Carol Elliott, Dr. Edward Miller, Marian Horner
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During the three weeks I spent in Japan (Oct. 15- Nov. 5, 1990) as the ASLA/Horner Japanese Exchange Fellow, I visited several types of libraries in both Osaka and Tokyo. Although the Exchange is based in the Osaka area, because my background working in a law library, I wanted to visit libraries in Tokyo with legal collections as well. After spending two weeks visiting university libraries in the Osaka area, I traveled to Tokyo by bullet train and spent an additional week, on my own, visiting a variety of libraries with legal collections.
In preparation for my visit, I corresponded with Mr. Hiroshi Sakuradani, Director, International Student Exchange Service, who has assisted Cathy Chung with her trip the year before. I sent Mr. Sakuradani a list of university libraries in the Osaka area that had collections of legal materials which I most wanted to visit. He made arrangement for my visits, for my home stay, and to have an interpreter accompany me. In keeping with the broad focus of my visit, I sent Mr. Sakuradani a questionnaire, directed toward general automation practices and on the availability of automated systems for the dissemination of legal information in the library, which he distributed to the libraries I visited.
Here are some highlights of my trip to Japan:
- A visit to Kansai University, the largest academic library in Japan, where I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Katsurauma, who had visited the University of Arizona Library, and spent several weeks in the Oriental Studies Collection, which was then under the direction of Mary McWhorter. Mr. Katsurauma took me on a tour and showed me, among other things, the highly-sophisticated serials check-in system in use there, which he helped develop.
- Visiting the Library at Osaka University of Economics and Law, in the suburbs of Osaka City, where I was able to see a rare military communication delivered during the Manchurian invasion from Japan's expansionist period of the 1930's.
- Visiting the University Library and separate Law Library on the Toyonaka Campus at Osaka University. I was given a tour of the Law Library by Mr. Noboru Kado. This included a demonstration of CD Master, which contains summaries of Japanese cases. The Library subscribes to JUPITER, Japan's first legal information database, and also to the two automated systems used for obtaining legal materials in English: LEXIS and WESTLAW.
- A visit to the Ministry of Justice Library, which included demonstrations of the two CD-ROM products for Japanese legal precedent, CD Master and Hanrei Master. I had the opportunity to compare them side-by-side.
- Visiting the University of Tokyo Library, Law Library and the Center for Foreign Law Materials on the University of Tokyo campus.
- A visit (and demonstration), to the Toyo Information Systems Company, Osaka office, (TIS) which provides database services, including JUPITER.
- Meeting Shigeko Umehara, librarian for the Tokyo Bar Association and true kindred spirit, who gave me a demonstration of the online catalog in her library.
- An opportunity to see the extensive Rare Book Collection, which contained many English titles, while on a tour of the Library at Osaka Gakuin University.
I was also interested in comparing and contrasting the study of law, its difference in training and requirements for admission, and its actual practice between the two countries.
I had an additional, personal interest centered on the professional education of librarians in Japan, and the actual practice of the profession in both countries. A readily observable difference is the tendency of the Japanese to work for the same employer throughout their careers.
In addition to sightseeing in the cities of Kyoto, Kobe, and Nara with my host family and new-found friends, I attended a dinner hosted by Mr. Sakuradani, which presented the perfect opportunity to meet and talk with many of the librarians from Osaka who visited Arizona the preceding March.
I met so many wonderful people, who had known Dr. Horner, who were willing to assist me and make me feel so welcome and share their homes with me.
During my visits to libraries, I was amazed more by the similarities than the difference, however, and by the eagerness of the librarians to communicate and exchange ideas. This presented a unique opportunity for everyone involved in these dialogues to learn, and benefit, from each others' expertise.
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