This paper is a further examination of the “integrative levels” concept, which was discussed in the papers reported earlier on the relationship between knowledge organization and philosophy. This concept is important in examining how Claudio Gnoli, the central figure of constructing the “Integrative Levels Classification (ILC)” as a knowledge organization system, considers the relationship between knowledge organization and philosophy, especially ontology. By showing the relationship between the “integrative levels” in ILC and Nicolai Hartmann’s idea of levels, which Gnoli is influenced by, this paper helps us to examine the relationship between knowledge organization and Gnoli’s ontology.

This paper explores enhancing metadata usability across domains using RDF graphs, known for their flexible expressiveness and global connectivity. For user’s ‘find’ tasks, effective methods leverage common properties and controlled URIs linking to Linked Open Data (LOD). N-ary structured descriptions prove instrumental for ‘identify’ and ‘select’ tasks. The proposed dual-layer model adeptly balances detailed descriptions with ease of use, offering applicability to a diverse range of information expressions. Examples, including the Japan Search RDF Schema, showcase the versatility of this approach.

Library foundations formed by public libraries in the United States numbered 630 in 2018, and it is predicted one in ten public libraries will soon have a library foundation. Their total asset tripled in 2017 from 2015. The most significant advantage of a library foundation is that a library can have its own financial resources. They are separated from the regulations and restrictions that apply to most public institutions. Libraries can advocate innovative new services through a library foundation and raise funds directly from residents, private foundations, businesses, etc., to realize them. In this way, library foundations advocate the new roles of public libraries in a community.

Since the 1990s, academic journals that had been subscribed to in print switched to e-journals, and university libraries signed collection contracts called Big Deal. The Big Deal had some effect in putting the brakes on the serials crisis, but it did not solve the problem of journal subscription price increases. Open access has attracted attention as one of the countermeasures. And more and more university libraries are signing transformative agreements. In this paper, we will explain transformative agreements and their issues, as well as introduce the activities related to open access by the Japan Alliance of University Library Consortia for E-Resources (JUSTICE), such as Open Access Publication and Article Processing Charges (APCs) in Japan, and discuss future prospects.

The digitization and the maintenance of special collections require a budget, and one of the means is the use of external funds. Nagoya University Library has set up a fund and two rounds of crowdfunding, and is carrying out a preservation and utilization project for its collection with external funds. This article provides an overview of Nagoya University Library collections and efforts to acquire external funds, particularly the crowdfunding efforts for the restoration of the Takagi Family Documents in 2020 in detail.

To obtain several countries’ statistical data from each country sources are inefficient, and those data are usually not comparable because of deference of survey methodology/frequency, language, units, and others. International organizations, such as United Nations or OECD, arrange each country’s primary social and economic statistical data in a similar format and provide them at their statistical information web site. In addition, several Japanese sources, such as the Statistics Bureau of Japan or JETRO, arrange that information and offer international comparable statistical data.