The Pronouncement of the Architectural
Institute of Japan Library.
The
Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) Library in Tokyo
is a collection for
members of the organization.
The
AIJ started in 1886 as the first architectural academic
institution in Japan. With
its long history, its membership consists of more than
thirty-thousand architectural specialists, including
researchers, as well as architects, engineers and
contractors. As such, its library has a large amount of
architectural books and written materials. Its
collection includes full copies of its academic monthly
magazine Kenchiku Zasshi,
literary The
Architectural Magazine, started in April 1887, as
well as all of the collected papers issued by AIJ,
along with architectural books and magazines put out not
only in Japan but also abroad. In order to become a
better academic center that helps to foster future
architectural culture, the library aims to take the
following measures:
a)Digitization of the materials the library has in conjunction with the National Institution of Informatics is ongoing. In the database CiNii (http://ci.nii.ac.jp/), all the copies of Kenchiku Zasshi,
collected papers issued by AIJ up to one year before,
and other publications issued by AIJ (up to
1963) are available. Most of them are written in
Japanese. The library continues to digitize the
materials it has, including old precious books in its
collection, while respecting their
copyright.
b)
Digitization of the materials is also important to
reduce the knowledge gap among
AIJ
members; it enables the
members
outside of Tokyo to get easier access to
the information in the library.
c)
The library makes it a rule to hold original materials
even when they have been digitized, as it recognizes
both the merits and limits of digitization; i.e.
once media and software have changed, digitized
information would not be available.
d)
According to the original intention of the library,
it puts a high priority on the AIJ membersf
use. As
a rule, an outsider with a recommendation of an
AIJ member
could use the library by paying 300 yen a day. Visiting
CiNii over
the Internet is free.
e)
The library understands the importance of dealing with
inquiries from abroad. Its home
page (http://www.aij.or.jp/jpn/tosho/tosho_e.htm) already runs both
in Japanese and English. The library is now looking for
ways to respond to references from abroad in English.
The
Library of the Architectural Institute of
Japan
Announced on
05/31/2010
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