In 1946, one year after its founding, Aichi University established its first library in Toyohashi City. Since then, the university has expanded its library. Today, the Aichi University Library is composed of three libraries, which are respectively located on the Toyohashi, Nagoya and Kurumamichi campuses, with the total number of books possessed by the university exceeding 13３,000※. In 2012, the new Nagoya Campus was completed, where the Nagoya Campus Library was reopened. Due to its convenient location in the urban center, the Nagoya Campus Library is frequently used by many people. Also in the same year, the Kurumamichi Campus Library was reborn as a facility dedicated to graduate schools. Responding to the needs of our information-oriented society, we have improved the information infrastructure so as to allow users to access library information inside and outside the university through the network. We have also started to create a repository for bulletins, etc. In this way, Aichi University is enhancing its electronic library functions.

As a symbol of the Nagoya Campus, the Library occupies the first through third floors of the Welfare Building. Many students and faculty members use the Library for the purpose of learning and research. The first floor of the Library is always crowded with plenty of students, who meet together and deepen their mutual exchanges. Notably, the Library features Discussion Rooms that play an indispensable role in providing many students with opportunities to enjoy lively interaction. For instance, these rooms are used for seminars and group learning, as well as comprehensive seminar presentations and open seminars. In contrast, the second and third floors of the Library have a total of 11 private booths that are popular among many students. These booths offer quiet spaces where students can concentrate on their learning and research activities. Moreover, to help students pursue their studies and develop their future career, the Library includes a reserve library section, where materials related to classes offered on the Nagoya Campus are brought together, and a business support section, which collects recommended books that are helpful for job-hunting activities. As stated above, the Nagoya Campus Library supports its users’ various research systems, while offering an environment that helps them pursue diverse forms of learning in a limited space. In the future, the Library will further improve its quality as a place for the coexistence of students and faculty as well as the local community, by permitting the access of off-campus users including full-fledged members of society.

The Toyohashi Campus Library owns more than 720,000※ books in the fields of social science and culture, which the Library has collected since its opening in 1947. Characteristically, the Library stocks a large volume of materials related to China, as a reflection of the university’s founding roots. Among other things, what have attracted considerable attention from researchers both on and off campus are the materials concerning former China and the South Manchuria Railway Co., Ltd. contained in the Kazan Collection, various other collections mainly comprising the Chinese classics, and the materials concerning China studies by Western researchers. Also, originals of the reports on research expeditions to China written by students of Toa-Dobunshoin (later Toa-Dobunshoin University), the forerunner of Aichi University, are of great value (please refer to the section for “Major Library Collections”). The Toyohashi Campus Library has collected its fundamental documents from a broad range of fields. Encyclopedias and other dictionaries are arranged in the open-stack room on the first floor. On the second floor, new books and reference materials are available, which are frequently used by students, assisting them in their learning activities. Also on the same floor is a magazine room that collects basic magazines, allowing users to read their latest issues (published within the previous year, in general). Back issues and more specialized magazines are kept in a stack room. The China-related book section is set aside on the third floor of the open-stack room. The section extensively collects famous series and complete sets of Chinese books, which are effectively used by students and researchers studying China. Housing the Media Zone of the Information Media Center, the Toyohashi Campus Library has established a favorable information environment. In recent years, efforts have been underway to create conditions tailored to active learning. Specifically, we have set up the Learning Commons where users can discuss and exchange views while referencing the materials available in the Library, installed moveable furniture in the Group Leaning Room, and introduced electronic whiteboards and equipment designed for presentation practices. Through these measures, we are seeking to provide services that meet the needs of students and faculty.

The Law School Library is available only for law school students and faculty members.