The 99th All-Japan Library Conference (2013)

【2014-E001】

The 99th All-Japan Library Conference, sponsored by the Japan Library Association (JLA), was held in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, on November 21st and 22nd, 2013. The plenary session and 14 section meetings were conducted in four venues in the city. The conference theme this year was "Libraries open up your future." A staff member of the International Library of Children’s Literature (ILCL) participated in Section Meeting 4 (library services for children and young people).

Section Meeting 4 (library services for children and young people): Libraries with Children: Continuous Access from Birth to Age 18

Junko Shiozaki, part-time researcher of Keio University, gave a keynote speech on the history of library services for children, from the Meiji era to the present. After her speech, case studies followed. The case studies covered the unique activities of four libraries; Munakata City Library’s substantial support for school libraries (Fukuoka), Aridagawa Town’s approach to tackling depopulation as a "community to support child-raising" and its outstanding library services for children (Wakayama), and cooperative events between Hatsukaichi City Library and local facilities including an aquarium (Hiroshima). The Natori City Library (Miyagi) reported the damage situation after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the process of restarting their services, referring to the value of books and libraries in the restoration of the city. During discussion, participants expressed their interest in cooperation with school libraries by asking many questions. The meeting revealed that cooperation between libraries and various other institutions plays an important part in library services for children and young people.

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(2014.1.24 update)