In July 2012, the National Diet Library (NDL) formulated the Mission and Objectives 2012-2016, which replaces the earlier Vision for the NDL's 60th Anniversary.
It highlights the mission to be accomplished by the NDL and the six objectives to be achieved in about five years under the mission.
In addition, we formulated Strategic Goals under each of the six objectives as milestone goals for the Mission and Objectives 2012-2016 in May 2013.

• Pamphlet (PDF: 2.0MB)

The National Diet Library extensively collects and preserves publications and other materials/information from inside and outside the country as a knowledge base and cultural infrastructure; assists the Diet and provides library services to the executive and judicial branches and the public; supports the creativity of the nation and contributes to the development of democracy.

To fulfill this mission, for the period of 2012-2016 we will do our utmost to achieve the following objectives:

Objective 1: Support to the Diet

We will enhance reliable research and analysis with high expertise on public policy issues and emphasize prompt and precise information services, to provide the Diet with full assistance.

• Strategic Goals for Objective 1

Objective 2: Acquisition and Preservation

We will further improve the legal deposit system and strive to build comprehensive collections of domestic publications; besides print publications, we intend to acquire and preserve a variety of materials/information, both digital and non-digital, as cultural assets.

• Strategic Goals for Objective 2

Objective 3: Information Access

We will prepare universally user-friendly environments and measures, through digitization of materials, improved search methods and others, in response to new information environments, so that our holdings are easily available and sought-after information can be found promptly and precisely.

• Strategic Goals for Objective 3

Objective 4: Collaboration and Cooperation

We will work together with other institutions, both in Japan and abroad, to expand and make useful our knowledge base and cultural infrastructure.

• Strategic Goals for Objective 4

Objective 5: Archives of the Great East Japan Earthquake

We will continue to develop the Great East Japan Earthquake Archives in order to convey to future generations the records of and the lessons learned from the unprecedented disaster.

• Strategic Goals for Objective 5

Objective 6: Administration

We will conduct our management transparently and efficiently, nurture human resources for advanced services and secure the necessary facilities.

• Strategic Goals for Objective 6

① Enhance the roles "Brains of the legislature" and "Information Center for the Diet Members", to assist the Diet, the highest organ of state power.

② Respond promptly, precisely and in an advanced manner to research requests and, to do so, produce publications and others systematically, aligned with public policy issues, which are fully utilized for research inquiries.
Make the most of our collections and information resources, including a variety of digital information on the Internet, and respond accordingly in ways optimized for the research request and its concerns and needs.

③ Conduct various research projects on basic policy issues of the nation, and publish and utilize their outcomes for research inquiries.

④ Enhance, when conducting research, such areas as the trend reports/analysis of systems, policies and legislation of foreign countries and the situation/policy analysis utilizing advanced statistics/data processing.

⑤ Acquire a range of various materials/information generated by the daily activities of the Diet such as the Minutes of the Diet, in cooperation with relevant institutions, and provide the people with easy access to those of the past and present. This is our part to play, in the aspect of materials/information, for "connecting the Diet with the people".

⑥ Exchange information with parliamentary libraries and others the world over on various themes regarding development of services for the parliaments, through which we can improve our research abilities, and contribute internationally to the development of parliamentary libraries.

⑦ Cooperate with research institutions, researchers and others in Japan and abroad and utilize their expertise for our research. Acquire a broad range of materials/information from various information sources, utilize them for research and serve them to the Diet.

① Take proper measures according to types/distribution systems of publications and make further efforts toward comprehensive acquisition of domestic publications.

② Acquire foreign materials and a broad range of other necessary materials/information to enhance the services for the Diet.

③ Prepare necessary regulations step by step toward comprehensive acquisition of e-books/e-journals, and set out to acquire/preserve them.

④ Continue archiving websites of government and other public institutions, and acquire moving images on those sites.

⑤ Collect materials/information on science and technology in accordance with the science and technology policy of the nation.

⑥ Acquire/preserve unpublished precious materials which are nationally significant cultural properties, such as manuscripts, in cooperation with relevant institutions.

⑦ Acquire/preserve Japan’s valuable historical recordings, moving pictures and others, some of which are in danger of being lost, via digitization.

⑧ Continue measures against deterioration and proceed with digitization, to preserve our collections.

⑨ Ensure the long-term use of digital materials and sound/visual recordings among our collections by providing for their playback environments and lasting preservation.

① Provide onsite users with precise navigation and enable them to use materials/information efficiently and comfortably.

② Improve copying and other remote services for offsite users.

③ Proceed with digitization so that anyone can make use of our collections.
Provide easier access to digital materials, in cooperation with copyright holders and publishers, and expand the access on the Internet.

④ Provide people with disabilities with easy access to digital materials.

⑤ Prepare databases and other information for precise and efficient research.

⑥ Provide easy access to useful information resources in Japan and abroad.

⑦ Compile integrated bibliography for conventional materials such as print publications and electronically-distributed information such as those on the Internet.

⑧ Strengthen cooperation with publishing/distribution industries, and increase the promptness and efficiency of compilation and provision of bibliography.

⑨ Make our bibliographic information available and usable in various ways without difficulties.

① Proceed with cooperative projects with nation-wide libraries of all sorts, utilizing digital information and information and communication technology (ICT), enhance dissemination of information relevant to libraries, and expand reference-services and other kinds of training and information support for librarians.

② Work with museums, archives and others in the area of acquisition/preservation/access of digital information resources, proceed with research cooperation with academic institutions and cooperate with relevant public/private entities.

③ Cooperate and collaborate with a broad range of people concerned, such as copyright holders and publishers, to secure information access.

④ Continue commitment to recovery efforts from the Great East Japan Earthquake including support for restoration of damaged materials.

⑤ Cooperate closely with overseas national libraries, parliamentary libraries and international organizations related to libraries and the like, share and exchange information, and expand transnational cooperative projects of the digital information age.

⑥ Expand events, exhibitions, electronic exhibitions and publications, and make our collections and activities more widely known.

⑦ Prepare an environment which fosters affection for reading, and encourage children’s reading activities.

① Acquire and preserve proactively disaster records of the Great East Japan Earthquake, local records before the quake, records of the recovery process and records of past earthquakes/tsunami/nuclear power plant accidents. Contribute to nation-wide cooperation, call upon other institutions to conduct acquisition/preservation and support them, and collect necessary information for search, such as information on the location of records.

② Make use of the results of cooperative research with academic institutions, create, for example, system functions connecting semantically a variety of information/data such as text/sounds/moving images/pictures, facilitate practical use of records on earthquake and other disasters, and contribute to future disaster prevention/reduction measures and education.

① Make publicly and clearly available the objectives, achievements and evaluation of our services and activities and make use of them to increase people’s satisfaction with our services.

② Focus human/physical resources input on services and activities required by the Diet, the executive/judicial branches and the people, and, to do so, scrutinize our services and activities regularly and increase our efficiency.

③ Provide library-wide support and encourage our staff to develop/enhance their abilities and maintain/increase morale, so that each staff member may precisely understand the users’ intention and the needs of the times/society, and achieve high-level performance and services.

④ Undertake well-planned construction and renovation of and maintain the preservation facilities to keep materials/information at their best for future generations, as well as facilities required for better services.