For students and staffs＊Japanese version is here→ “学生・職員の方へ”
There are entrance gates. Please bring your student ID or library card with you when you use the library.
If you forget to bring your student ID or library card, please fill out the admission form and ask the staff.
If you don’t have a library card, please ask the staff.
You can use your student ID as a library card.
If you are a faculty member and do not have a library card with a barcode, you need to apply for a library card. Please apply at the library counter from 9:00 to 17:00 (except 12:15 to 13:15) on weekdays, with your faculty and staff ID etc.
Number of items that may be borrowed, lending period
| Classification | Number of documents | Lending period |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate students | 10 books | 2 weeks |
| Undergraduate students who applied for special loans with permission by their supervisors | 20 books | 4 weeks |
| Graduate students | 10 books | 2 weeks |
| Graduate students who applied for special loans with permission by their supervisors | 20 books | 4 weeks |
| Executive staff | 20 books | 4 weeks |
| Faculty | 20 books | 4 weeks |
| Staff | 10 books | 2 weeks |
| Professor emeritus | 10 books | 2 weeks |
| Former faculty and employee | 10 books | 2 weeks |
If you want to borrow the books that has a barcode label with a label of Saitama University Library, you can borrow them by yourself at the self-checkout machine in front of the counter.
If you want to borrow books without barcode labels, please come to the circulation counter.
While the library opens, please return books to the circulation counter. If you want to return books without going through the entrance gate, put them in the book drop in front of the entrance gate. If you want to borrow books as soon as you return them, bring them to the counter.
When the library closes, return the books to the book drop near the entrance.
If you are unable to visit the library by the due date, you can return the books by mail (please pay the postage).
You can use this mailing service only when you are in Japan.
When returning books by mail, please use traceable means such as “Acceptance-recorded mail (特定記録, you can apply at the post office counter)” and send them after protecting them with plastic bags or packing materials. Please see here for details.
Please note that if the above precautions are not followed and the books are lost or damaged, you may be required to buy the same books for compensation.
The return date means the day when the books arrive at the library.
If you want to extend the lending period of books, you can do yourself at the self-checkout machine in front of the counter within the due date.
You can also renew them on My Library. Please see here for details.
You cannot renew the books after the due date. Please make sure to renew them within the due date.
The loan period will be extended from the date of renewal. Please note that it is not a renewal from the due date.
You can renew the borrowed books three times if there are no requests for them.
You will not be able to borrow until you return the books that are overdue.
If you have at least one book in the suspension period or past the due date, you cannot borrow the other books.
The suspension period is the number of days overdue. The upper limit is 30 days.
You can make a reservation when the books you want to use are on loan.
You can reserve books using the OPAC.
Once the book you reserved is returned, we will notice it on the board near the reference counter. It will be listed in the “Reserve Information” column on the portal page.
The book you reserved will be held for a week after the book is ready. After this, the reservation will be cancelled.
With permission from their supervisors, undergraduate and graduate students writing graduation theses, master theses or doctoral dissertations may apply for permission to borrow up to 20 documents for up to 4 weeks.
The materials held by our university are located in the reading room and the stack room of the library, the departments of each faculty, and the laboratories.
Search the OPAC to find these materials.
Books placed in the library’s reading rooms and stack rooms are arranged in the order of call numbers according to the Nippon Decimal Classification (NDC).
To find the books, you can look up the classification number of the category of the book you want to read and then look for the call numbers, or you can go directly to the bookshelf and look for the area of the category you want to read.
You can watch DVDs, laser discs, and videotapes in the library. You need to apply at the counter before you use the audiovisual materials.
The new building on the east side of the library is the Learning Commons.
It is “Open space” where you can hold meetings and discussions aloud, and you can freely combine tables and chairs.
The Group Study Rooms and Seminar Rooms can be used by a group of three or more people represented by our faculty members and students for the purpose of learning, research, etc. If you want to get more information on how to use, click here.
Graduate student Library Assistants (LA) provide learning support, including consultations on researching and writing papers. They are at the support desk on the second floor from 10:40-16:10 during the school term.
If the library does not have the books you need for study or research, you can apply to purchase them.
Please recommend the book that is suitable for a university library collection and useful for many students.
You can borrow the books which are not available at Saitama University (There is basically no charge for ordering books held by some libraries in Saitama Prefecture). See “Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service – for borrowing” for more details. The option of borrowing books from other libraries rather than applying for purchase is especially recommended for books which will not be continuously used at this university (i.e. reference materials for graduation research).
Please fill out the following request form (The request form is also available at the library counter) and submit it to the library counter or send it to libs@gr.saitama-u.ac.jp by e-mail. If you apply by e-mail, please send it from the e-mail address the university gave you (～saitama-u.ac.jp).
>> Request Form (in Japanese) [Excel][PDF]
>> Request Form (in English) [Excel][PDF]
Before you apply, check the OPAC to be sure that the book you want to request is not owned at our university.
When you apply, please be advised that we might cancel your application in the case of problems such as the books being out of publication, there being no way of obtaining them, etc.
In order to meet the requests of as many students as possible, in principle, purchases on one person’s requests are up to 10 books and up to 50,000 yen per year.
You may not purchase books for personal graduation research, entertainment novels, books that allow writing such as workbooks, books that are biased toward certain religions, books that are not suitable for student use, or materials that are published regularly (journals, yearbooks, white papers, etc.).
When the book you have requested becomes available, we will contact you by the method you have checked on the application form (telephone, e-mail, or notice).
As a general rule, we keep these books at the counter for a week.
After the reservation period, these books will be placed in the reading room, so please come to the counter as soon as possible.
Librarians will answer your questions about library use.
We will advise you on how to search for articles and materials.
We also accept questions by e-mail.
Please feel free to contact the reference counter.
Copy Corner
Only materials in the library can be copied by the self-service photocopy machines in the copy corner.
When you make a photocopy, please fill out the “Application Form for Copying Documents” and put it in the box for it.
Each person may copy only part of a published work.
You cannot copy today’s newspaper or the latest issue of the journal.
Self-service photocopy machines are all card-operated.
There are two types of self-service photocopy machine: two for black and white only (10 yen per page) and one for color (and black and white) (10 yen for black and white per page, 50 yen for color per page).
The copy card is not sold at the library, so please buy it at Saitama University Co-op.
Copyright
Please follow the Copyright Act when you make copies in the library.
The restrictions under the Copyright Act are as follows.
・Only for the purpose of research or studies
・Only a part of a work (articles published in back issues of periodicals can be copied wholly)
・One copy per person
(You can see more details here→Article 31, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Copyright Act)
You can visit libraries of other universities directly within the conditions of each library.
Before you go to the library you want to visit, please check the website or ask the reference counter to find out how to use it.
National university libraries
In many cases, you can visit the national university libraries directly with your “student ID” or “faculty and staff ID.”
Private university libraries
In principle, you need a letter of introduction issued by Saitama University Library.
It may take several days to issue a letter of introduction, so please contact the reference counter at least a few days before the date when you want to visit.
SALA member libraries
You can visit SALA member libraries (SALA : Saitama Academic Library Association) by showing your student ID or identification card to the staff of member libraries. Each of the member libraries operates on their own rules and may differ in the services they provide. Before visiting, please be sure to check these details on the respective library’s website before visiting.
Rikkyo University Library
If you are students or full-time staffs of Saitama University, you can use Rikkyo University Library.
When you use the materials of Rikkyo University Library, please be careful not to damage them and to return them by the due date.
The use of Rikkyo University Library by members and students of Saitama University which had been suspended since April 6 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restarted on May 8, 2023.
