Shinagawa Municipal Libraries Visit Your Local Library!

Shinagawa City has eleven libraries and one library facility. Shinagawa Library is the largest among them, and offers about 400,000 books and other items. There are around 5,000 foreign-language books on the third floor, and the children’s book corner on the second floor has about 800 foreign-language picture books. Each library offers a single multilingual library guide in English, Chinese and Korean that describes library usage procedures and services. Shinagawa Library also has digital signage that includes a multilingual floor map in English, Chinese and Korean.
You can use Shinagawa municipal libraries even if you don’t live, work or go to school in the city, so by all means please visit one.

Inquiries: Shinagawa Library (Tel: 03-3471-4667, Fax: 03-3740-4014)
Location: 2-32-3 Kita-Shinagawa
How to get there: A three-minute walk from the north exit of Shinbamba Station on the Keihin-Kyuko Line.
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sundays and national holidays, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Year-end hours: December 29 and 30, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed: Second Thursday of the month, year-end/New Year’s holidays, special maintenance days, and facility inspection days.

A Section Featuring Universal Design Materials

This section on the second floor offers things that follow the concept of universal design, including tadoku* reading materials (in English and Japanese), picture stories geared for the elderly, LL books** and audiobook CDs.

* “Tadoku” refers to a learning method that starts with simple materials and is designed so that readers can read many books and understand as much as possible without having to use a dictionary. The library provides books suitable for each level of language.
** “LL books” are books written in an easy-to-understand style, and also use many illustrations, signs and photographs in a creative way so that anyone can read and appreciate them.

TOPICS Come to the Global Storytelling Room Shinagawa Library holds a storytelling event in English for children once a year that’s conducted by a native speaker. The event includes singing song, hand games and a display of foreign picture books. Please join us! We’ll announce the date and time in this city bulletin City News Shinagawa.

Library Guide

You need a library card issued to borrow and reserve books. Please register at any of the eleven libraries or the library facility. You’ll need a valid certificate issued by a public office that has your name, address, and date of birth written on it (such as a driver’s license, health insurance card, residence card, or special permanent resident certificate). You cannot use your passport to apply for a library card. Please visit the website for more information on how to use the library.
Website (in Japanese only) : https://library.city.shinagawa.tokyo.jp/

Map of Shinagawa Libraries and Library Facility