Tokyo Kioicho Campus becomes venue for the 70th anniversary celebration of the promulgation of the School Library Law

Mr. Juichi Yamaguchi, representative of the steering committee

University President Kenji Sugibayashi greeting guests

​A ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the promulgation of the School Library Act, which regulates the establishment and operation of school libraries (sponsored by the 70th Anniversary of the School Library Act) was held on August 8th at our university's Tokyo Kioicho campus. Ta. Those involved in library policy and reading education came together to reflect on the role school libraries have played and adopted an appeal for the future.

At our university, we hold the event ``Picture Book World in Keiyo'' for parents and children who love books every year at both Chiba Togane and Tokyo Kioicho campuses, and this time as well, we were able to provide the venue for the ceremony. It happened.

At the ceremony, the representative of the steering committee, Juichi Yamaguchi (Chancellor the Letter and Print Culture Promotion Organization), said, ``With the use of digital textbooks gaining momentum, there are concerns about the impact of interactive AI such as chat GPT on school education.'' On this 70th anniversary, we would like to once again appreciate the importance of print and put even more effort into enriching school libraries,'' he said on behalf of the organizers.

Following Mr. Kazuo Yan, Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and Mr. Tate Shioya, Chairman of the Federation of School Librarians, our university University President Kenji Sugibayashi also greeted the guests. In addition to "Picture Book World in Keiyo," University President Sugibayashi also announced the "Flying Whale Award," a handmade picture book contest for high school students that our university is holding with the cooperation of the Japan Children's Book Publishing Association and the National School Library Association. He introduced the event and expressed his gratitude for holding this memorable event at our university.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary, an award ceremony was held for the slogans solicited under the theme of "School Libraries that Spread into the Future," and comments were given by Shuntaro Tanikawa, the chairman of the selection committee and a poet who also wrote the lyrics for our school's school anthem Announced.

In addition, Mr. Kuniyoshi Sakai (Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo) gave a commemorative lecture on the theme of "Thinking about the future of school libraries in the age of interactive AI 'Chat GTP'", and talked about the differences between information on the Internet and publications. He presented a perspective that will give us hints about the significance of the existence of libraries in the future.

Finally, we adopted an appeal stating that it is important for future libraries to move from the stage of "book maintenance" to the stage of "quality improvement," and declared our determination to further improve the quality of school libraries. Ta.

Commemorative lecture by Mr. Kuniyoshi Sakai

Representatives of students who helped organize the event and related parties taking a commemorative photo