About the Facilities

Brick Building

Structure	Brick building reinforced by steel frame; extensions are reinforced concrete
Size	One floor underground, three floors above ground
Total floor area	Approximately 6,672 square meters
Storage capacity	Approximately 400,000 volumes

Preservation and Renovation of the Historic Building

In renovating the early twentieth-century building to house the International Library of Children's Literature, the NDL sought to preserve the design and structure that is the legacy of an earlier era, while refurbishing the building using earthquake-resistant structures to minimize damage in a major earthquake.

Meet the World (the former VIP room), Gallery of Children's Literature (the former Special Reading Room), Museum (the former Reading Room), and the Grand Staircase were preserved as examples of historic architecture after being restored.

The architectures of three different eras (Meiji, Showa and Heisei) are united and renovated as a children's library, which preserves its value as architectural heritage as well as developing a new function and providing a new environment for the public.

The image shows a floor map of the former Imperial Library. On the ground floor, there was a VIP Room and offices. On the second floor there was a Special Reading Room and a reading room for women. On the third floor, there was a Reading Room. The Grand Staircase is in the open ceiling part, which is still preserved as it was before. On the opposite side of the staircase, there are closed stacks in six floors, still currently used.

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Arch Building

Structure	Extensions reinforced concrete
Size	Two floors underground, three floors above ground
Total floor area	Approximately 6,184 square meters
Storage capacity	Approximately 650,000 volumes