Library history is often narrated as uncritical story of centennials or other celebratory macro-histories. There often is much more to learn by focused studies of librarianship during trying periods, such as wartime. This study deals with the library experience of ethnic Japanese who were detained by the United States government during World War II. Unlike most studies of the "internment," which focus on the English-speaking Nisei Japanese Americans, this explores why and how Issei (immigrant) Asano Shichinosuke was able to create the Topaz Japanese Language Library between 1943 and 1945. This paper examines how he cooperated with other Issei and Kibei-Nisei to establish and develop the library. It features a brief biography of Asano; from his education and service as Shosei to Hara Kei, to his immigration to America, and association with America's leading Japaneselanguage newspaper, the NichiBei. It then follows Asano and other Japanese Americans from the Bay Area to an Army-run temporary detention center called Tanforan, where Japanese language materials were confiscated. Asano and other California Nikkei were then sent to a permanent concentration camp in Utah, called Topaz. The concentration camp, which was run by a civilian agency, the War Relocation Authority (WRA), allowed the return of Japanese language print materials. The rest of the paper explores why Asano decided to create a Japanese language library, and his struggles with the WRA administration to establish it. This study, using oral history interviews, archival documentation, newspaper reports, and other sources explores how Asano created a Japanese cultural space.

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A hierarchal library arrangement plan has been put into place in two neighboring cities, however the expected library use patterns have changed. It appears that users who live in close proximity to medium-sized and small library facilities increasingly choose to travel longer distances to larger facilities rather than go to the one located in their neighborhood, resulting in the under use of the smaller libraries. The primary aim of this study is to examine the characteristics of users' library choice to determine how the distance between residence and library affects the style of library use. A survey was conducted on a random sampling of library users from Ishkari city and two wards of Sapporo city who elect to use the large library facility in the adjacent city Ishikari over the more distant one in their own city of residence or the smaller ones located in their neighborhoods. The results comply with seven variables contained in the Binary Logit Model of library use and indicate that, since users are now accompanied by a driver, distance in no longer the dominant factor in library choice.

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The city council is a key institution in the exercise of autonomy by a local government, which wields considerable influence over the local library policy. This paper investigates the level of interest in libraries among city councilors, based on an analysis of available council proceedings from Saitama prefecture. Based on an analysis of the proceedings, we found that 2.4% of the council members had a strong interest in libraries, and they raised 28% of the questions regarding libraries. Further, female councilors demonstrated greater interest in libraries than did their male counterparts. With regard to political parties and parliamentary groups, the members of the Komeito most frequently raised questions related to libraries during council sessions, followed by the members of the Japan Communist Party. The councilors often inquired about problems related to the libraries' facilities and staff.

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