Global Memory Net Offers New Innovative Access to Tsurumi’s Old Japanese Waka Poems and Tales, and Maps

Abstract

This paper describes how Global Memory Net (GMNet) has been able to provide new kind of innovative access to the invaluable content of the classical Japanese ancient poems and maps at Tsurumi University that was not available for public access before. The collaboration began with the development of a prototype collection, based on images included in two publications of the Tsurumi University Library – the Eighty Selections of Waka Poems and Tales from the Classical Japanese Literature and the Japanese Maps in the Old Age. As the project developed, coinciding with the technology development of GMNet in bilingual retrieval as well as with sound presentations, the inclusion of sound files for each of the Waka selection was considered a very desirable feature since Waka poems are generally only readable by very small number of specialists.

The paper will present a bird’s eye view of how Tsurumi’s rare collection is organized, presented with much enhanced access in GMNetsystem. Through this project, the Tsurumi team has gained considerable important experiences. The overall process for them was very time consuming even though the technology of GMNet was already in place. These valuable experiences will be discussed and shared.