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Dissertation Information for Ann Miyoko Hotta

NAME:
- Ann Miyoko Hotta

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of California, Berkeley (USA) (1995)

ADVISORS:
- Michael Buckland

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Yale M. Braunstein
- Nelson H. H. Graburn

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Children, books, and children's bunko: A study of an art world in the Japanese context

Abstract: This dissertation is a case study of an art world; that is, all the people or groups of people whose coordinated activities are necessary for the production of a given type of artistic product. The art world to be examined is that of children's books in Japan, as seen from the perspective of one of its participant groups--women running neighborhood libraries on a voluntary basis. These small libraries are called children's bunko (hereafter, simply transliterated as "bunko"). In this study, the women who run them are called "bunko mothers." The influence of bunko on four areas is examined: children's lives, the children's book industry, the neighborhood and the lives of the women themselves, and local government policy. The field site was the city of Higashi Murayama, in the Tama area of Tokyo.

Bunko, like public libraries, are distributors of children's books. In the 1970s and 1980s, bunko became a prominent part of the movement in Japan to improve the "reading environment" of children. Groups of mothers opened bunko in order to offer children the opportunity to read quality books. This was seen as a means of improving the quality of children's lives overall. Bunko mothers believe that a child should be able to select books freely, and that a bunko may be an antidote to the pressure of school and the educational system. Bunko mothers gather information about, read, purchase, and recommend books of high literary quality. Bunko mothers form small communities in which members offer help in raising children and in domestic duties, and they give emotional support to one another. Bunko activities are also an avenue of lifelong learning. Moreover, bunko activities are a form of social participation for women in Japan. This volunteer activity often leads women into negotiations with local government officials. In several cases bunko mothers have successfully lobbied for new or expanded public library services. This use of volunteers in the coproduction of government services has been successful in Higashi Murayama, but less so in other areas.

MPACT Scores for Ann Miyoko Hotta

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-05-29 20:36:52

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Students under Ann Miyoko Hotta

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None