Documentation, technical propaganda and special libraries of the building industry in the Soviet Union (Experiences of a study tour in the SU)

Abstract

The information and publishing department of the State Building Committee (Gostroi) working in collaboration with the Council of Ministers deals directly with the guidance of documentation, editing of books and journals, making films, and with the works in special libraries in the field of the building industry.
Documentation is centralized in the Scientific Institute of Building Information (NII Stroinformatzia) in Moscow. There is also a Central Library for Building and Architecture (CNTB po Stroitel'stvo i Arhitekture). Both function as institutes of the Academy of Building and Architecture.
The Institute consists of 166 staff members and a great number of outside collaborators. Its documentation services comprise:
- the abstracting journal "Building and Architecture ",
- the "Express Information", a series of subject,
- the series "Experiences of the Foreign Building Industry", being a collection of digested tranalations in particular subjects,
- the "Reports on accomplished research works", an annotated list of the research works of the various institutes in this field,
- the "Economical Statistical Review", presenting the development of foreign industries with comparative indexes,
- other bibliographical and indexing services.
The Central Library for Building and Architecture is the biggest library in the building industry, its stock consists of about 1.000.000 units. Abstracts and indexes of about 3000 Soviet and foreign documents in various lists and bibliographies.
Within the factories and enterprizes of building industry
technical information bureaux (BTI-s), technical cabinets and
houses of technics are functioning; e. g. the technical library
of the construction of the water power station in BRATSK has
60.000 volumes and it fulfills various tasks of propaganda and infornation.