Search Across Libraries and Enjoy Serendipitous Book Discoveries!
Ever run into these problems when searching for books at the Japanese library?
・”It’s such a hassle to check if the book I want is available—I have to visit the websites of each university, city, and prefectural library one by one…”
・”I want to discover books I’ve never heard of!”
・”I’d love to know if the book I’m looking for is available at a library near my current location!”
To address these voices, TGIF student fellows developed a new feature called “Librarin.”
In recent years, the number of people visiting libraries and bookstores has been declining.
While online platforms have made it easy to search and purchase specific books, it’s become harder to come across books by chance—the kind of unexpected discoveries that can only happen when you’re physically browsing.
That’s why TGIF student fellows focused on re-creating the experience of “browsing the shelves.”
With Librarin, instead of showing book titles or authors, it displays only book covers, laid out visually just like a real library or bookstore shelf.
Perfect for those moments when you’re wondering, “Is there something interesting to read?”
By creating “Librarin” to bring back that joy of encountering books naturally—even inside an app.
By enabling the location services, you can easily find out the availability of books from the nearest library. You can also create a profile to bookmark your book collections.
How to use the service:
You can find “Librarin | Search&check books across all libraries!” under the “Services” tab in the TGO app.
If you haven’t downloaded the TGO app yet, it’s easy to install from the App Store or Play Store:
For the details of the TGO app: https://tgo.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/app/
Questions or feature requests? Let us know!
We welcome all feedback, whether it’s a comment, a suggestion, or a new idea for a feature.
Contact us:
Town & Gown Innovation Forum (TGIF) Development Team
📧 contact-tgif@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
DX & EBPM Division Head / Associate Professor (Special Appointment) Lee Chui Ying
📧 cying@hiroshima-u.ac.jp