Collections
Collections
The holdings of the National Diet Library are collected through the legal deposit system, purchase, exchange and donation. These collections are separately held in the Tokyo Main Library, the Kansai-kan and the International Library of Children's Literature.
| Tokyo Main Library | Kansai-kan | International Library of Children's Literature (ILCL) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Books | The Tokyo Main Library holds almost all Japanese books which are collected through the legal deposit system. The Tokyo Main Library also holds the foreign books, mainly academic research, organized after September 1986, in addition to materials held in the special materials rooms. | The Kansai-kan mainly holds overviews, academic books, and specialized books, as well as government and official publications, legal documents, technology trend reports, marketing reports, etc. Novels and comics (manga) are held in the Tokyo Main Library, not the Kansai-kan. | The ILCL holds books intended primarily for users aged up to 18 years, from among Japanese publications collected through the legal deposit system. The ILCL also holds foreign children’s books as well as related resources concerning children's literature issued in Japan and overseas. |
| Periodicals | The Tokyo Main Library holds almost all Japanese periodicals which are collected through the legal deposit system. The Tokyo Main Library also holds some foreign periodicals, i.e. annual serials and monograph series. | The Japanese periodicals held at the Kansai-kan are mainly general and specialized magazines. As for foreign periodicals, the Kansai-kan holds most of the basic academic journals and journals of key academic societies held by the NDL. | The ILCL holds periodicals intended primarily for users aged up to 18 years, from among Japanese publications collected through the legal deposit system. The ILCL also holds domestic and foreign periodicals concerning children's literature. |
| Other | There are 8 special materials rooms in the Tokyo Main Library. Special Materials Rooms & Reading Rooms |
The Kansai-kan holds rare materials which are seldom held in public libraries.
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The ILCL holds school textbooks and teacher's manuals issued in and after 2002 and non-book materials such as kamishibai. |
The NDL has been digitizing its collections and digitalized versions of these materials are available in The National Diet Library Digital Collections. Printed materials which have been digitized are not available for use.