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This article was downloaded by: [Missouri S & T] On: 22 October 2014, At: 11:41 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Science & Technology Libraries Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wstl20 Web Access to Japanese Science and Technology Information Emi Takase MBA a a MIT Libraries , Cambridge, MA, USA Published online: 20 Oct 2008. To cite this article: Emi Takase MBA (1997) Web Access to Japanese Science and Technology Information, Science & Technology Libraries, 16:2, 37-54, DOI: 10.1300/ J122v16n02_05 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J122v16n02_05 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.

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This article was downloaded by: [Missouri S & T]On: 22 October 2014, At: 11:41Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

Science & Technology LibrariesPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wstl20

Web Access to JapaneseScience and TechnologyInformationEmi Takase MBA aa MIT Libraries , Cambridge, MA, USAPublished online: 20 Oct 2008.

To cite this article: Emi Takase MBA (1997) Web Access to Japanese Science andTechnology Information, Science & Technology Libraries, 16:2, 37-54, DOI: 10.1300/J122v16n02_05

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J122v16n02_05

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all theinformation (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform.However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness,or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and viewsexpressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of theContent should not be relied upon and should be independently verified withprimary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages,and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan,sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone isexpressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Web Access to Japanese Science and Technology Information

Emi Takase

ABSTRACT. The MIT Libraries, in collaboration with the MIT Japan Program, are conducting the Japanese Science and Technolo- gy Information (JSTI) Project, currently focusing on the field of materials science and engineering. The objectives of this project are (1) to increase the flow of science and technology information from Japan to U.S. researchers and managers by creating a World Wide Web resource, and (2) to enhance cooperation among researchers in the U.S. and Japan by creating an interactive listsew. This paper presents a brief background and general overview of the project; analyzes the statistics to determine numbers, types, and locations of users; and comments on some issues in accessing Japanese science and technology information. [Article copies available fmm The Haworth Document Delivety Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: gelinfo@ haworthxom]

PROJECT BACKGROUND

In the 1980s when Japan's economy was flourishing, it became imperative for countries like the U.S. to access the rich resources of

Emi Takase, BS in Agrobiology, MBA, is Japanese Science and Technology Information Specialist at the MIT Libraries, Cambridge, MA, where she is creat- ing a World Wide Web Homepage for Japanese materials science and engineering information.

The author would like to express her appreciation to those who have helped support this project: Ann J. Wolpert, Director of MIT Libraries; Pat Gercik, Managing Director of the MIT Japan Program; Anne Lavin. Director of MIT JP-Net; Rae Jean Wiggins, former Project Leader and MIT Librarian; and Sarah Shore, Project Technical Specialist.

Phase One of this work was supported by the United States Air Force Ofice of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Grant No. F49620-93-1-0593.

Science & Technology Libraries, Vol. 1q2) 1997 O 1997 by The Haworth Press. Inc. All rights reserved. 37

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38 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIES

Japanese science, technology, and business infonnation to sustain the nation's competitive standing in the world. Increased access to this information was advocated by leaders like Prof. Richard J. Samuels, Head of the Department of Political Science at MIT. Prof. Samuels founded the MIT Japan Program in 198 1, a large, compre- hensively and widely copied center of applied Japanese studies. The Program was intended to (1) oversee the training of MIT science, engineering, and management students in Japanese language and culture, (2) place these students in Japanese companies, universi- ties, and govenunent organizations for internships, and (3) educate Americans in the public and private sectors of the U.S. about Japan, and any other issues relevant to our ability to better cooperate and compete with Japan as we move into the 21st century.

As Prof. Samuels proposed, efforts have been made to provide "better coordinated and better conceived JSTI (Japanese Science and Technology Information) and to "redirect American resources in order to identify, acquire, and disseminate Japanese scientific and technical informati~n."~ In 1991, the U.S. government established four United States-Japan Industry and Technology Man- agement Training (JITMT) Centers across the country, and named the MIT Japan Program as one of the four centers. Currently eleven universities operate under U.S. Air Force Offke of Scientific Re- search (AFOSR) grants, and as a result of these efforts, several Japanese information related projects have also been started at these JITMT Centers.

At the MIT Libraries, the aforementioned need to increase access to Japanese infonnation was recognized by Jay. K. Lucker, former MIT Libraries Director and David S. Femero, former MIT Li- braries Associate Director and present Duke University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs. In the early 1990s, the efforts of the MIT Libraries and the MIT Japan Program merged, and by 1993 the concept of creating an electronic database on Japanese science and technology information had evolved. The idea of the MIT Japanese Science and Technology Information Project was proposed to the U.S. Air Force Oflice of Scientific Research (AFOSR), who decided to fund the project.

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Emi Takase 39

JAPANESE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION PROJECT

The primary objective of this project is to create a national electronic resource for Japanese science and technology informa- tion, to be maintained by the MIT Libraries; this resource serves researchers and managers in government, industry, and universi- ties. Another goal, to be carried out during the second phase of the project, is to create a subject specific listserv. The listserv will provide' a forum for direct electronic communication where rela- tionships between researchers and other members of the interna- tional scientific and engineering communities can develop, and where they can participate in discussions about innovative ideas and their applications.

From November 1994 to February 1995, the MIT Libraries conducted a market research survey of MIT Japan Program corpo- rate sponsors, government sponsors, MIT faculty, and MIT Indus- trial Liaison Program3 companies. Based on this research and other considerations, materials science and engineering was cho- sen to be the initial subject area on which the database would focus. ater rials science and engineering is an area in which Japa- nese developments are of considerable interest to other advanced industrialized countries. In their report entitled "Case Study of Japanese R&D Trends," the Japan Information Center of Science and Technology (JICST)~ supports this choice because " . . . new materials, and robotics and automation technology, are areas in which Japan's R&D is relatively advanced compared with the U.S. and ~ u r o p e . " ~ The study refers to comparison surveys which were carried out in both Japan and the United States. The U.S. Survey was conducted by the Department of Commerce .in the spring of 1990 and suggests that Japan dominates the U.S. in the field of new materials (e.g., structural ceramics). There are more studies and reports which support the choice of materials science as the focus of the project.-~etails and results of our own market re- search, as well as other reports which support this choice of the subject field, can be found in the MIT japan Program Working Paper Series, MITJP95-05.

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40 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LIBRARlES

JAPANESE MATERLQLS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING HOME PAGE

At the beginning of December 1995 the first generation World Wide Web home page of the project was published as h t t p : / h - japan.mit.edu/MatSciEng/. This home page includes information on publications, research laboratories, academic societies and industrial associations, conferences and workshops, databases, libraries, list- sews and news groups, researchers in the field of Japanese materials science and engineering, and general Japanese science and technol- ogy (see Exhibit I-Layout of the index page). The content of the information provided and the organization of the home page reflect the results of the market research.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

According to the result of our market research, Japanese publica- tions, especially journal literature and company research reports, are highly desired by U.S. researchers. It was therefore decided that the Web page should begin by listing publications in the following four categories: major academic journals, in-house company peri- odicals, trade magazines, and articles fiom the Kyoto University Faculty of Engineering. Academic journals are organized by broad subject categories. The page provides links to some of the English- language tables of contents from journals such as Journal of Chemi- cal Engineering of Japan, Ceramics Japan, Journal of the Ceramic Society of Japan, and Journal of Suflace Analysis. The tables of contents for Ceramics Japan and Journal of the Ceramic Society of Japan actually reside on our site. Both journals are publications of the Ceramic Society of Japan. The Society sends us the most recent English-language table of contents for each issue shortly after its publication. These tables of contents are scanned and coded for HTML documents by our technical staff. The Web site for Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan provides entire papers, including charts and graphs. The Web site for Japanese Journal of Applied Physics Part 1 and 2 provides an English table of contents and abstracts.

One of the more interesting Web sites is Kogaku Kenkyu at

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Emi Taknse

EXHIBIT 1

General Science and Technology Information

Document Delivery and Translation Services

Databases

Funding Sources and Research Exchanae Promms

Ja~anese Patent Related Links

Other Internet Sites

* J a p ~ l a c Tcchmlogy Evaluatiao CewerIWald Tachmlqy M d o n Ccnm

Other MIT Home Pages

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIES

EXHIBIT 1 (continued)

MIT D e m e n t dhiaterials Science and Enaineenng MIT Makrials Rocessin~ Center Mataids Science in the MIT Libmnea MlT JPNET -Japanese Language and Culture Nenvork MIT Jamn Ronram - US-Japan lndustly and Technology Management Trsining Center

*MIT

MIT I~brdncs Home Page

Back In Jnnanese Materials Science and Enameering Home Pap

Datc last modifid Thursday. OSScp-% 15:WSl EDT

Kyoto University. This site provides a list of original and review papers written by the Kyoto University faculty. Each list is grouped according to department and then subgrouped by subject, but as one long document. For the convenience of the user, we identify and select materials science and engineering related departments and provide links to the corresponding sections of the list. The title of the article, names of the authors, publication/publisher's name, and an abstract are available in English for each article in this Web site.

Research laboratories are classified into three groups: company, government, and university. The Company Laboratories page pro- vides links to 9 Japanese companies in the field of materials science and engineering including Hitachi, Kawasaki Steel, Mitsubishi Ma- terials, Mitsubishi Materials Silicon, Nippon Steel, NKK, Toray, Toshiba, and Toyota. Japanese companies have started to create their own home pages, but the information provided in the these pages is still very limited. They typically provide information found in their annual reports. Government and University Laboratories pages provide links to sites for the associated Japanese institutions. In this respect, the government and university home pages currently provide more useful information than company home pages. Uni- versity Laboratory Web pages are generally administered and main- tained by graduate students or junior faculty members. The in- formation provided by each laboratory can vary greatly even within the same university.

Web sites for some of the materials science and engineering specific databases are listed in the section "Databases" under the

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Emi Takase 43

materials science and engineering links. This page is one of the more frequently accessed pages on our site. It provides seven links to different database sites. These databases are not commercial databases, and are either experimental or still under development. Some of them, such as Crystal Structure Database and Mass Spec- tral Database provided by JICST, can be accessed through the Web, but others including Data-Free-Way for Nuclear Materials by Na- tional Research Institute for Metals (NRIM) and Nuclear Data by Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), are only for members with an authorized password. However, at least some of the information on these databases can be obtained through the links (see Exhibit 2-Layout of the Databases Page).

Although the focus of the information is Japanese materials sci- ence and engineering, the Web site also includes information on general science and technology in Japan for the user's convenience. The General Science and Technology Information section provides information such as document delivery and. translation services, databases (not specific to materials science and engineering but science and technology in general), funding sources and research exchange programs, Japanese patent related links, and other Inter- net sites (see Exhibit %Layout of the General SciITech Page).

RECENT ADDITIONS

Much of our efforts concentrate on keeping the current links updated, and expanding the contents of the home page in order to provide better services to the user. Here are some of the most recent additions:

We incorporated a search function using the Harvest program in September, 1996. The tutorial page is offered for the user's convenience. At this time the search function can only search materials on our site. We are working to make the search func- tion capable of searching materials outside of our site. We would, however, like to limit the search to related sites only, unlike other search engines such as Aka Vista or Yahoo, so that the user can access only the most relevant information to maximize the "signal-to-noise-ratio."

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44 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIES

Another new addition is a page for Japanese patent related links, which includes links to the Japanese Patent Oflice, Ja- pan Patent Information Organization (JAPIO), Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation (JIII), and a company that special- izes in Japanese patent, utility model and trademark informa- tion. Though actual patents are not available through these links, the first three are key organizations for those who are looking for Japanese patent information or just trying to un- derstand the Japanese patent system. Relevant company and journal links are added when new sites or new pages are published on the Web. A translation compa- nies page has been expanded, listing companies that provide JapanesetEnglish translations. The Researchers Directory, pro- vided by the former Research Development Corporation of Ja- pan (JRDC)? contains lists of researchers working in national research institutes in Japan; the information includes the names of researchers, and the names and addresses of the institutes where they belong.

USAGE STATISTICS

The total number of requests processed by the Websewer during the period from February to September 1996 was more than 12,000. The average number of monthly requests was over 1,500. These numbers represent only requests for text pages. Data on requests for image files and errors were excluded for better representation of the actual usage of our Web site. Considering that this home page deals with Japanese science and technology information in only one spe- cific subject area, 1,500 monthly requests is considered substantial. Monthly fluctuation in the number of requests processed by the Websewer is partially due to students' activities; the number of accesses peaked in August possibly due to the fact that students had more free time to spend on the Internet (see Chart 1).

The top five pages accessed most frequently are the index page, academic journals page, databases page (materials science and en- gineering related), academic societies and industrial associations page, and company laboratories page. This result is consistent with our predictions, based on the market research, that Japanese aca-

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Emi Takase

EXHIBIT 2

Databases fldlowipghm prrscntSdatabaJcatba1 arc apaimmtal pbd, ordcvclopmcd in ~aturc ney arc

i D d i e a r i v e d l h e a r a l r b e i a g d O m h J q m m ~ w i t h ~ 1

demic journal papers would be the most desired information and field specific databases would be the second most desired informa- tion to the users of our Web site, followed by academic societies and industrial associations (see Chart 2).

Our analysis indicates that 56% of accesses came from the U.S., 15% from Japan, and 12% from all other countries combined. The remainder (17%) was not identified. Of all the accesses fiom the

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46 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIES

EXHIBIT 3

Japanese Materials Science and Engineering

Morc infarmatan abml YS aoied

Materials Science and Engineering Links

o In-House l+mnv Rrindirals o TeMamnm-Analphtebdlirn 0 (hidaadRcviewArtld~~fmUKMaterialsSdencePldEnnirwtria~~FaEulhiat

Kvoto UnivcrsiN

General Science and Technology Information

Other MIT Home Pages of Interest

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EXHIBIT 3 (continued)

U.S., more than a half (55%) were from MIT. Accesses from the commercial domain accounted for 23%, other educational institu- tions 12%, network (mainly commercial network service providers such as America Online or CompuServe) 7%, followed by the U.S. government and military at 3%. Accesses from ''.netW may very well be researchers who connect to the network from their home, mostly researchers at private companies that do not yet have con- nections to the outside network. Accesses from educational institu- tions totaled 67%. This high number is because educational institu- tions already have access to the Internet. Unlike universities or educational institutions, private companies are very cautious about connecting to the outside network due to concerns about industrial security. Many companies are still in the process of making connec- tion to the Internet. Considering this, it can be said that a substantial fraction of accesses comes from the private sector-23% (.corn) plus 7% (.net) (see Chart 3).

The access logs have been analyzed in order to identify specific sites that have contacted the Webserver the most often during the same period. Accesses from "mit.edun we,E eliminated since these are obviously the most common. Any accesses from search engine sites such as "infoseek.com," "pa-x.dec.com," "iaktomi.com," etc., have also been excluded,'since they access sites at random and are not seeking any particular Japanese scientific information. Also, large Internet service providers were not included because these

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CH

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Uni

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50 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIES

CHART 3

Access by Country

Unidentified 17%

U.S. 56%

I Access by Domaln (US. Only)

.NET (Network- mainly U.S. I.S.P.'s) Other U.S.

7 1 3% . ..

Commercial) 23% h4IT.EDU

55%

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Emi Takase 51

represent individual users who cannot be identified and classified under specific categories. However, again it can be presumed that users who access through large Internet providers are mostly re- searchers and managers in the private sector. U.S. private compa- nies in automobile, semiconductor, aerospace, and electronics in- dustries are among the most frequent users. An automobile company appeared at 7th in March and 6th in July. In May an aerospace company was 6th and a semiconductor company was 9th, and an electmnics company was 9th in June. Other companies that were identified as users of our site include telecommunication, scientific instruments, chemical and consumer products, materials, electric utility, chemical, and pharmaceutical companies. It can be seen that the users of our Web site are not limited to companies in the field of materials science and engineering, but also include those in many other fields.

How our site is used by the private sector cannot be analyzed precisely from these statistics. ow ever, we suspect that researchers and managers in the private sector are also very interested in journal papers, materials science and engineering specific databases, and possibly company laboratory information.

ISSUES IN ACCESSING JAPANESE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION

If one actually tries to set up a home page, one starts to see some of the difficulties facing researchers in accessing Japanese science and technology information. Problems associated with difference of languages, level of specificity of available information, technology and cultural differences have already been discussed in this paper. Some additional issues will be discussed below.

Translation between English and Japanese is a significant prob- lem. The difference between Japanese and English names and titles makes searches very difficult. For example, though the literal trans- lation would be "Applied Ceramics Research Laboratory," the English name for the "Oyo Seramikku Kenkyujo" at the Tokyo Institute of Technology is "Materials and Structures Laboratory." If you do not know both Japanese and English names, you may not realize that "Oyo Seramikku Kenkyujo" and "Materials and Struc-

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52 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LIBRARIES

tures Laboratory" are, in fact, the same organization. Another prob- lem is that many Japanese university laboratories or departments are renamed if the university creates an independent graduate school.

Though this is not unique to Japan, when Web links are created we are often faced with this problem. Usually home pages are created by associated universities or other organizations where the technology is readily available. These home pages are moved to the original organizations afler a year or so. This is one of the main reasons why the URLs are changed. For example, home pages of Japanese government research institutions such as NRIM were ini- tially created by JICST. Now each institution has started to create and maintain its own home pages locally. This makes it difficult to keep links updated.

Another problem is that one often needs to pay for high quality information. More and more Japanese companies are creating their own home pages, but again, the information provided in these home pages is very limited. Japanese government organizations such as the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) have made great efforts to disclose Japanese information. However, commercial da- tabases produced by commercial database companies such as Nik- kei Telecom and Teikoku Databank are still the most useful in obtaining high quality information, especially on Japanese compa- nies.

Cultural differences is also a concern. We contacted many Japa- nese publishers of academic journals for permission to include them in the table of contents, but the Ceramic Society of Japan was the only one who replied. Since the Internet is a rather new phenome- non, they are not sure how they should handle such requests. Also, Japanese companies and publishers seem to still be very reluctant to reveal information to outside sources.

PROJECT FUTURE (PHASE TWO)

During Phase Two of our project, we plan to create a subject-spe- cific interactive listserv serving the U.S. and Japanese research communities. Phase Two will take advantage of the unique Internet

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Emi Takare 53

feature which allows users to communicate with one another through a listserv, and will allow them to discuss issues related to Japanese materials science and engineering, information needs, and ongoing research in Japan and the U.S. as well as other participating coun- tries. This listserv will be monitored and moderated by the Japanese Science and Technology Information Specialist for relevant and appropriate postings and for smooth interactions among listserv members. We hope that the database and the listserv will provide a means of introducing people to the appropriate individuals who can help them uncover Japanese information that does not appear in the database.

CONCLUSION

An overview of the MIT Libraries' Japanese Science and Tech- nology Information Project was introduced here. Despite efforts made by the JITMT Centers and other organizations that advocate the importance of disseminating Japanese science and technology information for the nation's sustainability of competitiveness, there is still a tendency among some U.S. researchers to assume that all important information is always published in English, and neglect searching other information sources. Our market research con- firmed this tendency, and it is discussed in the paper: the MIT Japan Program Working Paper Series, MITJP95-05. Unfortunately, the annual conference co-sponsored by the Japan Information Center of Science and Technology and the U.S. Department of Coriunerce was canceled in 1996. This is one of the indications that the focus of Japanese organizations such as JICST, which are working to dis- seminate Japanese science and technology information outside of Japan, is shifting from the U.S. to other sections of the world, especially Asia. There is still a clear need in the private sector for the Japanese science and technology information, as shown by the user statistics. Since Japan still holds an important position in the world, it is important for U.S. researchers to be able to gain easy access to Japanese science and technology information. The MIT Japanese Science and Technology Information Project and other such services therefore play an important role in making key in- formation available.

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NOTES

I. Richard J. Samuels, "Japanese Science and Technological lnformation in the United States-Public Policy and Private Initiatives," Inlernalional Confer- ence on Japanese Information in Science, Technology and Commerce, Preprinls (London, U.K.: The Brilish Library Japanese lnformation Service, 1987), p. 5-1.

2. Richard J. Samuels, "Japanese Science and Technological Information in the United StatesPublic Policy and Private Initiatives," lntemafional Confer- ence on Japanese Information in Science, Technology and Commerce, Preprints (London, U.K.: The British Library Japanese Information Service, 1987), p. 5-3.

3. In 1948, MIT founded the Industrial Liaison Program, the first such activity in the nation, to further encourage the productive relationship between MIT and industry. For the Institute's faculty and research staff, the Program is a valuable link to the research, management, and operational activities of a large and diverse group of research-oriented industrial organizations around the globe.

4. JlCST is now a component of the lnformation Center for Science and Technology, in the Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST) which was created by merging former JlCST and former Research Development Corporation of Japan (JRDC) in October, 1996.

5. Case Study on Japanese R&D Trends: Bibliometric Analysis Using JlCST File (Tokyo, Japan: The Japan lnformation Center of Science and Technology, March 1995). p. I .

6. Now Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST) upon merging with JlCST on October I . 1996.

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