November 10, 2004
Tranfer of Library Materials to the National Art Center, Tokyo
We are pleased to announce that the collection of over 20,000 Japanese art exhibition catalogs at the Art Catalog Library, operated by the Japan Association for Cultural Exchange (ACE Japan), was transferred to the National Art Center, Tokyo. In accordance with the transfer, the Art Catalog Library terminated its library services at the end of October, 2004. The National Art Center, Tokyo, which is planned to open in Roppongi, Tokyo, in 2007, will also expansively take over the Japanese Art Catalog Project (JAC Project) from the year 2005.
The JAC Project started in 1995 as a joint effort between ACE Japan and the North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources (NCC) in order to facilitate the accessibility of information on Japanese art by collecting art exhibition catalogs in Japan and sending them to a depository library in the U.S.: the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution. The JAC Collection at Freer was cataloged, using the RLIN system of RLG: Research Libraries Group, and is available to research libraries in the U.S. through Inter Library Loan. In 2002, Japanese exhibition catalogs on western art in the JAC Collection at Freer were transferred to the Pittsburgh University Library, and since then the Pittsburgh has become the depository library for Japanese catalogs on western art. The JAC project has been highly acclaimed and provoked requests from other countries as well. To comply with these requests, ACE Japan has sent duplicate catalogs to the Institute for East Asian Art History, Heidelberg University in Germany and the University of Sydney Library in Australia since 1998.
ACE Japan has kept one copy of each art catalog for use within Japan, and established the Art Catalog Library in November 1996. Over the 8 years, the library maintained a collection of over 20,000 catalogs of art exhibitions held at museums, art galleries, and department stores in Japan. However, since there had been difficulties in keeping enough library space to conserve the ever-growing number of catalogs, ACE Japan held discussions with the National Art Center, Tokyo in order to solve this problem. As a result, the transfer of the collection to the art library of the National Art Center, Tokyo was finally decided this September.
The National Art Center, Tokyo agreed to not only make the collection available to the public, but also continue the JAC project. ACE Japan will dispatch the next donation of catalogs, received at the Art Catalog Library before its closure at the end of October 2004. The National Art Center, Tokyo will be responsible for donations of catalogs received at its office after November 2004.
Finally, we would like to thank you for your continued support to our activities. We sincerely hope that the JAC Project will foster a better ground for the study of Japanese art in the future.
Tetsuo Tsujimura
Director
The Office of Planning and Development
The National Art Center, Tokyo
Yoshihiko Wakumoto
President
Japan Association for Cultural Exchange
The persons in charge of this affair:
Osamu Fukunaga (fukunaga*momat.go.jp)
Takeshi Mizutani (takeshim*momat.go.jp)
The Office of Planning and Development
The National Art Center, Tokyo
6F, 3-7-6 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0031 Japan
Tel. +81 (0)3 3561 0961 / Fax. +81 (0)3 3561 0960
Website: http://www.nact.jp/
Toshio Kitamura (kitamura*acejapan.or.jp)
Junko Kanamaru (kanamaru*acejapan.or.jp)
Japan Association for Cultural Exchange
4th-Floor, Akasaka 1-chome Mori Bld.
1-11-28 Akasaka, Minato-ku Tokyo 107-0052 Japan
Tel. +81 (0)3 5562 4422 / Fax. +81 (0)3 5562 4423
Website: http://www.acejapan.or.jp/
(Please replace "*" with "@" to send an e-mail.)
Frustrated by the gorgeous art exhibit posters you can't read? Art Outings deciphers the what, when and where of Tokyo's current exhibitions. In addition it offers a frank opinion of the show, provides simple directions to the museum or gallery and highlights interesting nearby destinations including, occasionally, a fun spot for lunch.
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