1-7-1　Library collection trends

The figure below exhibits changes in the number of books in the library collection at the Central Library, Law School Library and the Mejiro Seibo Campus Library. The library collection increased considerably in AY2011 due to the merger with Seibo College, but the number of books decreased the following academic year as a result of removal. A distinctive feature of Sophia University’s library collection is that it has a relatively large number of books written in foreign languages compared to other universities. However, newly published books written in foreign languages to be accepted are shifting to electronic books. In addition, books written in Japanese, old editions have also been removed, and reference materials, etc. have been converted to electronic materials (databases, electronic books) as far as possible.
Regarding electronic journals, their price increase forced to review the library collection in 2015, and their number was greatly reduced. However, since AY2021, owing to the spread of COVID-19, the number of foreign and open access collections has been increased to make them available without visiting the Library. Electronic books, mainly those written in foreign languages, were also further enhanced in AY2023. From AY2023, the EBSCO host used under the contract for database was excluded from the electronic journal count, resulting in an approximately 20,000 titles decrease compared to AY2022.

1-7-2　Library Use

Number of books in circulation

The number of books on loan varies from year to year. We do not consider that the said number has decreased to such a degree that the popularly discussed trend of not reading books is growing. Use not reflected in figures has increased, such as the number of e-books and the like on loan. In AY2020, admissions were temporarily restricted, and online classes were mainly held to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Accordingly, the number of books on loan dropped sharply to one-third that of the previous year, but in AY2023, the number returned to slightly below 90% or more of that recorded before the spread of COVID-19.

Number of library visitors

The number of library visitors has been decreasing since AY2017. One reason for this is the digitalization of reference materials and the fact that reference materials can be accessed from home. In AY2020, admissions were temporarily restricted, and online classes were mainly held to avoid the spread of COVID-19, and the number of visitors dropped sharply to less than 10% of the previous year, but in AY2023, it returned to slightly over 70%, as recorded before the spread of COVID-19.