ICU Library Friends membership is available to students who will graduate or complete their studies at ICU College of Liberal Arts or ICU Graduate School in July 2025 and who wish to continue using the library and off-campus borrowing services after graduation upon applying for registration.

• Application Start Date: Monday, July 1, 2025

• Card Distribution: Friday, July 15, 2024 [After Commencement Ceremony]

• Application Hours: Mon-Fri, 9:30 AM -4:00 PM

N.B. Your account (ICU Mail) will expire on July 18, 2025. You must use an email address that you can use after graduation, not a @icu.ac.jp email address when you fill out the form. Please make sure to check the library calendar before picking up the card.

For more details, please visit the following Library website.

During the following period, books selected by the Library Wizards, a student group at the Library, will be on display under the title “Summer Reading in 2025”.

Got plans for the long summer break that lasts through the end of August? Whether you are traveling somewhere new, busy with club activities, or simply enjoying a relaxing time at home, this is the perfect chance to dive into a good book.

During the term, it is not always easy to find time to read for pleasure—but summer gives you that extra space to slow down and enjoy stories at your own pace. That is why the Library Wizards have put together a special selection of recommended reads just for you. Happy reading!

• Place: Display shelf on the first floor of the Main Library

• Period: June 17th, 2025 - August 31st, 2025.

• Book List

Recruitment begins for the 2nd Generation of "Library Wizards," student supporters who will work alongside staff to create and manage various library services.

The expected tasks are as follows: 

• Planning monthly library exhibits

• Organizing library tours and social events for new students

• Handling some ELA and JLP lectures

• Dissemination of new book information

• Selecting books at bookstores

• Utilizing the bulletin board at the entrance

• Sharing updates through social media like Instagram, YouTube, and X

• Proposing other initiatives to enhance the library experience

We are recruiting 7 members for the 2nd generation. Please refer to the detailed application guidelines below.

Number of applicants: 7 (will be hired based on the balance of each ID)

Qualifications: 2nd year undergraduates and above, graduate students are also acceptable

Mission: "Contribute to developing students with creativity, critical thinking skills, and the ability to use information."

Payment: According to university regulations. Assumed to work approximately two periods per week.

Location: In the office of the Main Library

Starting Period: Several meetings in July and August; full-scale activities begin in September

The Person We're Looking For:

• Students who have a passion and love for libraries and books

• Students who can commit to group activities in a cooperative manner

• Students who have the ability to communicate, ideas and creativity

• Students with intellectual curiosity

• Students who are not uncomfortable with public speaking.

• Students who have the Japanese language skills necessary to carry out our work, as our activities are based on the Japanese language.

Benefits gained from the activity:

• Your ability to search literature and databases will be greatly enhanced. Especially for those who are planning to enter graduate school, this ability will definitely be useful for your future research life.

• This experience will be a big selling point in your job search, as we will be entrusting you with more than just a part-time job; you will also be playing an important role in library services.

Steps to Employment: 

The deadline for applications is during Monday, June 16.

We will then schedule a brief 10-minute interview in late June to get to know your personality and enthusiasm.

If you are interested in anything, we welcome your application. Lend your Wisdom and Power🪄 to the ICU Library!

Click here to apply.

Contact: library@icu.ac.jp (Attn: Kihira)

During this year's R-weeks, the library is hosting a collaborative exhibit! On the first floor of the ICU Library, you can find the "Fuwarin Panel" and a display of recommended books from the Center for Gender Studies (CGS) ☺️

The library is vibrantly decorated in rainbow colors. Be sure to stop by and take a look 🌈

Place: Display shelf on the first floor of the Main Library

Period: Wednesday, June 4, 2025 – Saturday, June 14, 2025

• Book List

Due to maintenance, OPAC searches for undergraduate and master's theses (printed copies) are currently unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.

However, PDF versions of undergraduate and master's theses submitted after June 2020 can be searched and viewed as usual using the designated terminals. These terminals can be borrowed at the Main Library Document Supply Center.

ICU students can borrow books for longer periods during the summer break.

For most students, the due date will be Wednesday, September 9, 2025.

We hope you take advantage of this opportunity.

However, students who are graduating, completing their studies, or OYR students finishing in July, have a due date of Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

• Undergraduates: June 12 (Thu), 2025 – August 26 (Tue), 2025

• Graduates: May 26 (Mon), 2025 – August 8 (Fri), 2025

During the following period, books selected by the Library Wizards, a student group at the Library, will be on display under the title “Books on the far right of the bookshelves”.

This month's library display is a little different than usual!

From the far-right end of the bookshelf inside the ICU Library, the Library Wizards team has handpicked books that sparked our curiosity — the ones that made us think, "This looks interesting!"

From seemingly complex statistical analyses to the surprisingly delicious history of pizza, enjoy the delightful chaos of a collection that spans a wide range of genres!

• Place: Display shelf on the first floor of the Main Library

• Period: May 8th, 2025 - June 2th, 2025.

• Book List

Please make sure that you've returned all materials and paid all overdue fines by Wednesday, June 25th, 2025.

If you remain in debt for any of the above, you will not be permitted to graduate in July 2025.

The library does not send you a list of books on loan or a bill for overdue fines. Check your record on "MyLibrary" by yourself.

An issue where selecting the TACOPAC (TAC Library Integrated Search) tab from the OPAC (via authentication) search screen resulted in no response has been resolved as of today.

We sincerely apologize for the prolonged inconvenience caused.

As part of the new student orientation, ICU Library is conducting a self-guided tour from April 4 to April 18!

Visit eight checkpoints within the library and submit the quiz to receive an "ICU Library Original Bookmark" as a gift!

These bookmarks are a one-of-a-kind design, remade from library cards that were actually used until the 1980s. Be sure to join the self-guided tour and choose your favorite bookmark!

Until now, OPAC and ICU Discovery had significant overlap in the materials they covered, and their roles were not clearly defined.

To address this issue, the search targets have been changed as follows starting in April. We hope you will choose the tool that best suits your needs moving forward.

• OPAC: Materials held by the ICU Library (including undergraduate theses and master’s theses), outright-purchased e-books from publishers.

• ICU Discovery: Includes the above materials, e-journals and e-books accessible via databases, and curated Open Access materials.

The ICU Archives will hold a special exhibition connecting the past, present, and future of ICU.

Whether you're new to ICU or not, come and discover new encounters and rediscoveries!

Theme: "Welcome to ICU - Past, Present, and Future"

Date: Starting on Tuesday, April 1

Location: ICU Archives Exhibition Room, Main Library, 1st Floor

Contact: ICU Archives (icuarchives@icu.ac.jp)

Currently, a malfunction is occurring where selecting the TACOPAC (TAC Library Integrated Search) tab from the OPAC (access via authentication) search screen does not respond. The issue is under investigation by the service provider, but in the meantime, please use the following URL to directly access TACOPAC for your search:

TACOPAC (TAC Library Integrated Search)

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.

This spring, the ICU Library website will be renewed.

The official transition to the new remote access platform and discovery service is scheduled for April 1, but during the transition period, some links on the new website have already been updated.

Details about what screens will appear and how to log in during the transition can be found in the announcements on the ICU Portal, so please check there for more information.

It may feel a bit confusing at first, but if you encounter any issues or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the ICU Library.

Starting Tuesday, April 1, 2025, the ICU Library's remote access platform will switch to OpenAthens by EBSCO. Additionally, the platform for ICU Discovery will also change to EBSCO's discovery service.

This change is expected to improve the stable provision of electronic resources and enhance usability. Databases previously under contract will remain accessible. For more details, please check the announcements on the ICU Portal.

During the following period, books selected by the Library Wizards, a student group at the Library, will be on display under the title “The ICU faculties’ memorable books”.

What kind of books did the professors at ICU read when they were students, and what did they feel?

We asked the professors to share the books that were meaningful to them during their student days. For the graduating students, those continuing their studies, and the new students joining us... these are the books we want you to read!

• Place: Display shelf on the first floor of the Main Library

• Period: March 3rd, 2025 - April 30th, 2025.

• Book List

ICU Library Friends membership is available to students who will graduate or complete their studies at ICU College of Liberal Arts or ICU Graduate School in March 2025 and who wish to continue using the library and off-campus borrowing services after graduation upon applying for registration.

• Application Start Date: Monday, March 24, 2025

• Application Hours: Mon-Fri, 9:30 AM -4:30 PM

• Fill out and submit the application form at the counter. You receive the library card after April 1st and can check out books up to three.

*Please make sure to check the Calendar before visiting. For more information, please visit the Library Friends page on our website.