The Kyoto University Graduate School of Letters has led humanities research in Japan and East Asia. In an era where research materials are predominantly electronic, we focus on educational and research experiences which can only be gained through consulting the original documents and books we can touch by hand Our greatest mission is to study the activities of flesh-and-blood human beings and to transmit rich intellectual assets to future generations, which has become all the more important in the age of the Internet.

The Rare Books Room at the Library of the Graduate School of Letters is home to the original documents and books we can touch by hand from all kinds of eras and countries. However, due to the inadequate facilities of the Rare Books Room, there were cases in the past of books getting moldy. To transmit books and historical sources, which are intellectual assets of humanity, to future generations, and maintain an extensive research environment for future students and researchers, we must urgently renovate the Rare Books Room and restore its rare book holdings.

Therefore, we intend to use this fund for the renovation of the Rare Books Room and restoration of its rare book holdings, to transform the Library of the Graduate School of Letters into a core facility and enhance the value to conducting research by consulting the original documents and books we can touch by hand. Furthermore, focusing on tangible sources, we will aim to nurture young researchers who are capable of using those sources based on new research methods, such as digital humanities.