Libraries are reputedly the most widely used public facilities. You have probably visited your own local library at least once.
While libraries bustling with people house collections of a wide variety of books and other materials, materials related to the local community far outstrip the others in abundance. Libraries are truly a treasure trove of the community’s intellectual heritage.
Recently, there has been a growing number of travelers who seek to acquire deeper knowledge of their destination’s history and traditions, and to interact with the locals. However, it is rare to see travelers at libraries.
In this special feature, we will search for common ground between tourism and libraries, as well as hints toward cooperation and integration between tourism and libraries based on case studies of libraries around Japan.