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Organizing Information on Science and Technology

The National Diet Library (NDL) has been involved in the acquisition and organization of both printed and electronic information on science and technology as part of a national effort to improve the science and technology information infrastructure. The NDL is making these information resources widely available in order to provide the National Diet with information on science and technology, to support the research activities of scientists and technical experts, and to help keep the general public in Japan informed about science and technology.

The Council on the Organization of Information on Science and Technology

The Council on the Organization of Information on Science and Technology advises the Librarian of the NDL on issues related to the Basic Plan for the Organization of Information on Science and Technology and comprises no more than 20 experts in science and technology appointed by the Librarian from outside the NDL. Council meetings are generally held once a year, after which the Council submits reports or written opinions for making policies for the Basic Plan.

The Council discusses a wide range of subjects, from acquisition and provision to general issues related to information on science and technology. At the 13th meeting, the Council submitted its proposal "Towards the Establishment of a Knowledge Base for the Human- and Machine- Readable Era" (Japanese, PDF: 2.85MB) which will be used to prepare the 5th National Diet Library Basic Plan for the Organization of Information on Science and Technology.

The 5th National Diet Library Basic Plan for the Organization of Information on Science and Technology

The 5th National Diet Library Basic Plan for the Organization of Information on Science and Technology (Japanese, PDF: 198KB) is a five-year plan enacted in March 2021. The plan's mission is to develop a national knowledge base that is open, widely trusted, and resilient to emergencies such as large-scale disasters and infectious disease epidemics, in order to support social transformation through digital transformation (DX), contribute to solving Japan's issues such as the declining birthrate, aging population and regional revitalization, and achieve the SDGs. These activities should include:

(1) Initiatives to promote the utilization of information resources

  1. Promotion of digitization and full text conversion of the collection as a basis for utilization
  2. Improved access to information resources
  3. Data organization and open data
  4. Organized environment to promote data utilization

(2) Preservation of information resources

  1. Strengthened collection of materials
  2. Digital collection of uncollected materials and data
  3. Long-term preservation of digital materials

Projects

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