NDL Search is a service that allows users to search for materials and digital materials from the National Diet Library and request for various services. In addition, NDL search allows users to search for bibliographies and location information of Japanese books held by prefectural libraries and ordinance-designated city libraries, and search for other materials and digital materials provided by public, university, specialized libraries, and academic research institutions nationwide.
This page provides an overview of the materials that can be searched through NDL Search and the means to access the materials. In addition, we will also inform you about functions that support the search and use of materials.

1-1 Search target of the National Diet Library search

The search targets of the National Diet Library Search are broadly divided into two categories: "Materials in the National Diet Library" and "Materials from other libraries in Japan". This includes materials available online. It corresponds to the two checkboxes and toggles at the bottom of the Simple Search window.

1-2 National Diet Library Holdings

You can search the collection of the National Diet Library and the digital materials available at the National Diet Library.

1-3 Materials held by other libraries in Japan

You can search for materials and digital materials provided by prefectural libraries, ordinance-designated city libraries, universities, specialized libraries, and academic research institutions nationwide.

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

1-4 Materials available online

It is a material that can be read on the Internet from the NDL Digital Collections and other libraries in Japan. In the NDL Search, "materials that can be read free of charge and can be used without special requirements except for restrictions under the Copyright Act" are referred to as "available online." This includes materials that require user registration to browse.

• Digital materials collected or created by the NDL (available online)
  No registration is required, and anyone with an internet connection can browse it.
• Digital materials collected or created by the NDL (materials subject to the Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Individuals)
  You can browse it if you are a registered user (registered user) of the NDL and agree to the latest "Terms of service for the Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Individuals ". However, it is not available if you live outside of Japan.
• Part of an open access journal
• Digital materials from other libraries in Japan with which the Library has data linkage available online
  You can search for digitized materials at each library recorded in the digital archives.
• Papers from J-STAGE (Japan Science and Technology Agency), IRDB (National Institute of Informatics), and CiNii Research (National Institute of Informatics) available online.

On the search screen, you can search by specifying the public range. For more information, see Search Help.

1-5 Means of accessing the materials

For each material, NDL Search provides instructions on how to access the material. By using the guides, you may be able to use materials without having to visit a distant library.

Read materials via Internet

Materials tagged as "Available online" allow you to read digital materials on the Internet (you may need to register as a user).

Request a copy of the material

For some of the materials tagged by the National Diet Library, you can order a copy of the material by mail (remote photoduplication, for a fee). To use this service, you need to register as a user of the National Diet Library.

For information on how to use materials tagged with other libraries in Japan, please consult with your local library. Each library may offer a photocopying service.

Read materials at the library

Some of the materials tagged by the National Diet Library can be browsed in person by visiting the NDL. The NDL has three locations: the Tokyo Main Library, the Kansai-kan, and the International Library of Children's Literature. The materials held at each site are different, so please be careful when visiting. For details, please refer to Using the Collections.
For information on how to use materials tagged with other libraries in Japan, please consult with your local library.

1-6 Request function

Registered users of the NDL can request for the services provided by the NDL using the Request cart function.
The services that can be request for vary depending on the type of user. For details, please see Individual Requests or Institutional Requests.

1-7 Other features

In addition to searching and Requesting, NDL Search provides functions to support the search and request for materials.

Search Support Function

• Identification function
  Displays the same materials held by multiple institutions together.

• Search for relevant information
  Displays the materials you are viewing, materials related to the keywords you searched for, guidance on how to do research, examples of research, etc. For details, see Related Information Area in "3. Search Results".

Bibliography Download

You can download the bibliographic information of the selected material from the "Output Bibliographic Record" button on the Bibliographic Records screen or the "Batch output Bibliographic Record" button on the search results screen. It is possible to select tsv format, BibTeX format, DC-NDL (RDF) format, JSON format, MARC format, and MARC tag format.
For details, please see Output Bibliographic Record(in Japanese).

Online User Registration

This is a function to apply for user registration on the National Diet Library Search.
The service is limited to the NDL remote service. When you visit the NDL, you will need to go through a card issuance procedure.
For details, please refer to "Login/Online User Registration".

Externally Provided Interfaces (APIs)

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

My list

You can organize the bibliographic record of selected materials by saving them in "May list". You need to log in to use your favorites.
For details, please refer to "13. My list".

Personalization Features

By logging in, you can use the following personalization features in addition to your My list.

• Frequently used library settings (cross-search using Carlile API)
• Customizing search items
• Use of search history

For more information on customizing search items, see Search.
For more features, see Personalization.

1-8 System Requirements

NDL Search has been confirmed to work in the following environments, but it may not work well even in the confirmed environment. In addition, it can be used in environments other than those that have been confirmed, but the functions that can be used may be limited.
NDL Search uses always-on encrypted communication (TLS 1.2) to improve the security level. If you connect to NDL Search from 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, you may not be able to view or use it.

• General environment