Yokohama City Library introduces Japan's first AI-based book search system

Faculty of Education and Human Sciences Department of Education

Posted on 2025/03/14

Professor Toshihiko Nozue

Faculty of Education and Human Sciences

Faculty of Education and Human Sciences Department of Education
Posted on 2025/03/14
Yokohama City Library introduces Japan's first AI-based book search system
Professor Toshihiko Nozue

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Key points for introduction

The Yokohama City Library has introduced an AI-based book search system developed in collaboration with Fujitsu Japan Ltd. as part of the "Near-future libraries and new learning" research project at the University's "Innovative Technology and Social Co-Creation Institute," led by Professor Toshihiko Nozue of the Department of Education, Faculty of Education and Human Sciences. The system began operation on Monday, January 15, 2024. This is the first time that an AI-based book search system has been introduced to a public library in Japan (according to the research project).

What is the AI-based book search system?

This system allows library users to find literature that is close to their interests by entering everyday words, even if the title or author is not fixed. It is also possible to find literature that could not be found with conventional keyword searches. The introduction of the system is expected to stimulate people's desire to read and promote library use.

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Professor Toshihiko Nozue

Faculty of Education and Human Sciences Department of Education

Graduated from the Department of Educational Administration, Faculty of Education, University of Tokyo. Completed doctoral studies at the Graduate School of Education, University of Tokyo, majoring in Integrated Educational Sciences, with all required credits. After working as an assistant at the National Center for Academic Information (now the National Institute of Informatics), he joined the Department of Education, Faculty of Letters, at our university in April 2000. In 2009, due to faculty reorganization, he transferred to the Department of Education, Faculty of Education and Human Sciences. Since April 2018, he has been a professor in the same department. His fields of expertise are library and information science and educational informatics. He conducts research on themes such as information literacy education, and participates in many library-related conferences at the national and local governments as a committee member. He currently serves as Dean of the Faculty of Education and Human Sciences at our university and Vice Director of the Institute for Innovative Technology and Social Co-Creation at our university.

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What was the background to this project?

In the latter half of the 2010s, "active learning," in which students take the initiative in their studies, began to attract attention as a new way of learning for the new era. This project also aimed to create a model to support new learning, so it did not start with the idea that "libraries are a given."
Since December 2019, we have been working on various initiatives in collaboration with Fujitsu Japan Limited (then Fujitsu Marketing) (then Singularity Research Institute). As part of this, we decided to focus on how libraries can support people's learning and to pursue methods of utilizing AI, and created a prototype. Despite the impact of COVID-19, we continued to conduct experiments and research, repeatedly updating functions, and as a result, we have reached a level where we can implement it in society, and have now introduced it to Yokohama City Library and other libraries.

Why did you focus on libraries?

If we think of libraries as places that provide learning opportunities for each citizen, we do not think of them as simply "a collection of books." Normally, people would search for books by keyword, but it is extremely difficult to come up with appropriate keywords or guess the classification to search for books in the field you are about to learn, that is, in a field you are not yet familiar with. For example, if someone wants to learn about concrete, even if they search the engineering shelves, they may find that a book classified under chemistry actually provides a more understandable and detailed explanation. In other words, it is difficult for beginners to find the appropriate book on their own.
Knowledge in the world is a living thing, so it is not always classified according to the Nippon Decimal Classification, which is common in libraries. If it is difficult to come up with keywords or follow the classification, this project started with the idea that "why not try to use the power of AI?"

What are the characteristics of the AI-based library search system that you have just introduced?

Until now, searching library collections was generally done by keyword. However, in order to select the appropriate keywords, one must be familiar with the technical terms of the field one wants to study, and there were cases where one was unable to find the book one needed. If there is a topic one wants to study, it is important to encounter "good" literature and "good" teaching materials. It would be ideal if one could follow a mentor to be able to provide guidance on literature, or ask faculty or seniors directly at university, but this is not always possible. Therefore, by using new technology, we aimed to realize a system that can approach questions such as "Which books are related to the topic I want to study?" and "Which books are frequently read by people who have studied the same field?" using information other than keywords.
We know that it would be effective to use users' search history as data when searching, but there are various reasons and circumstances that make this not necessarily easy. We considered and investigated using history data, but determined that this would be difficult to do immediately, and decided to start by developing the system without using history data. After repeated tuning, we were able to confirm that the system was able to find documents that could not be found with the previous system, so we decided to release it to society.
The team also talked about aiming to be the first in Japan, and we were able to introduce this system at a time when there were no systems in the world that used AI to target public library collections.

Is it really important to help people learn?

Yes. The idea of active learning, where students learn independently, has permeated society, and systems that support independent learning are being explored not only in universities but also in society as a whole. Research projects have not always involved using libraries, and we have made several attempts. Prior to this joint research, we tried to prototype a database that could record materials other than literature available in the world, such as music, and tried out a system that allows people to work together and discuss while sharing, whether remotely or in person, using a PC app or a handwritten whiteboard. All of these were before the COVID-19 pandemic. Both were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the moment, we are focusing on introducing AI to libraries, which can be a support system that is close to people and in a sense "down to earth." However, with so many new technology seeds being born today, we believe that there should be a variety of forms for systems that support people's learning.

Of course, one can argue that not only students and researchers, but also ordinary people should take the initiative in learning. However, in order to enrich the lives of citizens, it is important for each individual in a democratic society to learn in order to make better decisions. If information is more easily accessible, individual lives and communities will be enriched. This is not limited to the large scale of a nation, but I think the same thing happens on the scale of companies, schools, groups, clubs, and even families.
For example, if farmers who are struggling with poor mandarin orange harvests can easily access useful information sources to deal with the problem, the mandarin orange farming community will become happier. In order to increase this level of happiness, independent learning is necessary, and I believe that libraries have a major role to play.

What role do you expect libraries to play in the future?

This AI-based system calculates relevance, such as "this word and this word are similar" or "this word and this document are similar." This is sometimes translated as "a hidden gem," but we can expect to see the creation of "serendipity," an unexpected encounter. These unexpected encounters bring surprise and delight to users.
Libraries have a huge collection of books. Although libraries are supposed to be environments that provide the resources to help people learn, from the user's point of view, there are times when they don't know what to read or where to start, and so they tend to simply become "facilities for searching for books."

Going forward, value will be created in matching those with a desire to learn with learning resources. This system is of great significance as one of the methods to achieve this. Public libraries in particular need to be facilities that citizens feel more inclined to use, and librarians should also play the role of learning coordinators. If someone who is interested in corporate performance finds out that "that company improved its performance with this book," they will want to read what literature the company used as a reference. Of course, privacy will need to be properly ensured, but if this can be systematically established and libraries become a place where people can always find information that is optimized for them, I think people will use libraries more.
Learning is about discovering new things, and rather than simply imparting knowledge, it will be extremely important in the coming age to coordinate in order to prioritize thinking and researching for oneself. Libraries are equipped with materials for learning. The AI-based document search system will be introduced at the Okinawa Prefectural Library in March 2024, and is expected to expand in the future. We are continuing our research to develop an even better system. We hope that many people, including young people who will create the future, will make use of it.

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