Overview

Library History

Foundation of Doshisha to the First Library (Yushukan) 1875-1919

1875	Doshisha Academy (Eigakko) is established with eight students and two teachers, Joseph Neesima and J. D. Davis, at a temporary school building on Teramachi-Marutamachi in Kyoto. Neesima makes his book collection (the present Neesima Residence Collection) available for teachers and students to read and borrow.
1876	The number of students increases to 76. The school moves to two newly constructed two-story buildings, one with a dining house, on the site of the former residence of the Satsuma Domain in front of Shokokuji Temple (near the present Clarke Memorial Hall). A reading room (library) is established on the first floor of the west-side building (second dormitory building), the origin of Doshisha University Library.
1885	The cornerstone ceremony of the first library (Shojakukan) is held.
1887	Shojakukan (later renamed Library; present Yushukan) opens. Shojakukan is the largest school library, as well as the oldest Western-style library, in Japan, though the library space was only a part of the building. The library is open stack and provides a lending service to students. The library organizes its books by placing brown-framed labels on general books, with green-framed labels on specialized books, as well as recording book accession numbers. * The library collection numbers 3,000 volumes.
1888	‘The Purpose of the Foundation of Doshisha University’ is published. * The library collection numbers 3,412 volumes (including 2,087 Western books).
1891	Opening ceremony of the Komuro and Sawabe Memorial Collection is held. The newspaper reports that the collection is open to the general public, which is considered remarkable as there has been no precedent of a school library making materials available to the public, except in the case of Tokyo Shojakukan of Tokyo Kaisei School (present Tokyo University), which made its legal collection available for public access. * The library collection numbers 14,653 volumes.
1892	With the establishment of Doshisha School of Politics and Law, the library’s collections are separately housed. (General books: Harris Science Hall, Theology-related books: Divinity Hall, Politics- and Economics-related books: Yushukan 3F)
1893	The Neesima Memorial Collection is established with the donations from teachers, staff, students and alumni of Doshisha. The Emori Ueki Collection is established with the gift of the book collection of Emori Ueki.
1894	* The library collection numbers 16,543 volumes.
1895-1910	The library experiences funding shortfalls as a result of financial difficulties at Doshisha. The library collection increases by only 500 volumes per year during the period.
1901	The Kumando Morita Collection is established with 769 books of Doshisha University professor Dr. Kumando Morita, purchased with donations from Doshisha alumni.
1907	The Ephraim Flint Collection is established with the gift of 260 books of the late Ephraim Flint, a friend of Neesima during his stay in the US.
1908	Five hundred books are donated by an American donor through the efforts of Doshisha University professor Dr. Gulick. The Alumni Collection is established with donations from Doshisha alumni.
1912	Doshisha College is established under the Acts of Colleges. As the library (Yushukan) is converted into classrooms, its books are housed in several places on campus.
1914	The construction of a new library is decided. The library construction committee (Jiro Yuasa, Kotaro Nishio, F. A. Lombard, and Kichiro Yuasa) draws out a construction plan. The library’s books are classified based on the ‘Classification of Doshisha Library Collection’ edited under the direction of Kichiro Yuasa (a poet known as Hangetsu Yuasa). This is one of the earliest introductions of the Dewey Decimal Classification in Japan.
1915	A steel-framed, four-story brick library building is established (to the north of present Keimeikan), designed by W. M. Vories. This building, later used as a book storage facility, is capable of functioning as a makeshift library until the main library is constructed on the south side. Separately housed books are transferred to the building, and the design of a centralized management system of the library’s materials is completed. The number of students at the university is 530, while the number in attendance at all Doshisha schools is 1,549. * The library collection numbers 33,150 volumes.
1916	* The library collection numbers 37,352 volumes.
1917	The Aizan Yamaji Collection is established with the book collection of Aizan Yamaji, purchased and donated by Magosaburo Ohara. The Doshisha Library Regulations are developed, with the position of Library Director being recorded in written form for the first time.
1918	The University Ordinance is promulgated. With the formulation of the Doshisha Staff Organization, a director and librarians are officially positioned in the library, and the library’s status becomes equal to that of the university and other schools. The construction of the main library building begins after a donation from alumnus Tadasaburo Yamamoto. The cornerstone ceremony is held.