NDL Search enables users to search for printed and digital library materials held by the National Diet Library as well as to request a wide variety of NDL services, search for bibliographic and location information on Japanese books held by prefectural and municipal libraries, and search for printed and digital library materials available from public, university, or specialty libraries and academic research institutions nationwide.
This page provides an overview of the materials that can be found through NDL Search as well as the means for accessing them. There is also information about functionality that supports the search and use of materials.

1-1 What you can find using the NDL Search

The materials that can be found using the NDL Search are broadly divided into two categories: Materials held at the National Diet Library and materials held at other libraries in Japan, including materials available via the Internet. There are two checkboxes at the bottom of the Simple Search window, with which you can specify either one or both of these categories. There is also a toggle switch with which you can limit your search results to materials available online.

1-2 National Diet Library Collections

You can search the collections of the National Diet Library, including digital materials.

1-3 Materials held at other libraries in Japan

You can search for materials and digital materials provided by prefectural libraries, libraries of major cities, university libraries, specialized libraries, and academic research institutions nationwide.

For details on the names of the specific institutions and databases that are linked with the NDL Search, please refer to the List of Linked Databases".

1-4 Materials available via the Internet

There are a number of materials that are available for browsing via the Internet from the NDL Digital Collections and other libraries in Japan. The NDL Search refers to materials that can be read free of charge and used without restriction other than conditions stipulated under the Copyright Act of Japan as being "available via the Internet." This includes materials that require user registration to browse.

• Digital materials acquired or created by the NDL, which anyone can browse via the Internet without becoming a registered user.
• Digital materials acquired or created by the NDL that are part of the Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Individuals and which can by browsed only by registered user (registered user) of the NDL who have agreed to the latest version of our Terms of Service for the Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Individuals.
  Please note that this service is not available to patrons who do not live in Japan.
• Some parts of open access journals
• Digital materials from libraries in Japan that maintain a link with the NDL via the Internet
  You can search for digitized materials at each library in the digital archives.
• Papers from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (J-STAGE), the National Institute of Informatics (IRDB), and CiNii Research (National Institute of Informatics) that are available via the Internet.

1-5 Accessing materials

Instructions on accessing materials is available in guides provided by the NDL Search. The use of these guides might help you browse the materials without having to visit a distant library.

Browsing materials via the Internet

Materials tagged Available via the Internet allow users to read digital materials via the Internet but might require patrons to register as a user.

Requesting photocopies of documents

The NDL offers a Remote Photoduplication service that provides patrons with photocopies of materials in its collection that are tagged Available for Photoduplication. You must be a registered user of the NDL to use this paid service.
Some materials in the collections of other libraries are also tagged Available for Photoduplication. Please consult with your local library, as each library might have its own photoduplication service.

Browsing materials at the library

Some materials at the National Diet Library are tagged as being available for browsing only by visiting the NDL in person. There are three NDL facilities—the Tokyo Main Library, the Kansai-kan, and the International Library of Children's Literature—and the materials available at each differ, so please take care when planning a visit. Please refer to Using the Collections for details.
Please consult with your local library for information on how to browse materials at other libraries in Japan.

1-6 Requesting services

Registered users of the NDL can request a variety of services provided by the NDL using the Cart function.
Available services vary per user type. Please see Individual Requests or Institutional Requests.

1-7 Other features

In addition to searching for materials and requesting library services, the NDL Search also has features that support the search and request functions.

Search Support Features

• Holdings of other libraries
  Displays a list of other institutions holding the same material.

• Related information
  Displays the materials you are viewing, materials related to the keywords in your search, guidance on how to do research, examples of research, etc. For details, see Related Information in section 3. Search Results.

Download bibliographic information

You can download bibliographic information for a material by clicking the Output Bibliographic Record button on the Bibliographic Records page or the Batch Output Bibliographic Records button on the search results page. You can select your preferred format from tsv format, BibTeX format, DC-NDL (RDF) format, JSON format, MARC format, and MARC tag format.
For details, please see Downloading bibliographic information(in Japanese).

Online User Registration

You can apply online to become a registered user of the NDL Search.
New users are limited to NDL remote services until they visit the NDL and receive a user card.
For details, please refer to "Login/Online User Registration".

Application Programing Interfaces (APIs)

NDL Search provides an application programming interface (API). For details, please refer to Using the API.

My list

You can save and organize bibliographic records of materials you searched for by using the My List function. You need to log in to use this functionality.
For details, please refer to 13. My list.

Personalized features

In addition to My List, the following personalized features are available when you are logged in.

• Frequently used library settings (cross-search using Carlile API)
• Customized search parameters
• Search history

For more information on customized search parameters, see Search.
For more information on these features, see Personalization.

1-8 System requirements

NDL Search has been confirmed to work with the following OS and browsers. But please be aware that it might not work well even on devices that meet these specifications. It might even work on devices that do not meet these requirements, but with only limited functionality.
NDL Search uses always-on encrypted communication (TLS 1.2) for improved security. You might not be able to use the NDL Search with a browser that does not support TLS 1.2 (PC, feature phone, smartphone, tablet) or a device that does not have TLS 1.2 enabled.

• General environment

1-6 NDL search time display

As a general rule, the NDL search time display of conforms to Japan Standard Time (JST).
Therefore, the time when the request was made and the time when the status of the request was updated will be converted to JST and displayed.

Example: When requesting from the time zone of Coordinated Universal Time-08 (UTC--08:00) time zone to 21:00 on January 1 local time (= terminal time)

In NDL Search, it will be converted to JST and the request time will be displayed as 14:00 on January 2.

However, as an exception, the "Last login" on the My Account & Settings screen is displayed according to the time zone.