30 Mary 2000

Hideyuki Morimoto

 

 

0.      Introduction

 

      Following the recent pattern, this present annual report of the CEAL Committee on Japanese Materials (CJM) covers entire calendar year 1999, i.e., from January 1999 to December 1999, irrespective of the fact that the current Committee term started in March 1999.

 

      As is with all CEAL committees, calendar year 1999 was a transition year for CJM with the previous one completing its term with carefully-planned final activities and the current one starting its operations with new members as well as future plans in place.  The previous Committee successfully completed its ambitious tasks; and the current one, despite various hindrances, has made a tangible progress in several ways.

 

      This present CJM annual report from 1999 is organized around the following topics:  (1) Committee membership; (2) Committee annual sessions; (3) Committee workshop; (4) Committee activities; (5) functions within CEAL; and (6) collaboration with relevant external individuals and organizations.

 

 

1.      Committee Membership

 

      The previous CJM membership structure remained intact until the completion in March 1999 of Committee cycle 1996-1999.  It was:

 

        Robert Britt, University of Washington;

        Izumi Koide, International House of Japan;

        Lynne Kutsukake, University of Toronto;

        Hideyuki Morimoto, University of California, Berkeley; and

        Sachié Noguchi (Chair), University of Pittsburgh.

 

      A CEAL election took place in spring 1999; and Hideyuki Morimoto assumed chair's responsibility at the conclusion of the 1999 AAS Annual Conference.  He immediately began the process of assembling appropriate individuals to be members of the Committee.  While cooperation from within North America could promptly be secured, a slot that the Chair wished to maintain for an information professional stationed in Japan without going back to the same popular librarian over and over again witnessed twists and turns before finally filled when Chair made a trip to Tokyo in May 1999.  The resulting Committee membership for cycle 1999-2002 approved by the CEAL Executive Committee is:

 

        Frank L. Chance, Princeton University;

        Scott Edward harrison, University of Washington;

        Toshie Marra, University of California, Los Angeles;

        William B. McCloy (Ex Officio), University of Washington;

        Kuniko Yamada McVey, Harvard University;

        Hideyuki Morimoto (Chair), University of California, Berkeley; and

        Yuki Nagano, International Christian University.

 

 

2.      Committee Annual Sessions

 

      The 1999 CJM annual session was held on 11 March 1999 in Boston.  The theme of the "mini-seminar" this time was image/graphic databases.  Mr. Taketoshi Ishikawa of Japan National Diet Library made a presentation entitled "Electronic Library Plans and Image Databases at the National Diet Library"; and Prof. Masako Ema Watanabe of Nichibunken delivered a presentation entitled "Visual Image Projects of the International Research Cneter for Japanese Studies."  The mini-seminar was followed by reports and announcements:  Third Japan Foundation and National Diet Library Senior Japanese Librarians Training Workshop, Ms. Kuniko Yamada McVey; International Flow of Japanese Information Symposium, Ms. Izumi Koide; Ninth Annual Conference of the European Association of Japanese Resources Specialists (EAJRS), Hideyuki Morimoto; Bakumatsu Meijiki Kaigai Tokosha Rainichi Gaikokujin CD-ROM, Mr. Koshiro Moroya and Mr. Rob Britt; and Rare Book Workshop at Freer Gallery of Art, Ms. Reiko Yoshimura.  A detailed written report of the 1999 CJM annual session was prepared by Ms. Lynne Kutsukake and appeared in JEAL, no. 118 (June 1999), which is also found at the CJM Web site for cycle 1996-1999:  http://www.pitt.edu/~snoguchi/cjmw/home.htm.

 

      CJM for cycle 1999-2002, in response to a CEAL directive requiring each committee to finalize an annual session program by the preceding fall, managed to lay out agenda for the 200 CJM session for announcement to the general public by the end of November 1999.  An unforseen development with one of the invited speakers as well as late arrival from Japan of other presentation suggestions necessitated some rather late adjustments in December 1999 after the finalization deadline as set out by CEAL.  A schedule as it stood as of the end of December 1999 was as follows.

 

Mr. Keita Goto, University of Kyoto:  Scanned Image Data of Rare Materials for the Kyoto University Digital Library

Mr. Noboru Takahashi, Waseda University:  International ILL Operations in Japan:  The Case of Waseda University Library

Ms. Reiko Yoshimura, Freer Gallery of Art:  Workshop on Early Japanese Illustrated Books (2000 : Freer Gallery of Art)

Ms. Sachié Noguchi, University of Pittsburgh:  Japan Foundation-National Diet Library Librarians' Training Program (4th : 2000 : Tokyo, Japan, etc.)

Committee Member Reports/Short Presentations

 

      As somewhat anticipated in March 1999 when the CEAL directive was issued regarding the annual session agenda finalization by the end of the preceding fall was actually found to be unrealistic especially in view of the well-known difficulty associated with advance travel arrangements for potential and relevant session speakers to be invited from Japan, which has a fiscal as well as academic year cycle starting in April and ending in March, for the CEAL annual meeting time of spring.  Some of such possibilities could not know their end-of-the-fiscal-year schedule until well into December 1999.  CJM thus decided to strongly reiterate its position to CEAL that the newly-introduced regulation requiring each CEAL committee to finalize its annual session schedule by the end of the preceding fall should immediately be rescinded.

 

 

3.      Committee Workshop

 

      The CEAL Japanese Studies Librarian Workshop was held at Harvard University on 13 and 14 March 1999.  The following lectures were offered.

 

Proposal Writing: Grantsmanship / Dr. Eric Gangloff, Japan-United States Friendship Commission

Digital Library Projects of the National Diet Library / Ms. Junko Kito, Science and Technology Materials Division, National Diet Library

The Electronic Library at Nichibunken: What Can be Done by Transforming Library Materials into Digital Format / Dr. Masako Ema Watanabe, International Research Center for Japanese Studies

Cataloging Japanese Materials / Hideyuki Morimoto, University of California at Berkeley

Japanese Language Research Tools on the Web / Ms. Mihoko Miki, University of California, Los Angeles

Working with Japanese and Your Systems People / Mr. Rob Britt, University of Washington

Finding Relevant Information in Japanese Newspapers / Ms. Sharon Domier, University of Massachusetts, with a guest presenter, Dr. Jonathan Lewis, Institute for Social Sciences, University of Tokyo

Book Acquisition: from Using the Web for Selection to Used Book Vendors in Japan / Ms. Sachié Noguchi, University of Pittsburgh

Politics, Economics, and Statistics / Ms. Izumi Koide, International House of Japan

General and Humanities / Ms. Yasuko Makino, Princeton University

Education, Sociology, and History / Mr. Eizaburo Okuizumi, University of Chicago

Japanese Rare Books / Prof. Jun Suzuki, National Institute of Japanese Literature

 

      This Workshop was made possible through financial assistance of Northeast Asia Council (NEAC) of the Association for Asian Studies with original funding granted by the Japan-United States Friendship Commission, and by grants from the University of Pittsburgh Japan Council with funding from the University's Mitsubishi Endowment Fund and the Japan Iron and Steel Federation Endowment. Additional support came from the University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Program with funding from the U.S. Department of Education through its National Resources Center.  Generous donations were received from Japanese publishers and book dealers:  Japan Publications Trading Co. Ltd., Kinokuniya Shoten, Maruzen, Toshokan Ryutsu Center, and Yushodo.  A detailed report with the electronic form of instruction materials is also found at URL:  http://www.pitt.edu/~snoguchi/cjmw/home.htm.

 

      The participants in the Workshop have filed their positive evaluative comments with the organizer.  The current cycle of CJM, which assumed responsibilities after the Workshop was offered, has received many requests both from those attended and missed the Workshop for its follow-up and/or repetition.  CJM has already reported this to the CEAL Executive Committee and solicited from it clarification, in view of CEAL member complaints about too many activities going on concurrently to overwhelm them with schedule which is already perceived as inhumanely and ungraciously heavy, as to its policy regarding the frequency at which each CEAL committee is permitted to offer such a workshop at the CEAL annual meeting time.  Some Executive Committee member opinions on this issue were made known; however, CEAL's official position thereupon remained inconclusive to the end of calendar year 1999.  CJM thus decided to request that, for its efficient and effective activity planning, CEAL should expedite its policy and procedure delineation process on the outstanding matter of the workshop holding frequency of each CEAL committee in conjunction with the CEAL annual meetings.

 

 

4.      Committee Activities

 

      Major CJM activities for the period between January and March 1999 were planning and implementation of the CJM Workshop as well as the CJM annual session held in March 1999.  Accordingly, the CJM Web site for cycle 1996-1999 was maintained with file updates and additions.

 

      In response to CEAL member input and CEAL Executive Committee instruction, supplemented by new member interest, the following committee activities with a specific focal point assigned to each was initially set up for the current CJM cycle.

 

(1) Planning/preparation for CJM sessions at 2000/2001/2002 Annual Meetings (focal point: Hideyuki Morimoto);

(2) Establishment/maintenance of a Web site for the Committee, 1999-2002 (focal point: Hideyuki Morimoto;)

(3) Study and dissemination of findings on handling of Japanese rare books (focal point: Toshie Marra);

(4) Planning for digital Japanese studies resource development (focal point: Kuniko Yamada McVey);

(5) Promotion of cooperation with Japan National Diet Library (focal point: Kuniko Yamada McVey);

(6) Study and dissemination of findings on bibliographic data romanization for complicated situations, including Japanese-language titles published outside Japan but within the Chinese-script civilization region (such as those published by Wai wen ch'u pan she in Pei-ching and Oegungmun Ch'ulp'ansa in P'yongyang), Chinese-language (as opposed to "kanbun") titles published inside Japan (such as those issued by Jih-pen kuo chi chiao liu chi chin, aka Japan Foundation), or Chinese classics in the original language published by the Government-General of Chosen and acquired in North America through Japanese acquisition sources (focal point: Toshie Marra); and

(7) Monitoring of new appointments to Japanese studies librarian positions within North America; and sending welcoming messages to those new to this field or felicitation messages to those moving from one position to another within the field (focal point: Hideyuki Morimoto)

 

      Items (1), (2), and (7) are obviously ongoing.  Beside these, tangible and positive results were already generated with activity (3).

 

 

5.      Functions within CEAL

 

      CJM Chair for cycle 1996-1999, Sachié Noguchi, continued to represent CJM in the CEAL Executive Committee until March 1999.  In addition, due to the continuing nature as well as seriousness of the matter, she filed in March 1999 with the then Acting President of CEAL a request for CEAL's action of urging the Librarian of the U.S. Congress reconsideration of LC's closure of the Japan Documentation Center (JDC) upon conclusion of JDC operation funding provision by the Center for Global Partnership of March 2000.

 

      New CJM Chair assumed in March 1999 this responsibility of CJM representation in the CEAL Executive Committee.  Between March 1999 and December 1999, he:  reported to the Executive Committee that CEAL members wished CJM to plan and offer another workshop; requested from the Executive Committee, in this regard, clarification as to the frequency at which each CEAL Committee is permitted to hold such workshops in conjunction CEAL annual meetings; reminded CEAL Acting President of the announced closure of JDC at LC; reported to and sought approval of a proposed CJM membership for 1999-2002; requested from CEAL Acting President approval for issuing a solicitation letter for internal travel funding allocation within a university library in Japan to facilitate logistics arrangements for one of the guest speakers for the 2000 CJM annual session; reported to and sought approval from the Executive Committee the 2000 CJM session program; and offered input with regard to CEAL business, including 2000 plenary session programming, 2000 meeting time allocation to each committee within CEAL, and handling of a detention case of a CEAL member by the Chinese authority.

 

 

6.      Collaboration with Relevant External Individuals and Organizations

 

      CJM Chair for cycle 1996-1999, Sachié Noguchi, continued to represent CEAL in the then National Coordinating Committee on Japanese Library Resources and External Services (NCC) until March 1999.  New CJM Chair assumed in March 1999 this responsibility of CEAL representation in NCC; and a current CJM member, Eddy Harrison, continued his service on NCC in his capacity as a Japanese studies librarian with a significant contribution record to the profession.  Between March 1999 and December 1999, CJM reported back from NCC to CEAL Acting President an item of direct concern to CEAL members with regard to the future arrangements of the Japan Foundation-National Diet Library librarian training program.  As a CEAL representative in NCC, CJM Chair participated in summer 1999, applicant evaluation and recommendation formulation process for report filing with the Japan Foundation regarding participants from the United States in the training program.  A current CJM member, Kuniko Yamada McVey, also participated in this deliberation, as one of the past beneficiaries of the training program.  In the course of Japanese studies librarians' preparation for NCC's Next Decade Planning Conference of March 2000, Eddy Harrison, Kuniko Yamada McVey, and Hideyuki Morimoto were involved in position paper drafting for submission to NCC.

 

      CJM also tried to develop and maintain collaborating relationship with other external individuals and organizations than NCC.  Such activities included:  Toshie Marra's successful and iterative communication with LC's Japanese Cataloging Teams to secure from them a copy of their internal document on cataloging of Tokugawa period publications and manuscripts; Kuniko Yamada McVey's nurturing of professional channels with librarians in Japan supportive of CEAL, such as NDL officials, librarians responsible for the Kyoto University Digital Library, and company history information specialist with the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations Library; various efforts by Eddy Harrison, Kuniko Yamada McVey, and Hideyuki Morimoto in reiterating to Asahi Newspaper Company North American library personnel's concerns pertaining to the Company's contract terms for subscription to DNA; Chair's trips to Tokyo to visit JF Headquarters, Keio Hiyoshi Media Center, Waseda University Library, United Nations University Library, and database vendor exhibition booths; Chair's participation in the Annual Conference of Japan Special Libraries Association; and Chair's assuming representative responsibility of CEAL in MARBI, including review for the CEAL EACC-Unicode Review Project of kana and CJK punctuation mapping tables.  No current CJM member had a chance to attend the tenth Annual Meeting of the European Association of Japanese Resource Specialists (EAJRS) held at Cracow in September 1999; however, Kuniko Yamada McVey continued to monitor EAJRS' activities.  CJM Chair also followed innovative information service provided at the Bibliothèque, Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris and Japanese studies information service situations in Australia.

 

 

7.      Conclusion

 

      This present report of the CEAL Committee on Japanese Materials summarized the activities from period January 1999 to December 1999, in reference to CEAL reporting regulations, although there was a committee cycle change in March 1999.  The report covered the following topics:  (1) Committee membership; (2) Committee annual sessions; (3) Committee Workshop (4) Committee activities; (5) functions within CEAL; and (6) collaboration with relevant external individuals and organizations.  CJM for cycle 1996-1999 successfully completed its term with offering of a Japanese Studies Librarian Workshop in March 1999.  Newly formed CJM for term 1999-2002 started its activities immediately thereafter with solid progress.  It is anticipated that, through further engagement in Committee activities by current Committee members, the Committee will continue beyond calendar year 1999 to be effective in anticipating and proactively responding to ever-changing needs of CEAL members within the realm of Japanese studies information services operations.