Kansai-kan of the National Diet Library (国立国会図書館関西館)
The Kansai-kan, as the Kansai Main Library of the National Diet Library (NDL), is located in Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto Prefecture.
Because the NDL Tokyo Main Library (Nagata-cho, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo Prefecture) had nearly reached its full storage capacity, it was decided to build a new facility that would serve as a 'digital library' for the highly advanced information society; the new facility was built in Kansai Science City (Keihanna Science City) (Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto Prefecture), and was opened to the public as the Kansai-kan of the NDL in October 2002. The building, which was designed by the architect Fumio TOKI, was awarded the Prize of AIJ (Architectural Institute of Japan).
History
November 1978: The 'Basic Development Plan for the Kinki Region' was signed by the Prime Minister, thus signaling a growing demand for the establishment of the Second NDL (provisional name) from local governments, academic society and economic circles in the Kansai region.
June 1982: The Research Committee for the Kansai Project of the National Diet Library (NDL) was established.
April 1987: A report on the establishment of a new facility in Keihanna hill (now Kansai Science City) was submitted by the Research Committee to the chief librarian.
May 1987: 'The Project Headquarters for the Second NDL (provisional name)' was established.
July 1987: The 'First Basic Plan for the Establishment of the Kansai-kan of the NDL (provisional name)' was submitted to the chief librarian of the NDL.
August 1991: The 'Second Basic Plan for the Establishment of the Kansai-kan of the NDL (provisional name)' was drawn up at the advisory meeting.
May 1994: The Kansai-kan Project Office was established.
December 1994: Recommendations for construction of the Kansai-kan were submitted by the NDL Building Commission to the Diet; additionally, the 'Outline of the Basic Construction Plan of the Kansai-kan of the NDL (provisional name)' was submitted. The recommendation was approved by the House of Councilors in December 1994 and by the House of Representatives in January 1995.
August 1996: A design by Fumio TOKI was adopted.
October 1998: Construction of the Kansai-kan started.
March 2002: Construction was completed and a handover ceremony was held.
April 2002: The Kansai-kan was established.
September 2002: The transfer of library materials from the Main Library was completed.
October 2002: The Kansai-kan opened.
Characteristics
The areas of focus are services of remote use and Asian information services. In tandem with the establishment of the Kansai-kan, the required number of deposits for domestic publications increased to two copies, one of which is housed in the Kansai-kan.
As for the closed stacks for these acquired materials, one of Japan's largest movable stacks has been adopted to increase its storage capacity; meanwhile at the Kansai-kan, the process of putting in and taking out the materials from the stacks has been automated with guided vehicles controlled by computers, providing advanced services suitable for the information society,
One can search the materials housed in the Kansai-kan or request the materials in the closed stacks by using the terminals in the reading rooms.
Moreover, the General Collections Room holds, in open stacks, the reference books, abstracts, indexes, domestic government publications/statutes and parliamentary documents, library and information science materials, major periodicals and newspapers, nationwide telephone directories, etc., in Japanese and other languages.
The Asian Resources Room holds, in open stacks, books, serials (periodicals, academic journals), newspapers, etc., in Japanese and other languages concerning Asia. There are also terminals with databases for searching bibliographic data of Asian countries, materials housed in the library, and newspaper articles, but some of the contents cannot be printed.
Those who make a request can use the study rooms in addition to the reading rooms. However, the usage is limited to the reading of materials housed in the Kansai-kan.
Cafeteria/Kiosk
The fourth floor has a cafeteria and a kiosk. These are currently operated by the Mutual Aid Association of the House of Representatives, but in the future operators will be selected from the public. There are several restaurants outside the library.
Access
From Hosono Station (JR Katamachi Line) or Shin-Hosono Station (Kintetsu Kyoto Line), take the Nara Kotsu Bus 39 or 41, or the south route of the Seika Kururin Bus, and get off at the "Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan" (National Diet Library) (time required: approximately 10 minutes).
From Gakken-Nara-Tomigaoka Station (Kintetsu-Keihanna Line), take Nara Kotsu Bus 41, 47 or 48 and get off at the "Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan" (National Diet Library) (time required: approximately 15 minutes).