Abstract
We developed an electronic book, Shinsho Library, which helps advanced students of Japanese improve their extensive reading skills. It also possesses the function which gives additional explanations of the word highlighted such as examples of word usage, synonyms, antonyms and derivatives as well as the simple meaning of the word in English or Chinese. In addition, pronunciation of the kanji is provided in hiragana. This study conducted the trial of Shinsho Library to find how students use the additional explanations provided while reading passages in this electronic book. The student logs illustrate the variety of uses this book provides students; some students consulted the additional word explanations only once whereas the other students read more than 70 explanations of the words.
