Library and Information Science

Questionnaire survey concerning the needs of “information on Japan” by overseas information professionals was conducted at the International Conference on Japanese Information in Science, Technology and Commerce held at the University of Warwich organized by British Library Japanese Information Service. Here, the word “information on Japan” include all aspects of publicly held information in the fields of science, technology, business, social science, humanities in printed and digital media. 60 respondents, representing the USA and Western European countries, indicated the actual barriers and bottlenecks underlying the unavailability of “information on Japan” from overseas, and made proposals for resolution of these barriers.

Major findings out of the survey are as follows:

1. (1) availability of “information on Japan” and the level of satisfaction are relatively high for those with Japanese language proficiency, but not high for those without it.
2. (2) major barriers are related to language, but there exist other bottlenecks including the insufficient and inconsistent description of bibliographic information from the Japanese information producers, unavailability of a marketing and clearing service for information on Japan in the overseas marketplace, a shortage of Japan-produced online information services“in the overseas market, etc.
3. (3) many respondents expect to use online tools to access information on Japan in the future.
4. (4) necessary but less available information on Japan are: Who’s Who; environment and pollution;mechanical engineering; market and goods;and recent events in the information industry.