Keio D Collections Digital Collections of Keio University Libraries

Overview

Keio D Collections (formally, the Digital Collections of Keio University Libraries) is the open-access digital collections platform of the Keio University Media Centers (libraries). It brings together rare and special materials held across Keio University's multiple campus libraries, making them freely available online with high-resolution images and descriptive catalog data.

History and Background

Keio University is one of Japan's oldest and most prestigious private universities, founded in 1858 by Yukichi Fukuzawa. The Mita Media Center, Keio's main library, has its origins in the original Keio University Library built in 1912. Keio's Media Centers across six campuses collectively hold over 4.2 million books and publications, making them among the foremost academic information repositories in Japan. The digitization program has been promoted for many years through the HUMI Project and cooperation with institutions including Kyoto University Library Network, producing the joint Digital Fujikawa – History of Medicine in Japan resource.

Collections and Holdings

Keio D Collections features digitized rare Japanese and Chinese classical books, Western medieval manuscripts, a Gutenberg Bible (42-line), incunabula, ukiyo-e collections (including the Takahashi and Bonn collections totalling over 1,500 items), Yukichi Fukuzawa's works (55 first-edition titles), historical anatomical works (Fujikawa Collection), the Nara Ehon and Emaki Collection, Documents of the Sagara and Tsushima So families, the Western Medieval Manuscripts Collection, the Gyosai Collection (traditional Japanese cuisine), and natural history books. An IIIF-compatible image viewer enables high-definition browsing; PDF files are provided for many collections.

Access and Usage

All materials in Keio D Collections are freely accessible online without registration. High-resolution images and downloadable PDFs are available for most collections. The platform supports search by keyword and collection browsing.