate that the NDL’s various activities inaccumulating materials related to science and technology have been apart of the nation’s efforts to develop a foundation of STI from thebeginning.

Simultaneously with the accumulation of the "PB Reports", the NDLembarkedon acquisition of nuclear related materials from 1953. On thisoccasion, an advisory panel of prominent professionals from variousfields was established to seek advice and support. Afterwards, settingup an advisory panel became the basic method for the NDL in drafting aguideline for developing STI infrastructures based on the opinions ofwell-informed independent personages. This continues to be the current"Meeting of the Council on Organization of Materials on Science andTechnology".

Formulation of the "Science and Technology Basic Law" and various plans

"Science and Technology BasicLaw," the law which provides a basic framework for the science andtechnology policies of Japan, entered into force in November 1995. Onthe basis of this law, the "First Science and Technology Basic Plan"was approved by the Cabinet in July 1996. This plan aimed, in order toaddress the issues threatening Japan and other countries includingglobal environmental issues and problems of energy and resourceshortages, to drastically improve the circumstances in which activitiesrelated to science and technology are conducted, with an emphasis onthe necessity of constructing a new system which enables innovativeR&D activities, and to promote the development of information andknowledge infrastructure including consolidation of informationnetworks and science and technology related databases.

Taking into consideration the "First Science and Technology Basic Plan"and the ongoing progress of network infrastructure and increase ofdigital information in the science and technology field, NDL formulatedthe "NDLPlan for the Organization of Science and TechnologyInformation" (Japanese only) in June 1998, for the fiscal year1998-2002. This plan wasthe first basic plan for the development of STI in the NDL andconsisted of three major pillars: the development of science andtechnology information collection; the establishment of the documentsupply service; and the realization of the digital library. However,looking back from the present point of view, concrete measures for theaccumulation and provision of digital information were still in theirinfancy. To accomplish the continuing issues of the "NDL Plan for theOrganization of Science and Technology Information", the "Planfor theOrganization of Science and Technology Information" (Japanese only)was formulated inJanuary 2004, to cover the fiscal year 2004-2006. Until the formulationof the "NDLSecond Plan for the Organization of Science and TechnologyInformation"(Japanese only), we had actively promoted to developscience andtechnology information based on this plan.

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Progress of the digital information environment and formulation of the "NDL Second Plan for the Organization of Science and Technology Information"

At the Meeting of the Council on Organization of Materials on Science and Technology held in December 2004, "NDL’s New Guidelines in the Digital Resources Environment: Proposals for the Organization of Science and Technology Information in the NDL" was submitted to the Librarian. In response, "NDL Second Plan for the Organization of Science and Technology Information" was formulated in June 2006. We are now working on measures concerning the development of STI in accordance with this plan.

This Second Plan represents the basic policy and framework on the development of STI in the digital information environment over the fiscal year 2006-2010, based on the NDL’s mission and role assigned from its establishment, and what we have achieved so far in developing a foundation for STI. The Plan clarifies the NDL’s objectives as follows: to promote the digital library project in tandem with the other ongoing projects; to implement comprehensive acquisition and provision of science and technology related digital information generated inside the country; to develop and promote the use of foreign STI; and to construct a system to facilitate comprehensive access to various information sources related to science and technology. The concrete measures are as follows:

Priority Policies

• to further develop STI collection:
  • 1) accumulation and provision of digital information including construction of Digital Archives
  • 2)enhancing acquisition of science and technology materials published inside Japan, etc.
• to reinforce STI provision to the National Diet, including enhancing researches on science and technology related matters
• to supply STI service to the general public:
  • 1) improvement of the document supply, including retrospective conversion of Japanese Periodicals Index (Science and Technology), etc.
  • 2) strengthening of transmission of science and technology related information
  • 3) construction of the STI portal
  • 4) improvement of library service inside NDL
• to implement measures and policies for children who will be major operators of science and technology in the next generation: acquisition of science and technology related materials to be provided to children, holding events related to science and technology, etc.
• Fostering of STI professionals

With the above priority policies, the Plan concludes by mentioning strengthening cooperation among relevant organizations and revision of the Plan in response to the changing digital environment to promote implementation.

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In order to evaluate the future development of STI, it is essential to enhance the digital library service even further. NDL has established various measures associated with the digital library project. For example, NDL formulated the "NDL Digital Library Medium Term Plan for 2004" in February 2004. This medium term plan sets forth in detail the direction in which digital library services will be oriented at the NDL over the fiscal year 2004-2008, and presents the frameworks required for the realization.

Here, I would like to introduce science and technology collections held by NDL and give a brief outline of the available digital information tools, and subject research guides, with a focus on digital library contents based on this medium term plan.

Numberof science and technologyrelated library material collections

NDL collects materials by purchase, legal deposit (from the national or local government and private publishers), donation (from individuals and groups inside and outside the country) and exchange (with foreign governments and international organizations). These　are the numbers of science and technology related materials collected by NDL(library holdings as of the end of December 2005）.

In addition to the above-mentioned collections, NDL collects many science and technology related books, published inside and outside Japan. As for the number of science and technology books, since NDL has changed the classification over the course of time, it is difficult to count them all in one unified way. But to give you the round number, there are about 281,400 titles of Japanese books and 148,600 titles of foreign books of science and technology fields acquired by NDL during 30 years between 1976 and 2005.

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Digital information services (available on NDL premises only）

Access to subscription databases is available inside NDL. Full text electronic journals are provided by 'ScienceDirect' and 'OCLC Electronic Collections Online (OCLC ECO)'. Bibliographic data, abstracts and indexes of science and technology related materials are provided by 'Web of Science'.

Financial budget for science and technology

In order to collect science and technology library materials and to deposit digital information as mentioned above, about 1 billion 13 million yen was approved for the acquisition of science and technology materials in the NDL budget for fiscal year 2006. This expenditure forms a part of our nation's entire promotion expense for science and technology.

Providing information on specific themes and collections and guides for search

Research Guide by Subject

(http://www.ndl.go.jp/jp/data/theme.html)(Japanese only)
Introduces basic materials,reference tools, and selected internet resources on specific subjectsand collections. Many science and technology related reference guidesare provided on the website, recording over 43,000 hits per month.

Directoryof Japanese Scientific Periodicals

(http://rnavi.ndl.go.jp/kaigi/)
* From May 11, 2009, renamed "Kagakugijuturonbunshi / kaigiroku Database" (Japanese Only). Covers science and technologyserials edited and published by organizations operating in Japan.

Introduction to Reference Books

(http://rnavi.ndl.go.jp/sanko/)(Japanese only)
Provides reference publicationsinformation chosen from the books and periodicals published in Japanand acquired by the NDL. Offers classification search which you cansearch from science and technology related categories like naturalscience, engineering, and industry.

Collaborative Reference Database

(http://crd.ndl.go.jp/jp/public/)(Japanese only)
　NDL has been collaboratingwith public, university and special libraries in Japan to constructthis database. Useful reference tools in the library, like the recordsof Q&A service and guides for searching materials which are offeredin each library every day, are included to give clues for searchinginformation. Also offers classification search through which you cansearch by science and technology related categories like naturalscience, engineering, and industry.

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Services for the general public, related to STI, are offered mainly in the Business, Science and Technology Room of the Tokyo Main Library. Search on various commercial online/CD-ROM databases for specific subject materials can be done, and it also offers many reference books on social topics like environment, medical treatment, food, and specialist librarians who belong exclusively to the Room. The General Collections Room bears a similar function in the Kansai-kan in Kyoto.

Services for the National Diet

(http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/aboutus/diet_service.html)

Publications

(http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/aboutus/diet_service.html#Publications)
NDL assists activities of theDiet by supplying appropriate analysis and information. We publish amonthly report called "Reference" which contains papers and articlesproviding information about national political issues and topics andforeign affairs, and a booklet called "ISSUE BRIEF" which containsconcise explanations and comments on the national political issues andtopics now being considered in the Diet. In these publications, manyscience and technology related issues are discussed.

Online Catalogs

(http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/data/opac.html)

Japanese National Bibliography

(http://www.ndl.go.jp/jp/publication/jnbwl/jnb_top.html)(Japanese only)
NDL is responsible for providing the national bibliography of our country, and publishes the 'Japanese National Bibliography' to supply prompt and precise information on the newly collected Japanese publications to interested parties inside and outside Japan.

NDL-OPAC (National Diet Library Online Public Access Catalog)

(https://ndlopac.ndl.go.jp/eng/)
Users can search books published in Japan and overseas, serials (magazines, newspapers, etc.), periodical indexes and other materials held by NDL.　Retrospective data conversion of science and technology materials including foreign technical reports and Doctoral Dissertations(Japanese） is under way.

Many indexed periodicals articles can be searched in "Japanese Periodicals Index" (Japanese only) which can be accessed through the NDL-OPAC system. Retrospective data conversion on the index of science and technology articles in the "Japanese Periodicals Index" is under way in addition.

NDL Asian Language Materials OPAC

(http://asiaopac.ndl.go.jp/index_e.html)
　Search is possible for books in Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Malaysian languages acquired in and after 1986, and all periodicals and newspapers in Chinese and Korean held by NDL.

National Union Catalog

(http://unicanet.ndl.go.jp/psrch/redirect.jsp?type=psrch) (Japanese only)
This union catalog includes bibliographic data and holdings of Japanese books held by NDL, prefectural and major municipal libraries.

Prototype System of the NDL Digital Archive Portal

(http://porta.ndl.go.jp/portal/index_en.html) (Japanese only)
One of the objectives defined in "The National Diet Library Digital Library Medium Term Plan for 2004" is to construct a comprehensive portal site which will navigate to digital information throughout Japan. Through this Portal (Prototype System) we are examining the adequacy of the techniques we adopted to aim for integrated search and the usefulness of the services. It was opened to the public in July 2005. This is the first step to accomplish the one-stop access service for the digital information resources. In future, it is hoped that an enhanced search system will be designed and the number of specific subjects including STI will be increased.

Digital Library from the Meiji Era

(http://kindai.ndl.go.jp/index.html) (Japanese only)
This database allows users to search bibliographic information and tables of contents of NDL's collection of books published in the Meiji era (1868-1912) and view digital images of the books themselves. Many science and technology materials are included. As of April 2006, 127,000 volumes were available. We are planning to add books published in the Taisho era (1912-1926) in the future.

Web Archiving Project (WARP)

(http://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/) (Japanese only)
Collects and preserves websites and online periodicals on the Internet as cultural heritage. Contains more than 600 titles of science and technology related online periodicals.

Database Navigation Service (Dnavi)

(http://dnavi.da.ndl.go.jp/bnnv/servlet/bnnv_user_top.jsp) (Japanese only)
Navigates users to find specific information on the Internet by providing links to external databases from websites in Japan. With Dnavi, users can search databases on the Web by title, creator, classification, and description. Approximately 2,600 databases on the Internet, related to science and technology, are available for access.

NDL Gallery

(http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/gallery/index.html)
Electronic Exhibitions featuring science and technology, such as "Fauna and Flora in Illustrations: Natural History of the Edo Era"(Japanese only), are included in this virtual gallery.

Exhibitions and Events at the International Library of Children's Literature

(http://www.kodomo.go.jp/event/index.html) (Japanese only)
ILCL holds events occasionally, like "Fun with science," to promote children's interest in science and help them enjoy reading science books.

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The "Third Science and Technology Basic Plan", which was approved by the Cabinet in March 2006, indicates "Science and technology to be supported by the public and to benefit society" as a fundamental principle, incorporating the expression "clearly explaining science and technology policies and their results to the people, thereby enhancing accountability. These efforts will increase people's interest in science and technology and ensure that science and technology are developed with their support." As for NDL, the Plan also discusses strengthening our functions and closely coordinating with university libraries, to improve the research information infrastructure.

Our mission is to serve the National Diet and for the general people. Compared with public authorities and associations which are engaged in the development of science and technology, NDL is one of the most appropriate institutions for realizing this fundamental principle. In order to respond to the expectations of developing STI infrastructure, we will steadily implement and promote the "NDL Second Plan for the Organization of Science and Technology Information", and further fulfill our responsibilities towards our nation.

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