The early life and professional career of Dr. Satoru Takeuchi, a noted Japanese librarian, educator, and author, are explored here within the context of Japanese library education since World War II. Professor Takeuchi, now retired from the University of Library and Information Science (ULIS) in Tsukuba, Japan, has been an influential educator,…

Academic libraries in Japan are well resourced by international standards, and support Japan's internationally recognized research capability well, but there are also ways in which they reflect Japan's strong bureaucratic culture. Recent changes to the status of national university libraries have seen a new interest in customer service, and…

2010 marks the fifth year the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) has selected an honor list of international books. Once again, titles on the list crisscross the globe. They have been published in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, India, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. This…

The Biennial Report presents a selection of UNESCO-UNEVOC's activities during 2014 and 2015. The activities contributed to UNESCO's sectoral priorities and programmatic objectives and assisted Member States to provide equitable, inclusive and quality education and promote lifelong learning for sustainable development. Importantly, the selected…

Graphic novels have become increasingly popular with young people over the last few years. At the same time, they have become much more prominent in popular culture in general. One only needs to look at the plethora of summer blockbuster movies based on comic superheroes or the increasing amount of shelf space devoted to graphic novels and manga…

Compares academic libraries in Japan and Australia in three areas: general background (number of libraries, financial support, size of collections, and student/staff ratios); the role of libraries (services offered, library instruction, accessibility, library cooperation, and expenditures); and library staffs (qualifications of directors, staff…

Seven of these ten papers are concerned with library research in specific countries; the remaining three deal with library planning and ethics in research. Titles are "The Library as a Cultural Institution," by Jadwiga Kolodziejska, Poland; "The International Seminar 'Book and Library in Society' of the Polish Book and Readers…

Describes resource sharing among Japanese university libraries, including interlending policies, provision of services to external users, the government role, and the national Scientific Information System network. Statistics on library holdings, annual acquisition levels, and expenditures are provided. (15 references) (CLB)

Briefly discusses the problems and concerns that face school librarians in foreign countries. Examples from various countries are presented to illustrate a few of the difficulties and the creative efforts of librarians and administrators to overcome these difficulties. (CLB)

Papers on hospital and health libraries and library services to the blind and deaf which were presented at the 1982 International Federation of Library Associations conference include: (1) "Leisure Pursuits of the Blind" by Antun Lastric (Yugoslavia); (2) "Library Services for the Handicapped in Canada: An Overview" by…

The Library/Book Fellows Program began in 1986 with a grant to the American Library Association from the U.S. Information Agency, an independent agency within the Executive Branch. The purposes of the program are to: (1) increase international understanding through the establishment of professional and personal relationships and the accomplishment…

Report on the 1992 Special Libraries Association (SLA) conference summarizes keynote addresses on the competitive role of special librarians and on international libraries around the Pacific Rim, the report of the SLA president, the inaugural address of the new president on a vision of the future, and conference exhibits. (MES)

The international exchange operations of the National Diet Library in Tokyo are developed within the context of universal availability of publications, providing an historical overview of past and present operations and emphasizing the need to strengthen these exchanges with Southeast and South Asian neighbors. Included are a presentation of book…

"Bunko" are local mini-libraries for children in Japan, operated voluntarily by individuals or groups of parents, intended to nurture children's reading interest by offering them an inviting reading environment. In 1993, there were an estimated 4,000 bunko in Japan, with approximately 32,000 adult bunko members (90% female). Bunko…

What is the appeal of anime? For one thing, the graphic storytelling is uniquely compelling and spans multiple genres. It tends to be targeted to different audiences: young children and families, males or females aged 10-18, or strictly adults for the mature genre called hentai. In America, almost all animation is produced for and watched by…