National Diet Library, National library in Nagatachō, Japan
The National Diet Library is a national research library in Nagatachō, Japan, with a main facility in Tokyo and a second location in Kyoto. Both buildings offer expansive reading rooms, catalog areas, and closed stacks that house millions of volumes.
The library opened in June 1948 at the State Guest-House and held around 100,000 volumes at the start. A year later it merged with the Imperial Library and expanded its collection considerably.
The institution holds large volumes of historical documents and printed works that trace back to early periods of Japanese literature. Visitors can work in reading rooms where quiet focus shapes the rhythm of the day and researchers from across the country sit at shared tables.
Only people aged 18 and older may enter the reading rooms in Tokyo and Kyoto and use the collections. Bag checks at the entrance are routine, and personal belongings must be stored in lockers before entering the work areas.
This institution is the only one in Japan legally required to collect and permanently preserve a copy of every publication produced in the country. Publishers and printers regularly deliver new releases, so the collection grows daily and forms a complete picture of the national publishing landscape.
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