History of construction of the Kansai-kan
August 1991: "Second Basic Plan for the Construction of the Kansai-kan (provisional name) of the NDL" drawn up.
Development of the Second Basic Plan
Based on the first basic plan developed in August 1988, various researches and studies were conducted. An advisory system was established and meetings held to solicit the opinions of experts in various key fields concerning the plan. The results of these studies were compiled in the "Second Basic Plan for Construction of the Kansai-kan (provisional name) of the NDL" in August 1991.
Outline of the Second Basic plan
Whereas the first basic plan defined the roles and functions of the Kansai-kan, the second basic plan provided greater detail such as the vision of the NDL in the 21st century, allocation of functions between the Tokyo Main Library and the Kansai-kan, sharing of information resources, contribution to international society, and services for the Diet members at the Kansai-kan. In particular, the second basic plan identified the following key issues to be tackled by the NDL: (1) To improve the quality and the efficiency of existing services and operations, (2) To offer new services in line with the changes in information needs and technology, and (3) To solve the capacity limitations of the facility and computer systems. The Kansai-kan will therefore be a large facility that will utilize the latest technologies and act as a general information center in the 21st century.
The second basic plan also defined the following three core functions of the Kansai-kan: (a) To provide resource information, (b) To offer services worldwide, and (c) To promote new cooperation among libraries. The library is also expected to offer the following services: (1) as a resources information center, to offer resources: by copying and ILL; offering electronic resources using full-text databases; navigation to various databases; and offering resources via the Asia Pacific Resource Information Center, (2) library information network services such as providing domestic and international legislative information, information on bibliography and its location, information concerning Japan, etc., (3)support for research and development in library information, and promotion of international training, exchanges and cooperation projects, and (4) accumulation of information resources by media conversion, collaborative preservation and utilization projects, preservation and restoration centers, etc.
The Kansai-kan Collection will be developed through the revised Legal Deposit System, media conversion (microfilming and digitalization), collaborative preservation and utilization projects, etc. For certain operations and services, effective management techniques will be introduced through tie-ups with government, academia, and industry.