Librarian Professional Development Working Group (LPDWG): Junior Japanese Studies Librarian Training Workshop (JJSLT)

The Junior Japanese Studies Librarian Training Workshop was organized in response to the increasing demand to provide training on essential areas of Japanese librarianship to those librarians who recently entered the workforce. 

The taskforce composed of 6 librarians across Canada worked collaboratively with Vickey Bestor (Executive Director), Keiko Yokota-Carter (Chair), Setsuko Noguchi and Keiko Suzuki (former LPDC co-chairs) of the North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources (NCC) in the design and implementation of the project. 

The 2-day workshop had a total of 9 sessions on a variety of topics that included reference materials, collection development, cataloguing, information literacy, archival access and use, non-traditional library practices, North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources (NCC) initiatives, and vendor presentations.

With the generous financial support from the Japan Foundation and the University of Toronto Libraries, a 2-day workshop on March 12 and 13, 2012 as a pre-conference workshop to the Council on East Asian Libraries (CEAL) / Association for Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Conference held in Toronto.

A total of 24 junior librarians were selected to participate in the workshop. The participants came from libraries in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland and the Netherlands.  The success of this workshop was only possible with the enthusiasm and dedication of 18 experienced Japanese studies librarians working in numerous institutions across Canada, United States and Japan.  The majority of the trainers include current or former members of the NCC’s committees and working groups.

This workshop proved to be an excellent venue for junior librarians to build on their Japanese-specific librarianship skills while establishing and strengthening professional networks.