午夜剧场

Image: Yamanaka Book Depository Building No. 2

When people think of Lake Yamanaka, some may imagine the summer training camps of the Athletic Association. Located on a site slightly away from the Yamanaka Mountain Villa used as a training camp facility, there are two buildings, one large and one small. This is the Yamanaka Book Depository, which houses materials from the Juku's collection that are used less frequently but have been designated for preservation as intellectual assets.

While the Juku's libraries boast one of the largest collections in Japan, the shortage of stacks to house the ever-increasing volume of materials has been a long-standing challenge. When the new building opened in Mita in 1982, it was thought that there would be plenty of shelf space, but with the donation of collections such as the Toyama Music Collection and purchases made through grants, the stacks quickly became full. In 1990, materials from Mita were moved to the former site of the Shiki High School dormitory. The shortage of stacks was serious outside of Mita as well, and work was carried out at each campus to secure space for materials and move them. The library continued to apply to the Jukukan-kyoku (午夜剧场 Corporate Administration) for the construction of new stacks, and in March 1994, it finally realized a facility on the shores of Lake Yamanaka with stacks capable of housing 500,000 volumes. This is the Yamanaka Book Depository Building No. 1.

Building No. 1 was completed, but selecting the materials to be moved there was a difficult task. Due to the remote location, there was significant opposition from faculty members who believed that research materials should always be in a place where they can be viewed immediately. The library responded by establishing a service system where materials requested by fax would be delivered via courier by the day after the next opening day, and copies would be sent by fax by the next opening day, but dissatisfaction remained.

A few years after the completion of Building No. 1, the shortage of stacks became serious again. Initially, there was a plan to build up to four buildings on the shores of Lake Yamanaka, but considering the high level of dissatisfaction regarding the transfer of materials to Building No. 1, it was decided to rent a warehouse from a transport company along the Toyoko Line that could be visited directly. This began operation in 1999 under the name "Hakuraku Satellite Library (hereinafter referred to as Hakuraku)." However, in 2013, talk of redevelopment arose, and it was decided to vacate Hakuraku. Deliberations were held within the university on whether to rent another location or build new stacks. Considering the historical background where many academic journals and books can now be viewed online and sending materials to remote locations does not affect research as much as before, it was decided to build Yamanaka Book Depository Building No. 2. This building was designed to house the 500,000 volumes from Hakuraku plus an additional 1 million volumes in anticipation of future increases in materials, and it was completed in September 2016.

In constructing Building No. 2, the shelves used at Hakuraku were reused to keep costs down. The disassembly, transport, and reassembly of the stacks, along with the moving of materials, was a complex operation that took two months.

In principle, the Yamanaka Book Depository is not open to direct visitors, but it continues to protect precious materials in an ideal environment where the temperature and humidity inside the stacks are maintained at optimal levels for the materials.

(Kazuko Matsumoto, Manager, Media Center Headquarters)