Connecting Books and People: An Introduction to Kurashiki Central Library
Central Library opened in October 1946 as Okayama Prefectural Kurashiki Library.
It moved to central Kurashiki on November 3, 1983, and took its current name.
In November 2024, it will mark 78 years since opening and 41 years since moving.
We spoke with the librarians at Central Library about the roles and functions they support.
Creating Ways to Draw People In: A Library You’ll Want to Visit
The day of our interview was a library maintenance day (a day the library was closed). Usually, there are people at the counters, but on this day, the library was almost empty.
Instead, we could see many staff members working throughout the building.
This is my first time inside a library on a day it’s closed.
Do about this many people work here on open days, too?
Librarians (hereafter, “staff”)
That’s right. Because the library is open for long hours, including weekends and holidays, we stagger our working hours and take turns coming in.
So, fewer people work on open days than today.
Today is a closed day, so we don’t need to stagger our hours, and almost everyone is here. That’s probably why it seems like there are so many of us.
Could you tell us about the work librarians do?
Staff
Besides lending books, we provide reference services to help with research and finding information. We also do what’s called “book selection”—choosing books from newly published titles and donated books—and we remove books from the shelves when their content has become outdated and no longer suits the times, a process called “weeding.”
Preparing reserved books, transporting materials to libraries and other facilities in the city, and operating the mobile library may be work that is less visible to library users.
Could you also tell us about events and activities?
Staff
We hold picture-book read-aloud sessions in the children’s room every day, and staff and volunteers also run regular monthly activities.
We also hold seasonal events such as summer festivals and Christmas parties, as well as science activities, crafts, and children’s songs led by guest instructors.
Staff
We also run “Reading BINGO!”, which uses book call numbers to encourage people to enjoy books from a variety of genres; the annual New Year “Book Lucky Bags” (for borrowing); “Kurashiki Children’s Librarians,” which held its third session in fiscal 2023; and activities such as “Library Mystery Quiz” and “Children’s Book Quiz,” where participants solve quizzes based on library-related questions and children’s books.
Children’s librarians?
Staff
Yes. When children are in elementary or middle school, I think they start reading more books recommended by friends than by their parents.
So, we created the “Kurashiki Children’s Librarians” program to promote reading, with children encouraging their peers to enjoy reading and make good use of the library.
After learning the basics about libraries and books, such as the library’s role, how to use it, and how books are arranged, they also get to experience librarians’ work firsthand, including checking books out at the counter.
They earn stamps by taking part in children’s librarian classes and events organized by the library, and can advance through beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.
Staff
This fiscal year (2023), they learned about reading picture books aloud and held their own storytime sessions. They also got to put book covers on their own books, just like the protective covers on library books.
They also wrote book recommendation cards, like the ones you often see in bookstores.
We come up with activities hoping they’ll spark an interest in books and libraries.
Events are introduced on the Kurashiki City Library website and X (formerly Twitter), so please take a look.
You can find information about storytime sessions and events at each library on the “Kurashiki City Library website (PC version) — Library Services — Children’s Page” or by going to the “Kurashiki City Library website (PC version) > click on a photo of a library > Event Information.”
In that sense, I feel that the special displays covering various genres in the general reading room also give people a chance to come across books they might not usually encounter. Still, it must be hard to put those displays together, isn’t it?
Staff
We really do work hard at it (laughs).
Today (the day of the interview), we’re also doing some organizing and rearranging around the library.
We make major changes once a month, but we also create displays based on current events, especially when notable authors win awards or pass away.
When the era name changed, we featured the classics it was based on; we’ve made displays about historical dramas, for “〇〇 Day,” and even based on wordplay.
I’m not very up to date on current events, so I’ve sometimes learned about them by looking at the library displays.
Staff
We sometimes hear from users that it’s hard to find things when only the spines of the books are visible, or that they don’t know what to borrow.
We’d really like people to be able to see the covers, too. That’s especially true for picture books.
From “Searching” to “Discovering”
Finally, could you tell us about your thoughts on books and libraries as librarians?
Staff
Librarians sometimes transfer to work at other libraries in the city, but even if the facility changes, or the library moves in the future, I think the library’s role as a place that connects books and people will never change.
I hope we can keep steadily doing what we’re able to do now, without forgetting that or becoming complacent.
Students who come to the library for work experience or internships sometimes ask, “What do you find rewarding about your job?” It’s when we find a book together, as in a reference inquiry, or when someone says, “I enjoyed this book.” Those moments when I feel a book has connected with a person are what make the work rewarding and make me glad I chose this job.
The special displays in the general reading room, and the events and activities in the children’s room, seem like thoughtful ways to make sure people can gain all kinds of things just by coming here.
Staff
Yes, I hope that’s the case.
Of course, people can stop by just to pick up a book they reserved online, but they might also visit the shelves in the same genre while they’re here.
I think that even if you’re just walking between the shelves without looking for anything in particular, you might notice a book this time that didn’t catch your eye on your last visit.
That can happen because you came to the library, and I hope you enjoy those encounters with books.
If we can quietly put a book forward or give someone a nudge toward such a discovery, that’s one of the greatest rewards of being a librarian.
There are books in the library, and there are people like us, too.
I hope we can cherish encounters with both books and people.
From the Writer
Just the other day, I walked between the shelves for the first time in a while, hoping to borrow again a book I had recently returned.
I found another book that interested me more than the one I’d planned to borrow, so I took that one home instead.
Lately, I’ve been struggling to find time to read and finish books, but I finished that one in no time.
Listening to the librarians, I looked back on the experience and realized it had been a “moment of discovering a book.”
Talking with the librarians, I learned that the library is a place full of warm consideration for its visitors.
I think I’ll drop in again, remembering the days when I wandered between the shelves looking for an interesting book, or ask the experts in finding books to help me search.
Kurashiki Central Library Information
| Name | Kurashiki Central Library |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-6-1 Chuo, Kurashiki City |
| Contact | 086-425-6030 |
| Parking | None |
| Opening hours | Monday to Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sunday and public holidays: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. |
| Closed | Mondays, except the first Monday of the month Last Friday of each month (open in August and December) Special inventory closure (up to 14 days) Year-end and New Year holidays (December 29 to January 4) ※ Opening hours and closing days vary by library within the city. For opening hours and closing days of libraries other than the Central Library, please see the library website. |
| Smoking | Entirely smoke-free |
| Restrooms | Western-style toilets, Japanese-style toilets, accessible restroom |
| Childcare | Nursing room, diaper-changing table |
| Accessibility | Accessible restroom, elevator |
| Website | Kurashiki City Libraries |
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The letters and numbers shown on the label attached to a book’s spine.
Kurashiki City also has its own classifications, such as E (picture books), C (kamishibai), L (books about Okayama and Kurashiki), and 72M (manga).