【Out-of-print books and materials can be read on PCs and other devices】
The National Diet Library, Japan, launched a Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Individuals on May 19, 2022. The National Diet Library is now able to transmit digitized versions of out-of-print or otherwise difficult-to-obtain materials to individuals via the Internet with the enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Copyright Act. Behind this revision of the law, legislators were responding to advances in digitization and networking as well as the current COVID pandemic, all of which have increased the need of researchers and students, for digitized materials that can be accessed without visiting the National Diet Library or public libraries.

【The National Diet Library has two origins】
The National Diet Library (the NDL) has two origins. One is the Imperial Library established in 1872 (Meiji 5) under the Ministry of Education,and the other is the libraries of the House of Peers and the House of Representatives in the former Imperial Diet established in 1890 (Meiji23). Most of these collections were transferred to the National Diet Library.
After World War II, there was a movement to build a new national library. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the House of Councillors invited a U.S. library mission to Japan in 1947. Based on the advice of the U. S. l ibrary e xperts, a b asic N DL plan w as drawn up which led to the National Diet Library Law. The National D iet Library shall collect books and other library materials for the purpose of assisting the members of the National Diet in the performance of their duties and for the people of Japan. The Director General shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the House of Councillors with the approval of the Houses after consultation with the Committees on Rules and Administration
of both Houses.

【Legal Deposit System】
The legal deposit system mandates that copies of all new publications published in Japan must be sent to the National Diet Library in accordance with the National Diet Library Law promulgated in 1948. This laid the foundation for comprehensive collection of materials, and the number of books in the library's collections expanded dramatically.
The NDL was officially opened to the public in June 1948 in a temporary building using the Akasaka De tached P alace ( now t he S tate G uest House). In August 1961, upon completion of Phase 1 of the library construction at the current Nagata-cho site, the NDL started its full service as Japan's foremost library with a stock of 2.05 million books including collections transferred from the former Ueno Library, Branch of the N DL(former Imperial Library). In 1968, the 20th anniversary year from the opening, the present NDL Main Building was built. In response to continuing increase of collections, the adjacent Annex was completed in 1986 to accommodate a total of 12 million volumes.
In October 2002, the Kansai-kan was opened in the Kansai Science City (Seika-cho, Soraku-gun,Kyoto Prefecture). The former Ueno Library,Branch of the N DL, was transformed into the International Library of Children's Literature, the first national children's library, which was opened in May 2002.

【Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Individuals】
The National Diet Library, Japan, launched a Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Individuals on May 19, 2022, with the enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Copyright Act.The NDL already provided a service of transmitting approximately 1.53 million of digitized versions of out-of-print or otherwise difficult-to-obtain materials only for public libraries and university libraries via the Internet.
In response to the advances in digitization and networking as well as the current COVID pandemic,all of which have increased the need of researchers, students, and other individuals for digitized materials that can be accessed without visiting the NDL, municipal libraries, or university libraries.

【How to use the service】
If you are 18 years old or older, you can view images of the text of materials to be sent through the NDL Digital Collections free of charge if you register as an official user in advance. You can apply for an official registered user by visiting the NDL, as well as by sending application documents by postal mail or via the NDL Online. You must submit an identification document such as Individual Number Card or driver's license that verifies your name, address, and date of birth.
Once you complete your registration, you can search the website of "National Diet Library Digital Collections". Digitized versions of out-of-print or otherwise difficult-to-obtain materials are eligible for transmission. There are 1.53 million different materials available. Comics and commercial magazines are not available.

【Let's make good use of the evolving library】
Currently, this service is only for viewing. With this service, out-of-print books and papers can now be viewed on the user's own personal computer.The N DL a ims to launch t he print-out function in January 2 023. Recently, librarians with specialized knowledge are providing referential services to support users' research in general libraries. Libraries are rapidly changing. How about using them effectively?