History
From the Imperial Library to the ILCL
This Western, Renaissance-style building of the Meiji era, designated as a historic building by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, was first constructed in 1906 as the Imperial Library. In 1929 (Showa era) some additional building was done.
After World War II, the Imperial Library ceased to exist, and in 1947 it was renamed the National Library. In 1948 the National Diet Library was established and this library was reorganized as a branch of it.
In 2000, the building was born again as the International Library of Children's Literature (ILCL).
History
Titles with asterisk (*) link to Japanese page.
| Mar. | 1906 | Construction of the Imperial Library building completed |
|---|---|---|
| Aug. | 1929 | Construction of the Imperial Library building (Phase II) completed |
| Dec. | 1935 | Construction of the library training school completed (on the premises of the Imperial Library) |
| Dec. | 1947 | Renamed "The National Library" |
| Jun. | 1948 | National Diet Library (NDL) opened |
| Apr. | 1949 | Reorganized as a branch of the NDL, called "The Ueno Library" |
| May | 1995 | "National Liaison Committee to Promote Foundation of an International Library of Children's Literature" established |
| Jun. | 1995 | "League of Diet Members for Founding the International Library of Children's Literature" established |
| Nov. | 1995 | Report of the investigation committee on establishing a new facility of the NDL facility to provide children's books and others submitted |
| May | 1996 | "Basic Plan of the International Library of Children's Literature (ILCL)*" formulated |
| 1996 | Aging reinforced concrete stacks dismantled | |
| Jan. | 1997 | Planning Office of the ILCL established |
| Apr. | 1999 | The NDL Law amended to stipulate establishment of the ILCL |
| Jan. | 2000 | ILCL officially founded |
| May | 2000 | ILCL partly opened to the public (Phase I) |
| May | 2000 | ILCL's website opened |
| May | 2000 | "Union Catalog of Children's Literature" started |
| May | 2000 | "Picture Book Gallery" released |
| Mar. | 2001 | "The Window: the journal of the International Library of Children's Literature" first issued |
| Jun. | 2001 | The number of visitors to the ILCL tops 100,000 |
| Apr. | 2002 | Collecting school textbooks started |
| May | 2002 | ILCL fully opened |
| Nov. | 2002 | "Book sets lending service to school libraries*" started |
| Mar. | 2003 | "ILCL liaison conference" opened. |
| Apr. | 2003 | "Digital Library of Children's Literature" released |
| Oct. | 2004 | "Lecture Series on Children's Literature" first held |
| Aug. | 2005 | "Database of Japanese Children's Books translated into Foreign Languages" released |
| Sep. | 2006 | Centenary of the former Imperial Library building |
| Oct. | 2006 | Start of providing color microfilm of children's books of the postwar occupation period included in the Gordon W. Prange Collection at the University of Maryland |
| Nov. | 2007 | Liaison meeting on services for children started (continued to 2009) |
| Oct. | 2008 | Number of visitors to the ILCL tops 1 million |
| Nov. | 2009 | Mutual visit program with the National Library for Children and Young Adults in Korea started |
| Mar. | 2010 | "Website for mediators between children and books*" opened |
| Mar. | 2010 | "Email magazine of ILCL*" started |
| Apr. | 2010 | "National Diet Libray kids' website*" opened |
| Sep. | 2010 | "Support plan for the promotion of children's reading activities 2010" formulated |
| Feb. | 2011 | "Digital Library of Children's Literature" integrated to "Digital Library from the Meiji Era" |
| Mar. | 2011 | "Cooperation forum for children's services*" opened (continued to FY2012) |
| Mar. | 2011 | "Second Basic Plan for the ILCL" formulated |
| Apr. | 2011 | ILCL's website renewed |
| Sep. | 2011 | "ILCL Research Series" first issued |
| Jan. | 2012 | "ILCL Online Public Access Catalog for Kids*" released |
| Jan. | 2012 | "Union Catalog of Children's Literature" shifted to "NDL Search" |
| Apr. | 2012 | Children's books of the Gordon W. Prange Collection became searchable on the NDL-OPAC |
| Mar. | 2014 | "Forum for cooperation on children's reading" opened (continued to FY2014) |
| Mar. | 2014 | Children's books from the Prange Collection* were added to the National Diet Library Digital Collections |
| Mar. | 2015 | "Support Plan for the Promotion of Children's Reading Activities 2015" formulated |
| Jun. | 2015 | Arch Building completed |
| Sep. | 2015 | Arch Building open |
| Mar. | 2016 | ILCL fully renewal open |
| Mar. | 2017 | "Exchange Meeting on Children's Library Services"opened |
| Aug. | 2017 | Number of visitors to the ILCL tops 2 million |
| May | 2019 | Support plan for the promotion of children's reading activities 2015 was revised and extended to 2020 |
| Mar. | 2021 | Basic Plan for the International Library of Children's Literature 2021-2025 formulated |