The structure of technical librarianship and information in the Soviet Union

Abstract

The authors, as delegates of the methodological centre of the Hungarian technical libraries, made a 3 weeks study tour in the USSR. As guests of the Ministry of Culture they visited 18 institutions (libraries, information centres, local and state organisations) in Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev. One part of their observations is the structure and organisation of Soviet technical libraries and information institutions.
Technical libraries (in factories, research institutions, technical colleges etc.), information centres and institutions in the USSR belong to a homogeneous network. Their supreme directing organ is the "Committee of the Council of Ministers for Coordiration of Scientific Work" - respectively its department of scientific-technical information and propaganda.
The centre of operative and methodological direction is the State Public Scientific-Technical Library of the USSR (GPNTB), which guides and controlls technical library and information work through sub-centres (territorials: central technical libraries in the republies, in the independent industrial regions - Sovnarhoz - ; sectionals: central technical libraries in some branches of industry).
Connection between libraries and technical information bureaux in the industry seems to be more a matter of collective work, than cf organisation.
Differences betveen the technical-scientific - and technological information (documentation - bibliographies, publications of technical experiences) are dealt with.