February 22, 1994

Contact: Jill D. Brett, (202) 707-9190 or
Barbara Bryant, (202) 707-9197

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Library of Congress To Hold Conference on Japanese Computer Systems

On Friday, March 18, the Japan Documentation Center of the Library of Congress will hold a day-long conference on "Technical Requirements for Accessing Japanese Information: Problems & Solutions."

Specialists from government, academe and the private sector will discuss hardware and software technology, focusing on new developments in Japanese electronic media and networks.

The conference, to be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m in the Mumford Room of the Madison Building, will cover the following topics:

• Understanding the need for Japanese language information
• Japanese programming solutions: coding and character sets
• Japanese electronic media
• Japanese software solutions
• Networking

Featured speakers include representatives from Adobe Systems, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Harvard Law School Library, the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, and Pacific Software Publishing.

The Japan Documentation Center, a joint undertaking between the Library of Congress and the Center for Global Partnership of the Japan Foundation, was established in 1992 at the discretion of Congress to provide current information on Japanese public policy and research. The center is acquiring documents on Japanese legislation, judicial decisions, economics, commerce and industry, the environment, politics, social conditions, and national defense.

The center, which operates from the Library of Congress's Asian Division in Washington and the Tokyo Acquisitions Facility in Tokyo, will make this material available to Congress, the executive branch, federal agencies, industrial research centers, and other users throughout the country. Current data will be supplemented by the Library's Japanese collection of more than 700,000 books, manuscripts, and other materials.

On March 7, Ichiko Morita will become the center's first director. She comes to the Library from Ohio State University, where she served for a decade as professor and head of the Cataloging Department.

The conference is being conducted with the assistance of the Japan Information Access Project, an independent, nonprofit membership organization that makes information on Japanese science and technology available to policy makers and the public.

The conference will be held in the Mumford Room (sixth floor) of the Madison Building at the Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. S.E. Admission is free, but reservations are required and space is limited. To register or receive more information, call the Japan Information Access Project, (202) 332-5224. Members of the press are invited to all sessions.

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PR 94-040
2/22/94
ISSN 0731-3527