“Ideology and Libraries: Aiming for the Revival of Japanese Libraries” by Michael K. Buckland

2021/12/08

In April 1951, the "Department of Library Science," which can be called Japan's first full-fledged library school, was established within the Keio University Faculty of Letters with the full support of the occupation forces and the American Library Association. However, it was not clear why the military began training librarians.

Dr. Michael Buckland, Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, analyzed and interpreted materials remaining in archives regarding the library policies of the occupation forces in Japan, and published them as “Ideology and Libraries” in early 2021. This book is the Japanese translation of that work.

The author focused on the fact that Philip Keeney, who laid the foundation for library and information services at the GHQ's Civil Information and Education Section (CIE); Paul Burnette, his successor and the second library specialist who opened the CIE Information Center; and Robert Gitler, who made the final decision to establish the Japan Library School at Keio University, were all graduates of the Berkeley Library School. Sydney Mitchell, who laid the foundation for the Berkeley Library School, firmly believed that sound sovereigns, who form the basis of a liberal democratic society, are nurtured by public libraries. His three students, inspired by this ideology, worked to import library science and its services to Japan under the occupation in order to form a liberal democratic society.

Do not laugh and think of this as a story from nearly 75 years ago. Today, countries that advocate for liberal democracy have become a minority in the world, and even the United States, which was the model for Japan's democracy, fell into an unthinkable state of chaos after last year's presidential election. Furthermore, there are countries in Japan's neighborhood that emphasize the superiority of authoritarian totalitarianism.

I would like to once again reflect on Dr. Buckland's points based on occupation documents, as well as the thoughts on libraries held by graduates of the Berkeley Library School—that libraries are the cornerstone of a society's intellectual and cultural development, and that librarians, by being good companions to sound sovereigns, serve as the foundation of a liberal democratic society. Furthermore, as a Japanese person and someone involved with Keio University, I want to reconsider how we should face the preservation of the "liberal democracy" we obtained at the immense cost of defeat in war, while keeping in mind former Professor Gitler's desire to root library science at Keio University and the efforts of then-President Ushioda, Vice-President Takashi Hashimoto, and former Professor Eiichi Kiyooka, who assisted him.

“Ideology and Libraries: Aiming for the Revival of Japanese Libraries”

By Michael K. Buckland

Masaya Takayama (Supervising Translator and Editorial Contributor)

Jusonbo

260 pages, 3,300 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.