FAQ(English)

Recommended browsers

We recommend using the latest versions of the following browsers so that OPAC is easy to use:

Windows

• Internet Explorer
• Mozilla Firefox
• Google Chrome

Macintosh

• Safari

Notice

These browsers do not operate normally with the following settings. Change these settings when applicable.

• Cookies setting: Disable
• Compatibility View setting: Enable (Internet Explorer)
• Referer setting: Disable

• The column width of specific items in the bibliography details holdings list narrows drastically.
• A gray line borders each bibliography in the search result list.

• Bib Search: Books and serials in our collection
• Article Search: Articles, etc. accessible domestically
• Other Univ.: Books, serials, etc. in the possession of university libraries, etc. nationwide
• Cross Search: Materials in the possession of national universities, the National Diet Library, bookstores, etc.

Switch to and use the tab appropriate to the search target and materials.
For details, see the respective tab.

• Temporarily allowing the pop-up blocker
  
  Click [Allow once] on the pop-up blocker notification bar.
  (Depending on the browser version, select "Temporarily Allow Pop-ups.")
  
  
  
  * However, with this method, if the browser is closed once, the pop-up blocker is enabled when the browser is started again. Consequently, the same work will need to be repeated to apply for a reservation or ILL in OPAC.

• Always allowing the pop-up blocker
  
  Click "Always allow" from [Options for this site] on the pop-up blocker notification bar.
  (Depending on the browser version, click the notification bar, and select "Always Allow Pop-ups from This Site.")
  
  
  

On the Japanese-language pages, you can use Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana, and alphanumeric characters. For alphanumeric characters, you can enter uppercase and lowercase characters. Single-byte and double-byte characters can both be entered.

Searches can use the original spelling (with characters as they appear in materials). Searches can also use keywords converted into Roman alphabet letters using the ALA-LC Romanization Tables of the U.S. Library of Congress. Some materials are registered in Roman alphabet letters only. An index is created for them. So if the search has no hits with the original spelling, convert the keywords into Roman alphabet letters, and perform the search again.

You can perform the following three searches by entering multiple conditions in a single search field or filling in multiple search fields (logical operation).

Entering multiple search values in one search field (enabled on the basic search screen and advanced search screen)

Entering multiple search values in multiple search fields (enabled on the advanced search screen)

Primary search items and secondary search items

The following search items are called primary search items. You can perform searches independently with their search values alone.

• Keyword
• Title
• Author
• Publisher
• Subject
• Review
• Tag
• Classification
• ISBN/ISSN
• NCID
• Bibliography ID
• Registration No.
• Material ID
• Call No.

The following search items are called secondary search items. You cannot perform a search with a secondary search item unless it is combined with at least one primary search item. The search screen displays * in front of the item names.

• Material type
• Holding library
• Publication year
• Country code
• Language code
• Location
• Material format
• Section

There are two search methods: keyword search and literal search.

1. The keyword search is a search of materials to find those containing the entered search value as a word (i.e., keyword).
   The literal search is a search of materials to find those containing the entered search value as a simple character string (i.e., literal).
   
   For the literal search, you can specify the following search methods.
   

   Search method	Description	Entry example	Example of hit
   Exact match	Retrieves the materials that have a complete match to the character string entered as a search condition.	end	end END End
   Prefix search	Retrieves the materials that have a character string matching the prefix entered as a search condition.	end*	ending
   Left/right truncation search	Retrieves the materials that have a character string matching the left/right truncation entered as a search condition.	*end*	weekends
   Suffix search	Retrieves the materials that have a character string matching the suffix entered as a search condition.	*end	weekend

   
   
   
2. Searches for the following search items are normal keyword searches. To perform a literal search with the following keyword search items, add "#" to the beginning of the search values.

   
   

   Keyword search item
   • Title
   • Author
   • Publisher
   • Subject
   • Keyword
   
   
   
3. Searches for the following search items are normal literal searches.
   
   Literal search item
   • Publication year
   • Classification
   • ISBN/ISSN
   • Country code
   • Language code
   • NCID
   • Registration No. (available only with prefix search)
   • Material ID (available only with prefix search)
   • Call No. (available only with prefix search)
   
   By using the literal search, you can set the following search conditions for the details.
   

   Search method	Entry example (Item: Search value)	Example of hit
   Searching for materials that have the keyword "Japan" in the title	Title: Japan	History of Japan Tales of Old Japan America and Japan
   Searching for materials whose title is "Japan"	Title: #Japan	Japan
   Searching for materials whose title ends with "Japan"	Title: #*Japan	America and Japan A Rebirth of Japan Japan
   Searching for materials published in the 1900s	Publication year: 19*	1945

You can perform searches with the following items on the advanced search screen.

• The △ symbol in the entry example represents one or more blank characters.
• [Local] means that the search item is enabled only for local searches. Values entered for NII searches are ignored.

By placing a "$" symbol in front of Roman characters used for search values, you can convert the Roman characters into Katakana characters to perform a search.

• Writing in the official Kana romanization system and the Hepburn system is supported.
• The Roman alphabet doesn't correspond to the long vowel character. For example, please enter "$kiwado" not "$kiwado" when you want to get the same result in the "キーワード."
• _ means a blank.

• Cross Search: CiNii Books, Google Books, and book collections of the National Diet Library and libraries outside Japan (WorldCat, British Library)
• University libraries: Neighborhood university libraries, etc.
• Public libraries: Book collections of neighborhood public libraries, etc.
• Bookstores: Book collections and bibliography data of Amazon, Junkudo Bookstore, and Books Kinokuniya
• Classic books: Classic books in university libraries and public libraries across Japan (comprehensive catalog of Japanese classic books)

• The search result list screen can display the search results of each specific search site or all sites.
• The first displayed search results belong to the search site where the search ended the earliest.
• If you want to find out the search results of another site, select it from the left menu.
• You can display a list of search results of each specific search site by clicking "Show All Sites" at the top left of the screen or clicking the site link in the results for each site on the left side of the screen.

• The number of acquired results is limited (10 to 100) depending on the site. If you want to find out all the search results of a specific site, perform the search directly from that site.
• The results of searches with [Cross Search] may differ from the direct search results of a specific search site. Use [Cross Search] mainly as a guide to determining the good sites to search for the materials you are looking for.

By selecting "Various applications" displayed for the bibliography on the search result list screen, you can make an ILL copy request (getting a copy from another library) and an ILL borrowing request (getting a book from another library).

• Reservation cancel date: The reservation is canceled when the entered date has passed.
• E-mail: From your registered e-mail addresses (PC/mobile phone), select a contact e-mail address. The library uses it to inform you when your reserved materials are available for check-out. To be contacted at a different e-mail address, fill in the "Change E-mail" field.
• Telephone number (Required input field): Type in your contact telephone number. The library uses it to inform you when your reserved materials are available for check-out. To be contacted only by e-mail and not by telephone, type in words to this effect in the "Remarks" field of "Notes."

• ILL Copy Request (getting a copy from another library)
• ILL Borrowing Request (borrowing a physical book)