2019

This paper aims at introducing new services developed by the East Asia Department of Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin for its users and the wider Asian Studies community in Germany over the past years. Based, amongst others, on the Free Data Service provided by the National Diet Library we have been incorporating bibliographical data from various sources into our search space to offer users a broader view on available resources. Materials that previously had to be looked up using different catalogues can now be located through this enlarged one-stop-search. Freely available electronic resources can be accessed directly through linking and printed material so far not in the collection of the library can now be requested by users through a patron-driven acquisition model. The paper will present the various stages of developing these new services, the technical system behind it, as well as the difficulties encountered on the way. It is hoped, that it might inspire others to make greater use of the resources provided by our colleagues in Japan to the benefit of the users of our libraries.

The archives of the various state diplomatic institutions are crucial for conducting historical research related to international relations. As branches of acting state institutions, however, these archives tend to be organized and administrated by special rules, generally more restrictive than the average historical archive. This is especially true for materials related to the modern and contemporary periods.
The report presents the author’s experience in conducting such historical research in the foreign ministry archives of Japan, Bulgaria and the Russian Federation.

While LGTBQ studies has not traditionally been an area that Japanese studies collections outside Japan have paid attention to, it is increasingly becoming an area of interest. By rethinking resources for Japanese studies to include historical and rare Japanese language LGTBQ materials we can open up new avenues of research in the field. This paper will give an overview of a project at the University of Southern California to catalog and digitize Japanese language materials held at ONE Archives, the oldest existing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender organization in the United States, and the largest repository of LGBTQ materials in the world. It will also highlight how collaboration between institutions that are traditional strongholds of resources for Japanese studies, such as the USC East Asian Library, with institutions that are not known for their Japanese studies resources, such as ONE Archives, can be a successful way to rethink resources.

In this presentation, I would like to introduce the collections of the French national library in modern and contemporary literature. I would also like to share my reflections about what can be the role of a national library in this specific field, and how to meet the needs of today’s researchers.