Holding survey for book on xenophobia and anti-xenophobia in Japanese public libraries

Abstract

In this study, we conducted a holding survey on books related to xenophobia in Japanese public libraries. We clarified the balance of the holdings of public libraries and what kinds of books related to xenophobia are likely to be stored. We surveyed for book on xenophobia and anti-xenophobia published after 2000, and classified these books as "xenophobic books", "anti-xenophobic books" and "neutral books" according to their contents. We conducted a survey of 162 books, for 1,344 library systems, 5,333 Japanese public libraries, supported by the Calil library API. The regression analysis on various factors affecting the holdings in the library revealed that, if the content of book is anti-xenophobic, it tends to hold a relatively large number of the books in the library inside the municipality. We measured the "bias scale (d)" showing the balance between "xenophobic books" and "anti-xenophobic books" for each library. It turned out that prefectural libraries tend not to hold "xenophobic books" as compared to libraries that established by other public institution.