Aozora Bunko
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| Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Type | Digital library |
| Established | February 1997 |
| Collection | |
| Size | 13,924 items (November 2016) |
| Criteria for collection | Japanese works in public domain |
| Website | www |
| References: | |
Aozora Bunko (青空文庫, literally the "Blue Sky Library", also known as the "Open Air Library") is a Japanese digital library. This online collection encompasses several thousands of works of Japanese-language fiction and non-fiction. These include out-of-copyright books or works that the authors wish to make freely available.
Since its inception in 1997, Aozora Bunko has been both the compiler and publisher of an evolving online catalog. In 2006, Aozora Bunko organized to add a role as a public policy advocate to protect its current and anticipated catalog of freely accessible e-books.
Aozora Bunko was created on the Internet in 1997 to provide broadly available, free access to Japanese literary works whose copyrights had expired. The driving force behind the project was one man — Michio Tomita (, 1952-2013) who was motivated by the simple belief that people with a common interest should cooperate with each other.
In Japan, Aozora Bunko is considered similar to Project Gutenberg.
The Aozora Bunko resources are searchable by category, author, or title; and there is a considerable amount of support in how to use the database in the form of detailed explanations. The files can be downloaded in PDF format or simply viewed in HTML format.
Most of the texts provided are Japanese literature and translations from English literature. This digital library ultimately plans to include 6,000+ works on the site.
Aozora Bunko has joined with others in organizing to oppose changes in Japanese copyright law. That opposition has led to encouraging Japanese citizens to submit letters and petitions to the Japanese Cultural Affairs Agency and to members of the Diet.
Japan and other countries have accepted the terms of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, an 1886 international agreement about common copyright policies. Japan and other countries with laws that do not go beyond the minimum copyright terms of the Berne Convention have copyrights that run for the lifetime of the author plus 50 years. Aozora Bunko has adopted an advocacy role in favor of construing this status quo as preferable to changes proposed by a number of powerful forces.
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