Canadian Libraries:
Overview of Collections
and Activities
Fabiano Takashi Rocha
Japan Studies Librarian
University of Toronto
EAJRS, Lisbon
17 September 2008

Oh Canada!

Facts about Canada
Second largest country in theworld with a total area of
9,984,670 km²
Population: 33,364,000 (2008estimate)Capital city is Ottawa
Official languages: English andFrenchJapan Studies in Canada
1956: University of British Columbia
1962: University of Toronto added
Japanese language courses to its
curriculum1960s~: McGill and other universities
followedUp to 1981, about 7 universities offered
Japanese language instruction
Growing awareness of Japanese
ascending economy, funds fromprosperous Japan, and increasing numberof Canadian universities

Japan Studies in Canada(Current situation)
Number of specialists 159
1995: 300 specialists
2005: 159 Canadian entries;
Ontario=61; British Columbia 58;
Alberta=17; Quebec=13
The decrease in number of specialists
does not necessarily reflect a decline ininterest; many specialists are being
asked to teach a larger number ofstudents

Japan Studies in Canada(Current situation)2
 19 universities offering courses in Japaneselanguage
 9 universities that offer only a Japanese languageminor, or a major or minor in Asian Studies
 Main universities Japanese studies programs University of British Columbia, University ofToronto and McGill University offer
undergraduate, Master and PhD programs
 Alberta and Victoria
Undergraduate courses and Master degrees
offered in certain Japan-related fields
 McMaster University
Minor in Japanese; no graduate degreeLibraries Across CanadaDevelopment of JapaneseCollections
1937: Royal Ontario Museum
1959: University of British Columbia1961: University of Toronto
1976: Université de Montréal
1970s: McGill University
1995: Japan Foundation, Toronto
2001: University of Manitoba
1937195919611995

2001

ROMUBCUofTJFTORManitoba

Development of JapaneseCollections
 Library collections developed following theestablishment of Japanese language programs mostlyin the early 1960s
 Some special cases include the University of British
Columbia that was designated a depository library forJapanese government publications [ 政府刊行物 ] University of Toronto collection started with grants
from the Canada Council and the Donner CanadianFoundation
 Many libraries have counted on the generosity of theJapan Foundation’s Library Support Program(discontinued as of 2007)
 Some private donations served as basis for theexpansion of smaller collections such as UofManitoba

Current State (JPN only)
Library
University of Toronto

Size (Monographs)
170.367

University of British Columbia 153.149
University of Montreal*

11.700

University of Alberta

10.526

McGill University

7.637

University of Calgary*

1.784

Current State (JPN only)
Library

Size (Monographs)

University of Manitoba**

1.000Japan Foundation, Toronto*

4.640

Royal Ontario Museum**

14.285

Others…
Notes:
Figures from CEAL Statistics 2007
*Figures supplied by survey conducted by Mariko Liliefeldt & Fabiano’s email survey**Figures from Japanese studies in the United States and Canada : continuities andopportunities. Tokyo: Japan Foundation, 2007.

Electronic Resources Nichigai MagazinePlus (1) Nichigai Who II (1) Japan Knowledge (4) Yomidas (1) GeNii (2) CiNii (3) Kikuzo II (acquisition in process)Special Collections
Royal Ontario Museum
A few hundred Edo period Japanesebooks (wahon) and other memorabilia;
complementary to the Ukiyoe collection
and Edo and Meiji periods

Special Collections
 University of British Columbia
George Beans Collection of Cartographic
Materials of the Tokugawa Period
 Designated depository library for Japanese
government publications [ 政府刊行物 ]BANKOKU SOZU ; (Map of all the countries). Mid­Edoera. / Coloured manuscript map ; 113.6 x 55.8 cm. /Special Collections G3200 1700z S5 ; Beans [1645.2] /Accompanied by SHOHO TEIYU.

KANAGAWA KO OEZU ; (Map of Kanagawa Harbour)by artist Ichigyokusai. Yokohama, Ansei 6 (1859). /Woodcut, colour ; 50.8 x 72.5 cm.

Special Collections
Japan Foundation, Toronto
has just purchased around 800 volumesof manga in both Japanese and English
languages
Audio-video collection (3000 DVDs andVHS tapes of documentaries and featurefilms)

McGill University
MangaFeature films and documentaries

TorontoJFTORROM

ROBARTS LIBRARYNetworking in Canada Japan-RelatedInformation Specialists
Annual Meeting (2005was the last one)

 Japan-RelatedInformation Specialists inCanada Group (GoogleGroups)
 cdnjl­l@googlegroups.com

Networking & Cooperation
 Librarians from Canada participate in the CEAL
annual meetings Members serve in several committees run by theNCC (i.e., Librarian Professional DevelopmentCommittee, Digital Resources Committee)
 University of Toronto is a member of the GIF­ILLProgram Consortium opportunity (North America) Librarian Exchange Program (University ofToronto & Keio University)

Networking & Cooperation
On August 16th, 2008, Mariko Liliefeldt(Japan Foundation, Toronto) organized
the schedule library tours in numerous
libraries in Toronto for a group of librarians
from Japan who were attending the IFLA
conference

The Librarians

Professional Development
 Mariko Liliefeldt, Japan Foundation Toronto カナダにおける日本関係図書館の概要：国際交流基金トロント
日本文化センターライブラリーを中心に (lecture in Tokyo,2007)

 Tsuneharu Gonnami, UBC Centre for Asian
Research ブリティッシュ・コロンビア大学図書館日本語蔵 書回顧概蔵(1959­2002)
 Published in Japanese in Daigaku toshokan kenkyu, no.
79 (Mar. 2007).

 3 librarians from Canada participated in last year’s JF­
NDL JSIST Program Librarian Exchange Program University of Toronto andKeio University Libraries

Special Events
源氏物語千年紀 : Celebrating aMillennium of the Tale of Genji
Exhibition (UofT)

Japan Foundation hosted theAnnual Japanese StorytellingBook Launch: Naomi's Tree byautor Joy Kogawa and illustrator
Ruth OhiReferences
 Donnely, Michael. “Japanese Studies in Canada.” Japanese studies
in the United States and Canada: Continuities and Opportunities.
Tokyo: Japan Foundation, 2007.
 “George Beans Collection of Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa
Period.” UBC Library website. Accessed 11 Sep 2008. <http://www.library.ubc.ca/spcoll/beans.html>
 Gonnami, Tsuneharu. “Burittishu Koronbia Daigaku
Toshokan Nihongo Zosho Kaiko Gaikan (1959-2002) inDaigaku Toshokan Kenkyu, no. 79 (Mar. 2007): 53-61.
 Holroyd, Carin. “The State of Japanese Studies in Canada” inJoseph F. Kees, ed., Why Japan Matters! (Victoria: University ofVictoria, 2005): 61­71.
 Ikawa­Smith, Fumiko. “History of Japanese Studies in Canada:
1960­1999” in Joseph F. Kees, ed., Why Japan Matters! (Victoria:University of Victoria, 2005): 50­60.
 Liliefeldt, Mariko. “ カナダにおける日本関係図書館の概要：国際交流基金トロント日本文化センターライブラリーを中心に”(lecture in Tokyo, 2007)

Acknowledgement
Special thanks to the members of theJapan­Related Information Specialists in
Canada Group who have taken their time
to respond to my request for informationon the history, development and current
state of their collections.

Thank you!
Questions or Comments:
Fabiano Takashi Rocha
Japan Studies Librarian
University of Toronto Libraries
130 St George Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 1A5 CANADA
1-416-978-2300
fabiano.rocha@utoronto.ca