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Organizing Information on Science and Technology

The National Diet Library (NDL) has been involved in the acquisition and organization of both printed and electronic information on science and technology as part of a national effort to improve the science and technology information infrastructure. The NDL is making these information resources widely available in order to provide the National Diet with information on science and technology, to support the research activities of scientists and technical experts, and to help keep the general public in Japan informed about science and technology.

The Council on the Organization of Information on Science and Technology

The Council on the Organization of Information on Science and Technology advises the Librarian of the NDL on issues related to the Basic Plan for the Organization of Information on Science and Technology and comprises no more than 20 experts in science and technology appointed by the Librarian from outside the NDL. Council meetings are generally held once a year, after which the Council submits reports or written opinions for making policies for the Basic Plan.

The Council discusses a wide range of subjects, from acquisition and provision to general issues related to information on science and technology. At the 19th meeting, the Council submitted its proposal "Towards a Knowledge Base for Creating Our Society and Future" (Japanese, PDF: 1.64MB) which will be used to prepare the 6th National Diet Library Basic Plan for the Organization of Information on Science and Technology.

The 6th National Diet Library Basic Plan for the Organization of Information on Science and Technology

The 6th National Diet Library Basic Plan for the Organization of Information on Science and Technology (Japanese, PDF: 201KB) is a five-year plan enacted in March 2026 with the goal of advancing the development of an infrastructure for scientific and technological information by providing broad access to a diverse range of information resources as well as by building a trustworthy knowledge base that will serve as a major source of information not just in today’s digital age but also in 100 years’ time. Seeking to comprise a wide range of information resources from both Japan and overseas, the plan envisions acquisition and organization of not just academic publications but a wide range of materials that will prove useful to research across a broad range of interests, including the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences.
The following have been identified as matters to be addressed:

(1) Development of a knowledge base

  1. Acquiring and preserving materials
  2. Digitizing and converting to full-text acquired materials
  3. Ensuring long-term accessibility to digital information
  4. Expanding and enhancing open data and open source software provided by the NDL

(2) Utilization of the knowledge base

  1. Expanding NDL Search functionality
  2. Approaching related communities
  3. Eliminating barriers to access

(3) Collaboration and cooperation with other organizations

  1. With individual researchers as well as research institutions
  2. With affiliated organizations
  3. With other libraries

Projects

Material Acquisition