No. 179, August / October 2011

Agreement to secure the passing on of valuable cultural materials to the next generation

On May 18, the National Diet Library and the Agency for Cultural Affairs forged an agreement to locate, index, acquire, preserve and make use of works and materials which the NDL, museums and galleries had not systematically preserved hitherto despite their historical or cultural value, so as to expand collaboration and cooperation in securing passing on of valuable cultural materials to the next generation.

With regard to the practical approach to this cooperation/collaboration, the NDL currently has the following plans in place:

(1) For scenarios and scripts of TV and radio programs
Do research on preservation techniques and establish a digital archive to preserve them.
(2) Music-related materials (e.g. scores published in Japan)
Cooperate with the Agency for Cultural Affairs in setting up a location database of music-related materials and establish an integrated, nationwide system for locating such materials.
(3) Comics, animations, games etc.
Collaborate on the provision of bibliographic information and on a relevant information system.

Both bodies will review further possible fields of cooperation/collaboration.