Tama Art University Library is the

academic library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution, which supports the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an es ...

associated with

Tama Art University or is a private Art school, art university located in Tokyo, Japan. It is known as one of the top art schools in Japan. History The forerunner of Tamabi was Tama Imperial Art School (多摩帝国美術学校, Tama Teikoku Bijutsu Gakkō) fou ...

consisting of two library locations in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

: one on the Hachioji campus and the other on the Kaminoge campus. Together, the libraries serve university students and faculty. The primary focus is on art education and research. Its

collection Collection or Collections may refer to: Computing * Collection (abstract data type), the abstract concept of collections in computer science * Collection (linking), the act of linkage editing in computing * Garbage collection (computing), autom ...

also includes

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

materials on

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

, and other related topics of study.

Background

Hidemi Kondo, head of

Library, stated that the Hachioji Library building acts as a source of inspiration for students and faculty of the university.

University libraries A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

in general play a major role in their respective locations, but at an art university, the library must also reflect and inspire creativity. Tama Art University Library is a place of collaboration, contemplation, and relaxation, in addition to being a space that encourages community amongst the university. The space was specially designed with relaxation space in mind, with one end of the library used as an open area for visitors to sit and even sleep. Designed by architect

Toyo Ito is a Japanese architect known for creating conceptual architecture, in which he seeks to simultaneously express the physical and virtual worlds. He is a leading exponent of architecture that addresses the contemporary notion of a "simulated ...

, the newer of the two libraries that make up Tama Art University Library, the Hachioji location, is viewed as an architectural achievement due to its unique concept and construction. Although both Hachioji and Kaminoge libraries are part of a private higher-education institution, they see many visitors annually, particularly Hachioji Library, which is often admired by non-university visitors because of its notability in the architecture world. “In 2006, the old library had 38,000 visitors, while in 2012 the new library recorded 86,000 visits,” according to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' interviewer Claire Shaw.

Hachioji Library

Design and architecture of Hachioji structure

The Hachioji Library, situated between

's main gate and the center of campus, opened in 2007 after three years of construction. Designed by the 2013

Pritzker Architecture Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment which has produced consisten ...

-winning architecture firm

& Associates, the Hachioji campus library has been featured in a variety of professional architecture publications, including ''DETAIL'', ''

Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism � ...

'', and several others. The building was constructed using both steel and concrete, is two stories high, and also has a basement. It has a total area of 2,224.59 square meters and a total floor area of 5,639.46 square meters. Tama Art University Library2

Architect Magazine ''Architect Magazine'' is the successor to ''Architecture'', one of a series of periodicals published from before World War I by the American Institute of Architects. Overview This is the sixth iteration of a magazine about the field associate ...

'' describes the Toyo Ito structure:

The library takes advantage of a gentle, three-degree
slope In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a Line (mathematics), line is a number that describes the direction (geometry), direction of the line on a plane (geometry), plane. Often denoted by the letter ''m'', slope is calculated as the ratio of t ...
on its ground floor, with
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
s providing simple, archlike structural support. These
arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...
es are formed with plate steel reinforced with concrete, with walls measuring 200 millimeters (about 7.8 inches) thick, with a maximum span of more than 12 meters (39 feet). Rows of these colonnades are arranged in a configuration that produces a variety of interior spatial types and exterior views.

Hachioji Library was designed to complement its physical location. The building's

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es, made of steel and concrete, along with the surrounding glass walls, flow with the land that the library sits on. The furniture was specially designed in a similar way, by Fujie Kazuko, to accommodate the landscape's sloping surfaces. Kazuko also created shelves that further balance the aesthetic of the arches with the building’s angled floors. These open-access shelves house roughly 100,000 books.

Collection

Th Hachioji location’s

includes roughly 77,000 Japanese books, 47,000 foreign books, and 1,500

periodicals Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

. Reference materials are dedicated to subjects like art and design, as well as architecture. The library continues to expand its collection with international exhibition catalogs and

catalogue raisonné A (or critical catalogue) is an annotated listing of the works of an artist or group of artists and can contain all works or a selection of works categorised by different parameters such as medium or period. A ''catalogue raisonné'' is normal ...

Kaminoge Library

The Kaminoge Library’s collection, made up of approximately 48,000 books and 300 periodicals, concentrates on topics such as photography, film, and theater. This library includes special collections recognizing artist and poet

Shūzō Takiguchi was a Japanese poet, art critic, and artist. He was the central figure of orthodox Surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow th ...

(1903–1979) and photographer Katué Kitasono (1902–1978). The Takiguchi collection has 10,000 publications, and the Kitazono collection is characterized by posters of the

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

and

Surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

styles. Although the Kaminoge Library is not yet open to the public, its collection is publicly available via its

OPAC The online public access catalog (OPAC), now frequently synonymous with ''library catalog'', is an online database of materials held by a library or Library consortium, group of libraries. Online catalogs have largely replaced the analog card c ...

, as are portions of its special collections.

References

External links

Tama Art University website

{{Authority control Visual arts libraries Academic libraries in Japan