It　is　often　said　that　reference　work　started　in　Japanese　libraries　after　the　World　War　II，　sothat　reference　work　is　“A　post－war　product”．　　　But　we　can　indeed　find　literature　in　the　pre－war　period　which　discussed　theories　andpractices　in　reference　work．　There　are　a　few　previous　studies　on　the　development　of　referencework　in　Pre－war　Japan．　However，　they　limit　their　areas　of　study　only　to　a　particular　type　oflibraries　as　well　as　to　a　particular　period，　and　none　covers　the　pre－war　development　comprehensively．　This　paper　tries　to　supplement　the　previous　studies　by　the　examination　ofpre－war　literature　on　reference　work　and　draw　the　outline　of　the　development　of　reference　workin　pre－war　Japanese　libraries．　　　The　number　of　articles　on　reference　work，　which　appeared　in　Toshokanzasshi　（The　LibraryJournal）　from　1907　（the　first　issue）　to　1944　（the　last　issue　in　pre－war　period）　does　not　increaseover　the　years，　showing　that　there　was　no　considerable　development　of　reference　work　after　itsintroduction　to　Japanese　libraries　in　the　late　Meiji　Era．　However，　the　close　examination　ofrelated　literature　shows　some　development　of　theories　by　pioneers，　practices　of　reference　workin　eight　public　and　university　libraries，　and　establishment　of　a　class　in　professional　education．　　　It　is　concluded　that，　although　reference　work　did　not　become　a　standard　library　service　inpre－war　Japanese　libraries，　some　development　of　theory　and　steady　growth　of　practice　alongwith　the　inception　of　training　class　show　the　beginning　of　real　development　and　diffusion　ofservlce．