No.138 50th Anniversary of Inagi City Library Opening

This year marks the 50th anniversary since the Inagi City First Library opened in 1973.

In response to the rapid population increase around the time of the city's establishment in 1971, the city has been expanding public facilities to meet various resident needs. Regarding the city library, the Second Library opened in 1975, the Third Library in 1979, the Fourth Library in 1983, the Central Library in 2006, and the i Plaza Library in 2009, completing the current network of six libraries.

Through the development of such facilities, citizens can now access library services in their vicinity. The reading enthusiasm among Inagi citizens is very high, and since the opening, a large number of people have utilized the services. In fiscal year 2006, we ranked first in the nation for both the number of individual loans and reservations among municipalities with a population of less than 80,000 at that time.

Since then, as of now, among municipalities with a population of less than 100,000, we have maintained the third place in the country for individual loan points for 15 consecutive years and have held the first place for reservation numbers.

In particular, at the Central Library, which opened as the first PFI project in Eastern Japan, we have worked to improve pioneering services through the expansion of opening days and hours, the introduction of IC tags ahead of libraries nationwide, and the implementation of a "reading passbook" that allows users to record the titles of borrowed materials.

In addition, as part of the library's overall initiatives, we are also working to expand usage among a wide range of age groups by providing picture books through the Bookstart program and conducting read-aloud sessions aimed at Infants and Young Children.

These various efforts over many years have been recognized, and in April of last year, the Inagi City Library received the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award as an "Excellent Practice Library for Children's Reading Activities for the 4th year of Reiwa." This award is due to the cooperation of the volunteers who have supported the library, the understanding of the users, and the hard work of the library staff, and I would like to once again express my congratulations and gratitude.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the opening this year, a commemorative ceremony and lecture were held on July 1. During the ceremony, we honored library cooperation organizations, and at the lecture, Ms. Misumi Kubo took the stage.

Mr. Kubo is a writer from Inagi City, and his work "Releasing Stars at Night" won the 167th Naoki Prize last year.

Regarding this award-winning work, Mariiko Hayashi from the Naoki Prize selection committee stated, "It is a 'beautiful and pure novel' and was evaluated by the selection committee for 'not shying away from the difficult theme of COVID.'" Furthermore, she commented, "The skill in subtly incorporating contemporary everyday materials like COVID, along with the writing and structural prowess, has resulted in a short story collection with a strong presence, which is remarkable."

We are proud of Dr. Kubo, who is from Inagi City and has a connection with our city, for receiving the Naoki Prize this time, which adds luster to the 50th anniversary of the library's opening.

The Inagi City Library will continue to provide services aiming to be a "comfortable place for citizens and a place that contributes to the community."