This is an abridged translation of the article of the same title
in the NDL Monthly Bulletin No. 565 (Apr. 2008).

The fiscal 2008 budget bill passed the National Diet on March 28, 2008. The total amount of the initial budget appropriated for the NDL is 21,965,142,000 yen for FY2008 (April 2008 - March 2009), a decrease of some 993 million yen compared with the previous year’s budget, caused by a decrease in the appropriation for personnel expenses and other reasons.

The composition of the total budget is:

• Personnel expenses: 42.6%
  (43.9% in FY2007)
• Acquisition of library
  materials: 11.5% (11.0% in FY2007)
• Development of information systems: 17.7% (17.1% in FY2007)
• Office expenses: 20.0% (20.4% in FY2007)
• Buildings and facilities: 8.2% (7.6% in FY2007)

Major expenditures of the 2008 budget are as follows:

In order to secure wide access to digital materials as well as to prevent online information resources from being scattered and lost, and to try to collect and preserve them, a digital archiving system that collects, preserves and offers digital information has been under construction since FY2005. For FY2008, as expenses for system design and development, and management of the e-stacks, about 908 million yen was approved. Of this, an act incurring liabilities on the national treasury for the five years from FY2008 (total of about 1.759 billion yen) was approved, for the management of the e-stacks.

Since FY2000 the NDL has been gradually increasing the digital contents for the Digital Library Services. For FY2008, about 130 million yen was allocated for the digitization of Japanese books published in the Taisho era.

FY2008 is the 60th anniversary of the NDL. To commemorate this, about 21 million yen was allocated, as expenses for holding the Conference of Directors of National Libraries in Asia and Oceania (CDNLAO), a commemorative symposium and a special exhibition.

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(1) Preparation for Phase 2 construction of the Kansai-kan

As expenses for a survey of the site and research on the building for Phase 2 construction of the Kansai-kan, about 11 million yen was allocated and an act incurring liabilities on the national treasury for the two years from FY2008 (total of about 57 million yen) was approved.

In addition, for land acquisition for the Phase 2 construction of the Kansai-kan, which has been undertaken since FY2002, about 112 million yen was allocated. The land acquisition will be completed in FY2008.

(2) Renovation of the Annex of the Tokyo Main Library

About 962 million yen was approved for the renovation of the building, electric facilities and mechanical equipment (phase 1) which has been undertaken since FY 2006.

In addition, about 156 million yen was allocated for the renovation of the building, electronic facilities and mechanical equipment (phase 2), and an act incurring liabilities on the national treasury for the three years from FY2008 (total of about 1.676 million yen) was approved.

(3) Renovation of the other facilities

As expenses for other renovation work, the following were budgeted:
About 247 million yen for the construction of the entrance/exit checking system of the stacks of the Tokyo Main Library; about 162 million yen for the renovation of the fire protection shutters of the Main Building; about 47 million yen for the renovation of the light fixtures of the Main Building; about 104 million yen for maintenance of the Kansai-kan.

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Amounts of National Diet Library’s FY2008 Expenditure Budget

(1,000 yen)

National Diet Library’s Budget

*The Kansai-kan was completed in FY2002

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