University of Michigan: Asia Library

Founded in 1948, the University of Michigan's Asia Library is one of the largest collections of East Asian materials in North America. Originally named the Far Eastern Library, its original focus was primarily on Japanese and secondarily on Chinese. It has since expanded to include Korean materials and a strong emphasis on digital materials as well.

The Asia Library is currently held on the fourth floor of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library. For information about travel grants to conduct research at the University of Michigan please check here, and check out other options from:

• Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies
• Center for Japanese Studies
• Nam Center for Korean Studies

For more information on the Japanese collections, please contact Keiko Yokota-Carter at (734) 764-7774 or by email.

For all comments and questions about the Guide, please e-mail us:

mlaguide@nccjapan.net

Collection size: as of February 2015

The Asia Library at the University of Michigan has a collection of approximately 820,000 volumes. Of these, roughly 311,000 volumes comprise the Japanese collection. Of approximately 2,000 current serials being received, some 200 of them are Japanese. There is also a large number of microform and A/V material available, of which roughly 21,000 items are Japanese.

The Library's collections focus primarily on the humanities and social sciences, with an extensive collection on the performing arts. Of particular note is their kabuki collection, which is considered the best in the world outside of Japan.

URL: www.lib.umich.edu/asia-library

Online catalog: mirlyn.lib.umich.edu

A collection of exhibitions comprised of digitized collections from the Asia Library.

All of the collections that are accessible online from the University of Michigan's Library System.

Japanese Studies Guide

New Japanese Books List

Research Guides

Campus map

Map and directions

While the University of Michigan Asia Library is accessible by the general public at no cost, borrowing privileges are restricted to university faculty, staff, and students. Alumni, spouses, academic guests, and non-academic guests may apply for borrowing privileges, sometimes for a yearly fee. For more information, please visit the university's Borrowing and Circulation page.

Self-service copiers are available in the Asia Library, and charge six cents per letter-sized page. Guests can purchase an MLibrary Copy Card for copying. For more information, please visit the university's Copy Services page.