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JANUL Vision 2025

■JANUL Vision 2025

Toward Strengthening and Innovation of National University Library Functions - JANUL Vision 2025 -

June 25, 2021.
The 68th General Meeting of JANUL

Society has rapidly transformed, and the environment surrounding education and research at universities has drastically changed. Under these circumstances, national university libraries strongly need to digitize scholarly information, establish a ubiquitous and sustainable information provision system, and promote the digital transformation of education and research. With the diversification of the functions of national universities and the rapid progress of globalization, member libraries must share new goals and steadily strengthen the functions of national university libraries based on national policies and other guidelines.
In addition, along with the international trends and connections with society, a significant endeavor is to work toward the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), which are the universal goals set by the United Nations in 2015.
Against this background, JANUL has established the principles of national university libraries, aiming for the consolidation and innovation of their functions.

Basic Principle of National University Libraries

As a knowledge base in society, national university libraries enable users to access knowledge, information, and data without barriers, whether digital or non-digital, and provide users with an environment for utilizing them. Through these activities, the libraries support the education and research activities of national universities that promote the quality assurance of education and the strengthening of research and innovation capabilities, and contribute to the realization of the sharing and creation of new knowledge in society.

To realize this basic principle, JANUL has established the following three priority areas with goals and action plans. JANUL and the member libraries promote efforts to achieve the goals in each priority area while reviewing our roles and activities. Furthermore, towards 2025 as one milestone, we confirm the level of achievement in every step and revise this vision as necessary. In addition, we strive to positively take any actions towards realizing our basic principle, even when they do not fall under any priority areas.

Three priority areas
１．Knowledge Sharing: Sharing of <knowledge and information> beyond the collection
２．Knowledge Creation: Providing a <place> to spin new knowledge
３．Knowledge Mediation: Fostering of <human resources> to promote knowledge exchange

Roles of JANUL and member libraries

JANUL promotes the sharing of various information, such as excellent practical examples and experimental trials, domestically and overseas to accelerate activation of the operations of its member libraries and improve their functions.
In addition, we have set up committees to achieve the goals. The committees conduct research and training projects in collaboration with the Japanese Coordinating Committee for University Libraries (JULIB), the Japan Alliance of University Library Consortia for E-Resources (JUSTICE), the Japan Consortium for Open Access Repository (JPCOAR), the Future Scholarly Information Systems Committee, and other organizations.
Furthermore, we promote advocacy activities in collaboration with the Japan Association of National Universities, the Science Council of Japan, and other organizations.
While participating in the above activities, member libraries select goals and action plans that match the missions and medium-term goals of their respective universities. They aim to realize the basic principle of national university libraries by attempting to achieve the goals with the aid of related departments on campus and libraries domestically and overseas, including other national university libraries.

Priority Area 1
Knowledge Sharing: Sharing of <knowledge and information> beyond the collection

From the perspective of sharing knowledge, national university libraries need to provide the knowledge and information necessary for education and research at universities appropriately and comprehensively in line with the cycle of education and research activities. The shape of knowledge has expanded from the scope of the conventional collections constructed from paper books and journals. Now it includes e-Journals and e-Books. Educational and research results such as teaching materials, research articles, and research data are also included. We also care about useful content that anyone can freely access on the Internet, which in the future should be enhanced with the progress of open science. To share knowledge of any category, we consider and realize measures such as sophistication of scholarly information systems and improvement of the information discovery environment.

Goal 1-1) Dissemination, openness, and preservation of educational and research results
National university libraries aim to preserve the educational and research results produced on campus long-term in addition to promoting electronic distribution and openness.

  • Action Plan 1-1-1) We establish and disseminate policies related to open access and open science.
  • Action Plan 1-1-2) We enhance the contents of institutional repositories and provide supports following the education and research cycle: collaborating with related departments on campus and various organizations, and working to conserve and publish teaching materials, research data, etc.
  • Action Plan 1-1-3) We improve the interoperability of contents deposited to institutional repositories.
Goal 1-2) Maintenance of library materials and preservation for use
National university libraries strive to maintain the collection properly composed of paper books, journals, and electronic resources such as e-Journals and e-Books. Also, we prepare the environment for use and enable long-term use by digitizing the materials. By doing so, we support current and future education and research.

  • Action Plan 1-2-1) We strive for appropriate maintenance after understanding the usage status of books and journals, e-Journals and databases, e-Books and online teaching materials, and materials that contribute to barrier-free reading.
  • Action Plan 1-2-2) We promote the digitization of valuable materials and materials that deteriorate upon exposure to acid. In addition, we proceed with the construction of digital archives.
  • Action Plan 1-2-3) We consider building systems for sharing and preserving materials in cooperation with other libraries.
Goal 1-3) Improving the discoverability of knowledge and information
National university libraries improve the scholarly information system in collaboration with other institutions, such as the union catalog database, so that we realize an environment where users can discover the necessary information from knowledge as a whole, more efficiently, comprehensively, stably, and continuously.

  • Action Plan 1-3-1) We strive to create and accumulate various types of metadata, keeping in mind data linkage with domestic and overseas institutions such as the National Diet Library.
  • Action Plan 1-3-2) We work to strengthen the functions of the library management system so that we can effectively provide appropriate materials to users.
  • Action Plan 1-3-3) With the cooperation of related organizations inside and outside the university, we introduce remote services, develop an online system of various procedures, and maintain a business processing system for remote working, so that the scholarly information system can function stably and continuously, even under the circumstances of disasters.

 

Priority Area 2
Knowledge Creation: Providing a <place> to spin new knowledge

Formerly, national university libraries have been places for communication that create interactions between people and knowledge and information, or between people. The libraries have been spaces that create knowledge. From now on, we expand the place outside the walls of the old image as buildings and utilize not only the physical area but also the information space existing on the network as a place to create new knowledge. Through these efforts, we improve the quality of study/learning and education, support research and exchange activities, and promote cooperation between the university, and society and the community.

Goal 2-1) Expansion, maintenance, and provision of places to create knowledge
National university libraries promote knowledge creation through study/learning, education, research, and exchange by developing and providing places where communication creates interactions between people and knowledge and information, or between people.

  • Action Plan 2-1-1) We develop and provide a place for study/learning that utilizes the information and human resources of the library.
  • Action Plan 2-1-2) We develop and provide a place for education that utilizes the information and human resources of the library.
  • Action Plan 2-1-3) We develop and provide a place for research that utilizes the information and human resources of the library.
  • Action Plan 2-1-4) We develop and provide a place for exchanges that utilize the information and human resources of the library.
Goal 2-2) Providing a space for creating knowledge that is open to society and the community
National university libraries contribute to revitalizing society and the community by developing and providing places where new knowledge creation occurs and that are open to society and the community.

  • Action Plan 2-2-1) We develop and provide places for knowledge creation that are open to society and the community, where materials and people inside and outside the university interact.

 

Priority Area 3
Knowledge Mediation: Fostering of <human resources> to promote knowledge exchange

National university libraries promote the sharing and creation of diverse knowledge by forming a group of human resources with various abilities centered on library staff. In addition, the libraries establish training systems to improve the abilities of library staff.

Goal 3-1) Collaboration with diverse human resources
National university libraries provide functions by working with people with various abilities, including students and faculty members: “curation” to organize scholarly information and create new value, and “facilitation” to promote interaction between people and knowledge and information, or among people. Through these actions, we realize sharing and creation of diverse knowledge.

  • Action Plan 3-1-1) We contribute to the enhancement of study/learning activities, such as providing peer support at the library in collaboration with students.
  • Action Plan 3-1-2) We contribute to the educational activities promoted by the university, such as providing information literacy education in collaboration with people of different occupations.
  • Action plan 3-1-3) We contribute to the research activities promoted by the university, such as collaboration in supporting the execution of research data management plans with people of different occupations.
Goal 3-2) Improving the capacity of national university library staff
National university libraries encourage their staff to acquire and practice new knowledge, such as correspondence to digitized materials, in addition to the specialized knowledge about scholarly materials cultivated so far, metadata operation ability, and learning support experience. By doing so, we realize the functions expected of us in the midst of changes in the environment surrounding education, research, and scholarly communication at the universities.
  • Action Plan 3-2-1) We clarify the image of human resources required of library staff and formulate a recruitment and training policy.
  • Action plan 3-2-2) Based on the medium- to long-term staff development policy, we have staff acquire standard abilities and specialized abilities according to the characteristics of each library.

■Files

■Background of the formulation of JANUL's Vision

In response to the transformation of scholarly communication and the changes in roles expected of university libraries, we have decided to clarify the goals to be achieved by JANUL and member libraries. In November 2015, we established the Vision Formulation Subcommittee under the General Affairs Committee and started formulating the vision. After the draft prepared at the subcommittee was discussed and examined by each district association and the Board of Directors, in June 2016, the 63rd Annual Meeting of JANUL adopted "Toward strengthening and innovation of national university library functions: JANUL Vision 2020."
Since then, JANUL and member libraries have been working with the vision as a guide. In 2020, which is the milestone year of Vision 2020, we confirmed the level of achievement of Vision 2020 and started the formulation of the new vision for the next term by the Next Vision Formulation Subcommittee. After discussions and examinations, we adopted "Toward Strengthening and Innovation of National University Library Functions: JANUL Vision 2025" at the 68th Annual Meeting of JANUL in June 2021.

■Reference: JANUL Vision 2020