As you all know, Yushodo started its business of book importing and exporting at Yotsuya,Tokyoin 1960. At that time we were all very young and were deeply confident that this business line had a good potential and was worth our effort. I believe this conviction has remained unchanged, but the important matter now is to check carefully what kind of information and content are demanded by our clients. The year 2006 should be more important for us to lead Yushodo's future strategies.
During the past six months, I had several chances to attend international conferences and book fairs, and to visit famous university libraries such as those ofStanfordUniversity,UniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeley,UniversityofIllinois, McGill University of Montreal, andColumbiaUniversity. My visit toTaiwanjust a month ago was warmly welcomed by National University of Taiwan and other institutions as well. I felt that they had changed their systems to adapt to the new IT age, and I was informed of their border-crossing consortia between multiple university libraries and of the support they have received from new IT millionaires. It is my responsibility to decide how Yushodo should enter this new age.
For almost 30 years Yushodo has invested in producing approximately 30 million pages of contents in microform, mainly of Japanese historical material including many manuscripts that had never been previously published. I am certain that microform remains an excellent archival medium, capable of carrying images, easy to create positive copies from negative masters, and being guaranteed a preservation lifespan of at least 300 years. However, it is not easy for users to read and make printed copies from microform, and it has come to be regarded primarily as a preservation tool. We are thinking of re-investing in our existing microform content and transform them into digital form as a new ÅgYushodo Digital Archive.Åh We would need to listen carefully to the opinions of librarians and scholars.
I fear that this new age will widen the gap between the rich and the poor, not only through the unequal distribution of money but also of information. Some countries or universities may become powerful and monopolize most of the wealth and information while others will not have access to them. In such a difficult age, we believe it is our mission to contribute as much as possible to support book lovers and professional scholars.
In mid September, as president of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Japan (ABAJ) , I participated in the general assembly and the round table of International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) held in Montreal. Currently, many antiquarian and second-hand bookshops are closing their businesses, especially in downtown areas, due to the worldwide development of on-line shops and resulting price competition. The effect is even felt in the rare book market, the quality of which fundamentally depends on physical condition, bindings, and other factors that are difficult to differentiate through the Internet. ILAB receives many complaints regarding online purchase of rare books. As for book fairs and auctions, the top wealthy dealers collect most of the famous books for their stock and the prices go up quite easily. Through the Internet, many common people have come to know how rare books can be expensive and profitable. Stolen books are also one of the important topics. ILAB is currently discussing with the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) the possibility of sharing their existing security system, and the discussion will be on the table next year.
I am pleased to announce that Yushodo has acquired more than 60% of the total share of JapanCulture Corporation (JCC) in September. JCC is well known for their warehousing business of surplus books belonging to individuals, firms and libraries. Presently three million volumes are being kept in the JCC warehouses. JCC is a top brand among librarians, being the main organizer of the annual Library Fair & Forum, the only major library fair inJapan. The seventh Fair was held at the beginning of December and enjoyed some 20,000 visitors. JCC is now planning to start a new business for the library market next year. We also would like to welcome overseas publishers and library equipment suppliers to participate in the next Fair of 2006 as well.
2006 should be a harder year for our line of business, and our renewed efforts and passion are vital to overcoming these problems. I would ask all of those concerned for your continual cooperation in the next year.
