College and Research Libraries Recent Japanese Library Developments THE FIRST JAPANESE LIBRARY in historical literature appears at the beginning of the eighth century, when the Japanese government established a library called "Zushory6."1 Following that time Japan has had libraries established and owned by noblemen and priests, as well as by some feudal lords. During the period from 1639 to 1862 the country closed its doors to all foreign countries according to the policy of the Tokugawa shogunate, and international cultural exchanges were entirely sus- pended. Toward the end of this period the merchant class gradually developed into a more influential body in society and began to own private collections of printed materials. It was in 1868 that the Meiji revolution took place, and the Tokugawas restored the reins of govern- ment to the emperor. At that time Japan abandoned her closed door policy and moved swiftly toward complete moderni- zation. Many governmental officials, scholars, and students were sent to West- ern countries, including the United States, where they learned library prac- tices. 2 Some of them, upon their return, urged the establishment of free public libraries. Meantime, the Meiji govern- ment took over the libraries of the Toku- gawa shogunate, put an education law into effect, and provided a basis for li- braries in schools of higher education. In 1872 the "Shojakukan," the first public library, was opened in Tokyo under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. In the following years, uni- versities were established, and their de- 1 Noriaki Ono. Nihon toshokanshi ("The History of J apanese Libraries") (Kyoto : Ran Shobo, 1952), pp. 17-19. 2 Japanese National Co mmi ssion for UNESCO, De- velopment of Modern S:y,>stem of Education in Japan (Tokyo: 1960), pp. 17- 18. MAY 1963 BY TAKAHISA SAWAMOTO Mr. Sawamoto is Administrative Assistant to the Director of the japan Library School, Keio University. partmental collections began to emerge. In 1892, twenty-four years after the revo- lution, the Japan Library Association was inaugurated, and it has to this day continued to promote the library move- ments of the country. In 1910 the Min- ister of Education issued a memorandum urging the establishment of local librar- ies. Since then many public libraries, not only in large cities but also in small towns and villages, have been estab- lished, reaching the maximum-more than five thousand libraries-in 1935. Most of those libraries, however, were established by the government, and were neither initiated nor supported by the will and needs of the public. Therefore, they became storehouses of books, and few librarians did much to encourage the use of their holdings. This period, during which Japanese public libraries prospered in number only, was followed by a period in which every aspect of the nation was militarized except the library, which was neglected. By the time of the surrender of Japan in 1945, libraries were in serious decline. In 1945 upon the occupation by the allied powers, an American cultural cen- ter called the Library of Civil Informa- tion and Education Center (popularly known as CIE) was opened in Tokyo. Soon after, CIE libraries were set up in more than twenty other cities in Japan. The chief librarians of these libraries were American professionals who gave effective stimuli and advice to Japanese librarians. 213 After the war the democratization of education became a great concern of the people. In 1947 Japan's educational sys- tem was changed to the present pattern . which is similar to the American. The same year the National Diet Library Law was passed by the Diet, whose li- brary-the Japanese counterpart of the Library of Congress-was opened in 1948. In 1950 the Public Library Law was put into effect. The following year the Japan Library School was founded at Keio University in Tokyo. The School Library Law came in 1954. EDUCATION FOR LIBRARIANSHIP Education for librarianship3 began in 1903 in the form of occasional short courses or institutes. In 1921 an institu- tion for the training of librarians was opened under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. Its admission re- quirement was successful completion of the eleventh school grade. In 1950-51 in- stitutes for educational leadership in li- brary science were held with Susan Akers from the University of North Carolina School of Library Science as leader. The most significant postwar develop- ment in this field was the foundation in 1951 of the Japan Library School at Keio University in Tokyo. When it was opened all of the full-time faculty members were American librarians who had been selected with the advice of a committee of the American Library Association. The American faculty's contributions to the development of Japanese libraries are so noteworthy that I should like to mention their names in the order of their visits: Robert L. Gitler, the found- ing director of the school, from the Uni- versity of Washington, Seattle, and now at New York State University College at Geneseo; Mrs. Frances Cheney, Peabody College; Bertha Frick, Columbia; Han- 3 Takahisa Sawamoto, "Education for Librarianship in Japan," in American Libraries, Report of the U.S . Field S emi!'lar .on Library Reference Services for Ja panese L~branans (Tokyo: International House of Japan, 1960), pp. 129-134. nah Hunt, Western Reserve; and Edgar Larson, of the Naval Post Graduate School library. These were the visiting faculty members who founded the school. After them came other American faculty members during the formative years of the school. They were: Norma Cass, from the University of Kentucky; Mr. and Mrs. Everett T. Moore, UCLA; Georgia Sealoff, West Seattle High School li- brary; Anne M. Smith, the University of British Columbia; Ruth Strout, the Uni- versity of Chicago; George S. Bonn, the New York Public library, and Mabel Turner, from the University of Wash- ington. Each year, according to the original terms of the project, an American facul- ty member was replaced by a carefully selected Japanese full-time resident fac· ulty member. Since 1957, with new as- sistance from the Rockefeller Founda- tion, the school has continued to invite a library specialist each year for a three- month period. Those thus far invited have been: Guy R. Lyle, Emory Univer- sity; John M. Cory, the New York Public library; Alice Lohrer, the University of Illinois; and Helen M. Focke, from Western Reserve. Dr. Gitler returned for a four-month visit in 1961. Since spring 1962 the school has been carrying out, also with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, a new three- year project for the training of librarians in the field of life sciences. This year the school invited Estelle Brodman, of the Washington University Medical library at St. Louis. Thomas Fleming, medical librarian of Columbia University is ex- pected to be there during the spring- ·summer semesters of 1963. The visiting American faculty mem - bers of the Japan Library School have not only given instruction and guidance to the students in their classes but have also served as professional consultants for Japanese librarians in various fields. Their influence on Japanese librarian- ship was and continues to be tremen- 214 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES do us. Especially their assistance to J ap- anese library leaders through various workshops and individual consultation has been highly valued, because after the workshops these leaders spread their learning throughout the country and furthered the results. It may also be useful to mention that about 10 per cent of the 340 graduates of the school have come to the United States to further their studies in librari- anship and upon their return home they have performed important duties as lead- ers in various fields. · In 1954 the Japan University Accredit- ing Association set up standards of edu- cation for librarianship. Although more than seventy colleges and universities are now offering varying numbers of credit units of library science, only seven of them are providing sufficient units to meet the minimum requirement for li- brarians under the Public Library Law. At the present time there is no other li- brary school than Keio's which has been accredited by the association. Efforts are being made by some universities to meet the standards in order to be accredited but the most difficult problem has bee~ to obtain qualified faculty members. At present, of a total of 145 teachers of li- brary science, only seventeen hold full- time teaching positions. The library school of Keio has five full-time and four part-time faculty members. THE NATIONAL DIET LIBRARY After the war the reorganization of the library system was started as a part of the program called Democratization of Edu- cation. The National Diet library, one of the features of the program, was es- tablished in 1948 by the enactment of the National Diet Library Law. It con- sists of a central library and thirty-three branches. It is the largest library in Japan, with about five million volumes and twelve hundred staff members. It renders services not only to the Diet and MAY 1963 the executive and judicial agencies of the government but also to other libraries and to the general public. In 194 7 Ver- ner Clapp, then the chief assistant li- brarian of Congress, and Charles H. Brown, of Iowa State University, and in 1948, Robert B. Downs, of the Univer- sity of Illinois, were invited to Japan as consultants. Their advice and recom- mendations gave the library administra- tion great help in developing the na- tional library and establishing its poli- cies and procedures. Other than its ordinary services to cli- entele, it is carrying out programs such as a printed catalog card service, there- by influencing Japanese libraries in the use of the Japanese decimal classifica- tion; the compilation of a national un- ion catalog and occasional bibliographies on special subjects; the weekly list of current publications received; a Japa- nese national bibliography; the National Diet ~ibrary c~talog; a Japanese periodi- cal Index; International interlibrary loan; international exchange of materi- als; photoduplication services; and so f~rth. These services are helpful to for- eign as well as to Japanese librarians. The establishment of the National Diet library has stimulated the development of prefectural and municipal assembly libraries (a prefecture may be compara- ble to one of the fifty United States). Its close cooperation with special libraries h.as p:om~ted the advancement of spe- Cial hbrananship. The Diet library re- cently moved from the old Akasaka Pal- ace_, known for its beautiful murals and gorgeous chandeliers, to a new function- al building near the Diet building where both the quarters and services will make its influence on Japanese li- brarians even greater. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY The opening of the first public library in Tokyo in 1872 may be called the dawn of modern times for Japanese 1i- 215 braries, because following that time many other free public libraries were established, but the majority of these public libraries were created by the policy of the government rather than the demand of the people. During the war years the public library was regard- ed by the government as an institution without any urgent need, and its finan- cial support was cut down. Therefore, its development was entirely depressed. After the war, in 1950, along with the movement for the democratization of Japan, a new epoch-making law of pub- lic libraries was enacted. There was, however, a regrettable misinterpretation concerning the d emocratization of the public library that caused the Metropoli- tan library in Tokyo to dissolve into about thirty small library systems. As of April 1961 there were about seven hun- dred fort y public libraries in Japan. 4 Most of them have open access, circulate books, and render reference, extension, and other services. Public librarians' ef- forts to encourage reading and to dis- seminate information through library materials to the public have been made through various devices of public rela- tions. It is worthwhile to mention one particular activity called "mothers' li- braries" operated by Nagano prefectural library. It is one of the extension serv- ices of the prefectural library, circulating books to mothers in remote areas through their children attending school. Ip this program, schools are used as the library's extension service stations or depots, and the children deliver and re- turn the books. By the end of last year, more than one hundred thousand moth- ers in rural areas had registered, making heavy use of the mothers' libraries. THE SCHOOL LIBRARY The postwar reformation of the edu- cation system of ] a pan prompted teach- 4 Japa n Library Association, Nihon no toshokan ("Statistics on Libraries in Japan") , 1961. (Tokyo: th e Association, 1962), p . 10. ers to consider changes in educational methods, and accordingly, the important role of the school library in the new system. The National School Library Association was inaugurated in · 1950 by the teachers who had pioneered in school librarianship. A nationwide cam- paign supporting the bill for school li- braries was vigorously led by the associa- tion. Finally, in 1953, the School Library Law was passed by the Diet. The law provided for every school to have its own library and a librarian. Even though the law contains many deficiencies, such as the lack of adequate financial support for school librarians' positions and an inadequate definition of qualifications for the school librarian, following its enactment school libraries in Japan made most remarkable progress. Accord- ing to the school census 5 in 1954 of a total of 26,600 primary schools, 16,000 (60 per cent) have libraries ; of a total of 13,000 junior high schools, 9,000 (about 70 per cent); and of a total of 5,000 senior high schools, 3,700 (about 75 per cent) have libraries. It is esti- mated that these ratios have been raised about 20 per cent for each group since 1954. In addition to these defects of the law, major problems in school librarian- ship consist in lack of cooperation and the incomplete metamorphosis in the new education system~ For example, there is no cooperative, centralized cata- loging for a group of school libraries in a school district. There are very difficult entrance examinations to enter a college from a high school and to a senior high school from a junior high school. In some instances the ratio of acceptance to application is one to ten. This exami- nation system renders ineffective the new educational methods in which the li- brary is the instructional and material center of the school. 5 Mombusho ("Ministry of Education"), Gakko setsubi chosa hokokusho, Showa 29 ("Report of Census on School Facilities, 1954") (Tokyo: Mombusho, 1955) , pp. 17 and 181-84. 216 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES SPECIAL LIBRARIES The discussion of special libraries will be limited to the libraries of industrial companies~ The Japanese Spe~ial ~i­ braries Association was organized In 1940. The prewar special libraries were mostly archiyal in function. After the war, along w\h the rapid rehabilitation of industry, ~any industrial companies rapidly developed their libraries as cen- ters for acquiring and disseminating in- formation. The National Diet library has contributed to their development by helping the activities of the Special Li- braries Association. Along with the rap- id development of such company librar- ies, the Japan Information Center of Science and Technology was established in 1957 with both governmental and in- dustrial support. The center is offering such -services as investigation, abstract- ing, translation, and photoduplication. This type of library has shown a re- markable development in the last few years. It can be seen in the fact that a rapidly increasing number of libr.ary po- sitions offered by these companies was submitted to the Japan Library School for placement in the last fe~ yea:s, m~re than in any other area of hbrananship. These libraries, neither required by a law nor forced by any outside influence, have been developing to meet their own needs. In this sense the development is healthy. Their major problem is obtain- ing well-qualified librarians who may satisfy their highly specialized needs. COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES Tokyo University started its libraries very early in the Meiji era, taking over the collections of three schools of the Tokugawa shogunate; thereafter other national and private colleges and uni- versities, as soon as they were established, began collecting library materials. In the early period a good many of the leaders of Japanese librarianship were MAY 1963 university librarians, but their successors were conservative, and their leadership did not last long. Thus, the university library continued a monumental, mean- ingless existence. . The postwar educational reformatiOn necessarily required changes in educa- tion methods, but many professors con- tinued to keep to traditional teaching methods. The reports made by the Unit- ed States education missions in Japan in 1946 and 1950 pointed out the de- ficiencies of Japanese educational meth- ods and suggested ways of developing a new education system. They influenced teachers tremendously to change their traditional methods. However, the re- vival and development of college and university libraries was slower than that of other types of libraries. The Japan University Accrediting As- sociation started its activities in 194 7 and set up standards for college and uni:ver- sity libraries along with other e~ucauon­ al standards. In 1951 a committee was organized to work on the improvement of the national university libraries, and its report was published in 1953 ~s a guide to the improvement o~ t~e nau?n- al university libraries. A similar guide for private college and university librar- ies was published three years later. At present there are 250 colleges and universities in Japan, with a total of about five hundred fifty libraries, not counting small departm~ntal collec- tions.6 In the last several years, more than ten new university library build- ings have been built in Tokyo, Osaka, and elsewhere, including those of the International Christian University, Ko- kugakuin University, Meiji Unive:sity, St. Paul University, Yokohama NatiOnal University, Kansai University, and Osaka National University. These new librar- e Takashi Hashimoto "Daigaku ni okeru toshokan f!O mondai" ("Problems '