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A signing ceremony to conclude a memorandum between Waseda University Library and Keio University Media Center was held at Keio’s Mita Campus on May 12. The memorandum aims to establish a joint library system by 2020, a first in Japan.

Back in April 1, 1986, Waseda and Keio signed an inter-library loan agreement, which full-time staff, faculty, graduate and undergraduate students were given mutual access to resources from the two institutions. To expand on this agreement and improve convenience for library users, Waseda and Keio will select a library system which could be used together and store data from both universities.

Advantages of a joint library system

• Stabilize and cut cost of library system
• Standardize catalog format and cut cost for making catalogs
• Share resources of Waseda and Keio and promote exchange of people
• Enhance services and build better collections

From left: Yoshiaki Fukazawa (Waseda) and Kanji Akagi (Keio)

Comments from both universities

Yoshiaki Fukazawa, Director of Waseda University Library

“Keio University is a friendly competitor of Waseda in many aspects including education, research and sports, but it is also our most understanding partner. I believe this joint library system will be possible because we are doing this with Keio. Despite the obstacles we may face, I look forward to implementing Japan’s first joint library system together to improve access of academic resources for library users.”

Kanji Akagi, Director of Keio University Media Center

“I am sincerely excited that we will be running a joint library system together with Waseda University. For a long time, both libraries have maintained its various foundations with globalization in mind, which was a favorable precondition for us to initiate this joint system. We promise to advance together and further improve services for research and education at universities.”