December 17, 2008 (Wednesday) witnessed the opening of a Kids’ Library, a facility with children’s books, inside the Information Center of Josai International University across from JR Naruto Station. The opening ceremony started with a tape cutting with participation by children aged 4 to 6 years. The ceremony had attendance by more than 50 persons, including Mr. Senshu Shiina, Mayor of Sanmu City, Mr. Naoharu Shiga, Mayor of Togane City, Mr. Hideo Miyake, Chairman of JIU Cooperation Association, and teachers from primary schools, kindergartens and daycare centers. The program included congratulatory speeches and a special message to the children.

Although mainly designed for children, the library also welcomes adult visitors wishing to stroll down memory lane. The books in the library have all been donated by benefactors. The generosity of local citizens, parents, teachers and persons supporting Josai International University resulted in donation of more than 1,000 books. These precious books, filled with memories from their childhood, have been donated for today’s children. Josai International University will continue to communicate these feelings of donators to the children using the library, who are the future of this nation.

There have also been ongoing contributions to the new library of books (children’s stories, picture books, etc.) from sister institutions overseas (including those in Norway, Great Britain, Hungary, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, the U.S.A., etc.). That means it’s a library where children can enjoy not only Japanese books but books from around the world. By coming into contact at any early age with picture books and story books from different countries, these children will experience a broadening of their perspective. We want by all means to foster an international consciousness among today’s children via the Kids’ Library. We also hope that children coming into contact with these many books will someday visit the countries from which the stories originate, acting as cultural bridges between those countries and Japan to create a better future for us all. This could be seen as the wish of the various characters in the stories.

This Kids’ Library run by the university might be a small library, but it’s one filled with dreams and a gentle atmosphere. We look forward to welcoming you all here at the nearest opportunity!

(Junko Fukuda, Director of Life-long Learning Center, Professor at Faculty of Social Work Studies)