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The ‘Old Library’ Period
1920-1972

1920 Doshisha University is officially inaugurated under the University Ordinance.

The main building of the university library (a five-story, steel-framed, brick building) is constructed to the south of the present-day Keimeikan building, designed by W. M. Vories. All funding is provided by donations from alumni and
students, including Tadasaburo Yamamoto. The library is equipped with research facilities and small meeting rooms.
Doshisha Library has operated as a comprehensive library for all the schools of Doshisha since its inauguration, but the library materials of specific schools of Doshisha begin to be managed separately after the establishment of Doshisha University under the new education system.
The number of university students reaches 1,089, with a total of 2,621 students at all of the Doshisha schools.

The Rihei Miyake Collection is established by purchasing the book collection of an economic historian, Seichi Takimoto, which has been entrusted to the Library, with a donation from a Doshisha alumnus, Rihei Miyake.
* The library collection numbers 47,097 volumes.
1921 The old library is renamed Yushukan.
* The library collection numbers 48,403 volumes.
1925 The Masanao Kobayashi Collection is established with a donation of 10,000 yen from trustee Masanao Kobayashi. The collection grows to 1,011 volumes in 1935.
1929 The number of Doshisha University students (faculties and preparatory courses) is 1,390, with 1,115 students at the college. The student total at all of the Doshisha schools is 4,798.
* The library collection numbers 61,026 volumes.
1933 The Sakuya Yoshida Collection is established.
1934 The Seitaro Okada Collection, the Ando Hero's Biography Collection, and the Tasuku Harada Collection are established.
Many donations from alumni are collected between 1933 and 1935, which significantly increases the library collection.
1935 The Yasutada Yokota Collection, the Kogenta Murakami Collection, and the Kotaro Kato Collection are established.
The library implements innovative user services, including a proposal to open the library during evening hours, though this is not put into practice.
Also, with the trend toward increased militarism, the Library remains firm in rejecting the confiscation of the books related to liberalism and socialism by the government, and keeps valuable materials in perfect condition until the end
of the war.
* The library collection numbers 71,000 volumes.
1936 The Matsuichiro Takayanagi Collection is established with the book collection of scholar Matsuichiro Takayanagi, an expert in the Chinese customs duty system.
1938 The Doshisha University Library Classification Table is developed with the aim of adopting a more modern classification method, including the cataloging system, which later forms the basis of the Classic Classification Table of the Library.
Books added to the Library after 1935 are classified using this table.
1939 The Doshisha University Library Special Loan Rules are created.
Among other libraries that focus on in-library reading services, Doshisha Library provides a loan service to the students, teachers and staff from the time of its opening. These rules contain a provision that officially permits visitors from outside the university to use and borrow library materials.
1941 The ‘Students and Library Meeting’ begins, taking place once a month to facilitate communication between students and library staff.
The ‘Workshop for Library Science Study’ is also set up, holding lecture meetings and study presentation meetings.
1945 The Takayuki Namae Collection is established with the book collection of Takayuki Namae, who made a significant contribution to social welfare activities in Japan.
1946 Doshisha University Library Science School is established, which is a noteworthy event in the history of the education of library science in Japan.
The school is the origin of the University’s course for librarians.
1947 The Soho Tokutomi Collection is established with 1,900 books of Soho Tokutomi and related publications donated by the collector, Jiro Yamamoto.
1948 Doshisha University is reorganized under the School Education Act.

The Kazutami Ukita Collection is established with the gift of the book collection of Kazutami Ukita, a Doshisha alumnus and a political scientist, as well as a professor of Waseda University.

The Mary Florence Denton Collection is established with the gift of the book collection of Mary Florence Denton, who made a considerable contribution to the education of girls at Doshisha.
1949 The Administrative Rules of the Doshisha Library Books is established by Director of Doshisha Library and Chancellor of Doshisha University Hachiro Yuasa. The rules aim to centralize the management of the libraries of Doshisha schools in terms of enhancing and streamlining their functions.
This central library system continues until about 1953.

The Doshisha University Library Classification Table, second edition, is developed.
1952 The Criteria for Evaluating University Libraries is set by the Japan University Accreditation Association.
1953 A small open-stack room (about 30 seats) is added to the second floor of the Reading Building (to the east of present Shiseikan) to handle the rapid increase in student users. This room, which houses extra copies of the books from among the main library’s book collection, serves as a makeshift library although it does not offer a lending service. It stays open until 1957.
1954 Due to the shift from the central library system to the individual library system, the existing library becomes part of the university as Doshisha University Library.
1957 A classroom on the second floor of Yurinkan (near present Koenkan) is converted into the main reading room (about 350 seats), with some books shelved in open stacks. The Library officially starts to offer open access and lending services. A stack room is added to the Library (present Keimeikan) .
1958 The Doshisha University Library Classification Table, third edition, is developed (the present-day Classic Classification Table). Please refer to the Nippon Decimal Classification (NDC) 6th edition.

The Waichi Araki Collection is established with about 20,000 volumes of the book collection of Doshisha alumnus and bibliophile, Waichi Araki, donated from his family. The English-language books among Araki’s collection are separately categorized as the Waichi Araki English Studies Collection.
1961 The Kumahiko Takebayashi Collection is established with the book collection of Doshisha alumnus and expert in library studies and history, Kumahiko Takebayashi, donated according to his wishes.
1964 NDC 7th edition is adopted and a library catalog is created with the New Classification Table (present table). The existing catalog remains as the Classic Classification Table.
1967 The Shinmachi Reading Room is established.
Doshisha University Library’s journal, the Biblioteka is published for the first time. The journal continues to be published until 1991 with issue 48 being the final one.
1970 The John Dewey Collection is established with a donation and 200 books written by and related to an American philosopher and educator called John Dewey, gifted from Professor Tetsutaro Yoshikawa on his retirement from Doshisha University. Later donations from his family enable the library to continue its ongoing search for more literature and materials on John Dewey.
1971 The Rokuro Nakaseko Collection is established with 2,600 volumes of the book collection of Doshisha alumnus, Rokuro Nakaseko, donated from his family.