Japanese at a Library: Cards, Borrowing, Holds and Quiet Rules

Registering for a library card

Your first visit starts at the counter, the kauntā or madoguchi. Say that you want to make a card and the staff will hand you a registration form, riyō tōroku shinseisho. It asks for your name, address, phone number and sometimes your date of birth or workplace. Write your name the way it appears on your identification so the records match.

The key requirement is proof of your current address, jūsho o kakunin dekiru mono. A residence card, zairyū kādo, is the usual choice, and a My Number card or Japanese driving licence also works. If you do not live in the municipality but work or study there, bring something that shows the connection, such as an employee ID or student card, because many libraries accept that too. Whether people from neighbouring cities can join varies, so look for a page called riyō annai, guide to use, on the library website before you go.

Finding a book and reading the shelf labels

Japanese public libraries arrange non-fiction by the Nippon Decimal Classification, and the number on the spine label tells you the section: 0 for general works, 1 for philosophy, 2 for history, 3 for social sciences, 4 for natural sciences, 5 for technology, 6 for industry, 7 for arts and sports, 8 for language and 9 for literature. Language textbooks, including Japanese for foreigners, are usually in the 800s, and novels in the 900s, arranged by the author's name in the Japanese syllabary order.

The search terminal is the kensaku-ki, and the online catalogue is often called OPAC. You can search by title, daimei, author, chosha, or keyword, and the result shows the location, shozai, and whether the item is on the shelf, zaiko, or out on loan, kashidashi-chū. If the shelf label says heika, closed stacks, the book is stored away from the public area and you ask staff to fetch it.

Borrowing at the counter or the self-service machine

Bring your books and your card to the kashidashi counter, or to a jidō kashidashi-ki, a self-service machine, if the library has one. At the counter, staff scan the card and each item, then hand you a receipt with the due date, henkyaku kigen. Some libraries stamp or slip a date card into the book instead. Read the date carefully: the format is often year, month, day in Japanese order.

The self-service machine walks you through the steps on screen: place your card on the reader, put the books on the pad and press kashidashi. Many machines have an English option, but kakunin, confirm, and shūryō, finish, appear on every screen in Japan and are worth knowing. If you have reached your limit, kashidashi jōgen, either return something first or leave one book behind.

Returning, the return box and renewals

Returning is henkyaku. During opening hours, hand the items to the henkyaku counter or drop them in the slot marked henkyaku-guchi. Outside opening hours there is usually a return box, henkyaku posuto or bukku posuto, by the entrance, and many stations and community centres have one too. Check the sign: CDs, DVDs and books borrowed from other libraries often cannot go in the box because they may be damaged, and the sign will say so.

A renewal is called enchō, extension, and most libraries allow one, provided nobody has reserved the item. Ask at the counter, or log in to the catalogue with your card number and password to extend online. If a hold exists, you will be told yoyaku ga haitte imasu, a reservation has come in, and the extension is refused.

Reservations, holds and interlibrary requests

When a book is out, place a reservation, yoyaku. You can fill in a yoyaku-hyō at the counter or reserve through the online catalogue. When the item is ready, the library contacts you by email, phone or a postcard, depending on what you chose at registration, and holds it for a set number of days, typically around a week. The shelf where held items wait is the yoyaku tana or torioki tana.

If your library does not own a title, ask about a rikuesuto: many systems will borrow it from another library in the prefecture or consider buying it, which can take a few weeks. Larger cities let you collect reserved books at any branch, bunkan, which is worth asking about if the main building is far from you.

Signs and words you will see in the building

Most of what you need to understand in a library is written rather than spoken. The words below cover the counter signs, the shelf labels and the notices on the doors. Learn the kanji shapes even if you cannot write them; they repeat in every library in Japan.

Closed days are the trap. Many libraries shut on Mondays, or on a weekday that follows a public holiday, and once a month for a seiri-bi, a tidying day. The calendar on the website or the poster at the door lists them, so check kyūkanbi before making a special trip.

Quiet rules, study seats and children's corners

Libraries in Japan are quiet in a way that surprises some visitors. Phones are set to silent, manā mōdo, and calls are taken outside. Eating is not allowed except in a designated area, and drinks are often limited to bottles with lids. Talking is kept to a whisper, and the reading room, etsuran-shitsu, is close to silent. Signs saying o-shizuka ni, please be quiet, are gentle reminders rather than warnings.

Study seats are in demand, especially before exams and in summer. Some libraries hand out a seat ticket, zaseki-ken, at the counter for a fixed block of time, and some use a machine or online booking. Seats with power sockets are limited, and leaving your belongings on a seat while you go for lunch is discouraged.

• Set your phone to silent and take calls outside the building
• Drinks with lids only, and no food outside the designated area
• Ask at the counter for a seat ticket if the study room uses one
• Do not hold a seat with your bag for long breaks
• Whispering is fine in the children's corner, silence in the reading room
• Photocopying is limited by copyright rules; ask before copying a whole chapter

The copier, kopī-ki, has its own form in many libraries: you write the title and pages, because copying is allowed only for personal study and only part of a work. Staff will explain, and the rules are the same everywhere.

Asking a librarian for help and when something goes wrong

Librarians, shisho, are trained to answer reference questions, refarensu, and they are generous with time. Describe what you are looking for in simple terms: a topic, a level, a purpose. Saying hajimete Nihongo no hon o yomu n desu ga, this is my first time reading a Japanese book, gets you a much better recommendation than a title you half remember.

The most common problems are an overdue item, enkitai, a lost book, funshitsu, and damage, hason. For overdue items, return them and apologise briefly; many public libraries charge no fine but suspend borrowing until everything is back. For a lost or badly damaged book you are usually asked to buy the same title as a replacement, benshō, rather than pay cash. If you lose your card, report it so nobody borrows on your account, and bring identification again to reissue it, saihakkō.