I will be giving a lecture at the “Library Function Enhancement Program” symposium titled “The Future of Learning Support in University Libraries,” which will be held on Wednesday, March 27, at the Kanazawa University Medical Library Book Lounge.

This symposium will serve as the opening event for the Medical Library, which will be unveiled tomorrow, the 15th. Back when I was in Kanazawa, Director Shibata told me, “We are going to build a learning commons in the Medical Library too!” and now it has finally been realized! The new medical library is said to be equipped with a multifunctional learning space where students can engage in self-study and learn while communicating freely. I am looking forward to it!!

It has only been about two months since I moved from Kanazawa to Kyushu University, so I did not expect to be going back to Kanazawa so soon (laughs). However, I am very grateful to be invited like this. It seems I will be able to reunite with the professors from the university as well, as I heard Professor Horii will be attending.

I will be giving the keynote speech, which is a bit embarrassing, but I hope to share what we have done in Kanazawa, examples from overseas, and findings from my recent research visits to two university libraries in Finland, extracting points that can be applied to learning support.

Also, there will be a talk by Mr. Okabe, a manager at Nagoya University. We might be able to hear about the Information Librarian project currently underway in Kanazawa, Nagoya, and Shizuoka. We are currently developing e-learning content for librarians, and we plan to release it next fiscal year (though it is not yet finalized) to establish an environment for learning.

It is the end of the fiscal year, but if you have time and are interested, please join us. I look forward to having a productive discussion. I am very excited about it.

1. Date and Time: Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 13:30–17:00
2. Venue: Kanazawa University Medical Library Book Lounge
3. Speakers: Masanori Yamada, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts and Science, Kyushu University
: Kosuke Okabe, Manager, Information Services Division, Nagoya University Library
: Katsutoshi Murata, Manager, Information Services Division, Kanazawa University Library
4. Program
13:00–13:30 Registration
13:30–13:35 Opening Remarks by Director Shibata, University Library
13:35–14:25 Keynote Speech by Associate Professor Yamada (including Q&A)
14:25–15:05 Lecture by Manager Okabe (including Q&A)
15:05–15:45 Lecture by Manager Murata (including Q&A)
15:45–15:55 Break
15:55–16:55 Panel Discussion (Moderator: Professor Kubota)

Panelists: The 3 speakers + Professor Horii + Director Shibata

16:55–17:00 Closing Remarks by Professor Horii, Head of ICT System Utilization, Promotion, and Development Group
(General Moderator: Mr. Takeya, Manager of Information Planning Division)

5. Theme: “The Future of Learning Support in University Libraries”
6. Purpose
The Inter-University Collaborative Education Promotion Project, “Building a Glocal
Human Resource Development System for Problem Solving in Gakuto Ishikawa,” aims to
build a continuous system to foster human resources (problem-solving glocal talent)
who can proactively address and solve regional issues while maintaining a global
perspective, using the framework of the University Consortium Ishikawa, which includes
all higher education institutions, local governments, and major economic organizations
in Ishikawa Prefecture.
One of the pillars of building this continuous system is “establishing a support
system for students and faculty through the collaboration of higher education
institutions to underpin university education.” Furthermore, as part of the
student/faculty support system to be built, “strengthening university libraries,
which are important as both places for self-study and hubs for learning support,
and developing a comprehensive learning support mechanism by linking each library”
(University Library Function Enhancement Collaboration Program) is included.
This symposium is positioned as the “startup symposium” for this initiative. We
intend to focus on introducing examples from leading universities to raise awareness
of this project among university library staff and relevant faculty in the prefecture.

project, leading to qualitative improvement and smooth implementation. As the