REPOR T OF A VISIT TOT HE USSR

FOR STUDYING THE SOVIET INFORMATION SYSTEM

M account of the organizational eet up of the infor-mation ae rvtce in the USSR haa been given. The way powersand function. are delegated through the hlerarehy ofalencie8 down to the ultimate WlitS at the base, and theway co-ordination is maintained by the principal agenciesat the apex have been highlighted. Important publicationsof the information agencies have been mentioned and theirmethod. of compilation described. A remarkable featureof the Soviet information system is the close proximity andcooperation of information service and information techni-ques. A number of reprographic and information retrievalmachines designed and developed at the VINITI have beendeac s-Ibed ,

INTRODUCTION

There exists a great deal of co-ordina-tion amongst the various agencies engaged inthe field of information service in the USSR.The present organisational structure of theinformation service. as explained by Prof.A I Mikhailov. has been graphically repre-sented in the chart in Appendix) .

The principal organizations in USSR forco-ordinating information service are:

1. VINITI;2. Institute of Standards; and3. Institute of Patent Information

There are 50 Central Branch Institutes ofInformation each specializing in a specificsubject. Four categories of organizations vi z ,scientific research institutes. constructionbureaus, factories. and small enterprise s arethe ultimate users of information. They alsogenerate new information. Information flowsfrom these organizations to the respectivebranch institute dealing with the particularsubject and vice versa. The unpublished docu-ments emanating from these four categories oforganizations are processed and preserved atthe branch institutes for future use. Thebranch institutes also mutually exchange infor-mation amongst themselves. and work in co-operation with VINITI. Institute of Standards

Vol 13 No 2 June )966

S N SUR

and Institute of Patent Information. VINITIchannelizes all requests for information on aspecific topic to the respective b r anch insti-tute. VINITI has. however. a special role inthis set-up. It co -ordinates the work of theentire system. evolves m etho dol ogt e e forinformation work. creates specialists. andconducts in-service training for the informa-tion workers.

There are also information institutes ineach republic to deal with the requirements ofthe predominating local industries. e. g. theinstitutes at Uzbek and Azerbaijan specialisein information pertaining to cotton and oilindustries respecti vely. The republic insti-tutes also work in close cooperation with theprincipal organizations and the branch insti-tutes.

VINITI

VINITI is subordinated to the USSRAcademy of Sciences and to the State Com-mittee for the Coordination of ScientificResearch in USSR.

PUBLICA TIONS

VINITI brings out a wide range of impor-tant bibliographical publications in the fields ofscience and technology. Referativnii ZhurnalExpress Information, Signalnaya Bibliografia.Itogi Nauki , Nauchno-Technicheskaya Infor-matsia are published. by this Institute. Themost important publication of VINITI is thewell known abstracting journal "Referativniizhurnal" (RZ). RZ notices about one millionscientific papers. books, patents. proceedingsof conferences and symposia, emanating from102 countries in 71 languages. RZ is pub-lished in 25 series and 161 sub-series. eachdevoted to a specific subject. The number ofseries increases from time to time dependingon the quantity of literature on a specificsubject. Some of the series are monthly and

91

some are semi-monthly. RZ covers the entiredomain of science and technology exceptingAgriculture, Building and Architecture, andMedicine.

There are no full-time abstractors.VINITI maintains a panel of abstractor s whoare specialists in various subjects and areconversant with foreign languages. They workin different capacities in various institutions.Selection of abstractors is made generallyfrom persons residing in and around Moscow,to enable the editors to maintain personalcontact with them. Usually the abstractorscollect the documents and submit the abstractsin person to avoid delay in postal transit.Abstractors are required to submit abstractsfor RZ within 15 days of receipt of the docu-ments. Payment is made according to thequality of the abstracts and deductions aremade for delayed submission of the abstracts.The abstracts are edited by the ScientificEditors who are subject specialists. Afterediting, the abstracts are passed on to theLiterary Editors, who take care of the langu-age of the abstracts. Scientific and LiteraryEditors work in cooperation. The averagetime lag between the receipt of the documentsand their inclusion in RZ is 5-6 months.

EXPRESS INFORMATION

The "Express Informatsia" (EI), isanother important periodical publlcation ofVINITI. It covers foreign publications andincludes those topics only, which are consi-dered useful for the research work in pro-gress in the USSR. The abstracts are longerthan those published in RZ and are accom-panied by illustrations, charts, tables, etc.from the originals. Sometimes the completearticle is given. These abstracts are intendedto serve as a substitute for reading theoriginal documents. EI consists of 68 seriesand 48 issues of each series are publishedannually. The abstracting is done by thepanel abstractors within the stipulated periodof 5-7 days. The mean time lag of reportingin the EI is about 2 months.

SIGNALNAYA BIBLIOGRAFIA

VINITI is contemplating to publish an-other current awareness service in a numberof series entitled ISignalnaya Bibliografta",The Chemistry series has been started on anexperimental basis. It is a semi-monthly

92

SUR

publication the time-lag of reporting beingonly 20 days.

The other three important publicationsof VINITI are:-

I. Itogi Nauki (Revtew in Science);2. Nauchno-Tekhnicheskaya Infor-

matsia;3. Bulletin of International Scientific

Congresses, Conferences.

ITOGI NAUKI

Itogi Nauki records the progress indifferent branches of science and technologyduring a specific period, as reported in RZand EI. The selection of topics is based onthe immediate requirements of the researchwork in progress in the country. In 1965,47 issues dealing with 13 different subjectswere issued. It may be mentioned here thatcomprehensive bibliographies on differenttopics of this nature are also published fromtime to time by VINITI.

NAUCHNO-TEKHNICHESKAYAINFORMATSIA

Nauchno -Tekhnicheskaya Informatsiapublished as a monthly since 1961 containsoriginal papers, reviews and also translationsof materials from foreign literatures on sci-entific and technical documentation includingmechanisation and automatization.

Index

There are five types of indexes for theVINITI publications depending on the nature ofthe subject covered by 'the publications: author,formula, geographical name, patent. Thereare two types of author index:-

1. abbreviated (compiled mechanically);2. non-abbreviated, (compiled

annually) .

In the first type the names of the authorswith corresponding index numbers are given.while in the second type the titles of the papersare also included. Bull-Card Punch, Bull-Card Verifier, Bull-Card Sorter (700 cardsper minute) and Bull-Tabulator (150 cards p~rminute) are used for compiling the abbreviatedauthor index. These machines are made inFrance. The names of author (surname first.followed by the initials of the forenames) andthe index numbers are punched on 80 columncards, similar to that of IBM-card. Afterverification in the verifier, the cards are

Ann Lib Sci Doc

SOVIET INFORMATION SYSTEM

sorted in the sorter. the process being fromright to left. The alphabetically arrangedcards are then fed in the tabulator and a print-out is obtained. The index is printed by photo-offset method from it.

In the case of non-abbreviated index. theauthor's narn e s , titles of the papers and theindex rrurrib e r s are typed on cards. similar to80 col umn punched cards and is coded tofacilitate alphabetization by a sorter. Thealohabetically arranged cards are then pro-cessed for printing by photo-offset method.

The subject index is prepared manually.because they feel that the quality of the indexwill deteriorate if prepared by machine.Moreover. the time and personnel availablefor preparing the subject index are adequate toproduce an efficient index by the traditionalmethod.

For expediting the publication of subjectindex. sometimes the entries are typed on 80-col urnn punch cards and sorters are used forpreliminary alphabetisation. Further arrange-ment and merging are done manually. Thecards are then processed for printing by photo-offset method in the usual manner.

The geographical. patent. and theformula indexes are prepared by machines.

MECHANIZATION AND AUTOMATI-ZA TION IN VlNITI

There is a separate laboratory for carry-ing out research on reproduction methods andinformation retrieval systems. At present thefollowing reprographic equipment are used:

1. UDC - 2. It is a Russian microfilmingcamera, which works automatically. Both'35 mm and 16mm films (perforated and un-perforated) can be used. There are three suchcameras in VINITI. These are used for makingmicrofilms of the doc urne nt e received fora bstracting by RZ &. EI. Hard copie s aremade from these microfilms with the help of aRank-Xerox Copyflo machine and are passedon to the abstractors.

Two new devices have been added to thisapparatus by which a nume rf c al code assignedto each do cument s for its identification, isconverted into an optical sign which is calledthe address of the do cument . Another appa-ratus. POISK-OK is used for the retrieval ofthese micro-films.

Vol l3 No 2 June 1966

2. ELEKTROFILM. It is an electrographicreading-cUIn-copying apparatus. devised by theVINITI Laboratory. 35 mm film having alength of 30 m can be used. The magnifiedimage of the microfilms falls on a lightedscreen. A master copy of the desired positionmay be made by electrographic method onCellulosics plates and copies may be repro-duced on ordinary writing paper. after treatingfo r 1. 5 minute s.

3. MlKROFOT 5PO-I. This is a Russianmade microfilm reader. Both black and white,and coloured microfilms (35 mm and 16 rnrn]either in roll form (not exceeding 30 m) or instrip form can be read. The image falls on aninclined white diffused 360 x 300 mm sc reen.

4. EKA - 2. The equipment devised inVlNITI is used for preparing stencils and off-set plates made of PVC. by electric arcmethod. It takes about 8-10 minutes to makea plate. 1000 copies may be printed from oneplate using a rotary duplicator. on ordinarypapers.

5. ELEKTROFOT. It is used for e l e c t r opho to-g-raphic reproduction of documents and workson the same principle as that of a xerox.

6. THERMOKOPIER. It is used for copyingdo cum ent s by thermographic method which isvery fast and direct.

The following machines are used forinformation retrieval in VINITI.

I. POISK-OK. This machine is capable ofretrieving microfilm copies of documents.Each document is given a numerical codenumber. which is converted into an opticalsign. (called address) while microfilming withspecially designed UDM-2. The desired docu-ment can be retrieved automatically with thehelp of this address using POISK-OK. Timerequired for scanning 250 m of microfilmis 4 minutes. The image of the doc urrrerrt isreflected on a screen and if necessary a micro-film or a photocopy of the do c urn errt can beobtained. Unperforated and positive 35mmfilm is used.

2. URAL - 4. This computer may be used forprocessing of information. but at present it isbeing used for machine translation. An im-proved model Ural-14 has recently been intro-duced.

93

3. MINSK22. It is the latest type of thecomputer, which has been successfuly used forinformation retrieval using descriptors. Thismachine to some extent can be compared withIBM 16 20.

VlNITI also uses semi-automatic methods (e. g.edge notched punched cards) for informationretrieval. At present the Department ofMetallurgy is using edge notched punched cardsfor storing information on metallurgy, collect-ed from published literature and patents. TheChemistry Department maintaibs the structuralformula index of chemical compounds on thesecards.

OTHER MACHINES

1. Tele-typewriter. VINITI and variousother information centres are connected by anetwork of tele-typewriter system for quickexchange of information.

TRAINING

VlNITI started a training course in 1963for -increasing the qualifications of scientificinformation, workers" engaged in various sci-entific information centres. There are threedifferent courses viz., (1) Common (2)Special(3) Reference-information.

(1) Common - It is a 2 month course,general in nature, open to workerswho are high-school graduates. Fivebatches each consisting of 30workers are trained every year.

(2) Special - Mechanization and auto-matization of information is thecourse of study. It is open toworkers, who are already engagedin this field. Sixty workers, in twobatches are trained every year. Theduration of the course is one andhalf months.

(3) Reference-information - This course'is intended to acquaint the traineeswith the latest reference tools, onvarious subjects. The methodologyof hunting informatioh from thesetools, and compilation oi biblio-graphies are included in the curri-culum, The duration of the courseis 1 month. 7 batches, each having30 trainees, are trained in a year.

94

SUR

Specialists, working in VlNITI and otherInformation Centres are on the teaching staff.The training is followed by a qualifying exami-nation. Successful candidates are awardeddiplomas by VINITI.

Besides this training course facilitiesfor research work under the guidance ofspecialists are also available.

DEPARTMENTOF "SCIENTIFIC-TECHNICALINFORMATION"

This department carries out researchwork in scientific and technical documentation.The following are some of its activities:-

1. Standardisation of scientific termi-nology;

2. Standardisation of methodology ofinformation proces sing;

3. Publication of -Nauchno-tekhniches-kaya Infor-ma.tsia'", containingoriginal article on scientific andtechnical documentation;

4. Publication of an English Edition of-RZ-Scientific and Technical Infor-rnation" on experimental basis; and

5. The compilation of a world-list ofperiodicals on information scienceis in progress.

BUREAUOF TRANSLATION

The Bureau undertakes translation workon request from various institutions and enter-prises. Mostly the translations are fromvarious foreign languages into Russian.Translation from Russian into WesternEuropean languages are also done when re-quired. VlNITI maintains a panel consistingof about 3000 translators. It takes about 2-3months to supply a translation. Translationdone at VINITI are properly filed. So farabout 50,000 translations have been filed. Anannotated monthly catalogue of new translationsis published and circulated to various institu-tions and enterprises. A copy of the transla-tion, if requested, already done is suppliedwithin one month.

The experience gathered by the scientistsand linguists in course of their work in theBureau has been utilized in the compilation ofa number of bilingual dictionaries on varioussubjects e. g., Chinese-Russian Dictionary ofScientific & Technical Terms, Spanish-Russian & Russian-Spanish Scientific &

Ann Lib Sci Doc

SOVIET INFORMATION SYSTEM

Technical Dictionary. English-Russian &.Russian-English on Nuclear Physics &. Techno-logy. German-Russian Geophysical Dictionaryand so on.

PRINTING

The printing press is housed in a sepa-rate building situated in the outskirts ofMoscow. The press has linotype and mono-type composing machines and uses both letter-press and off-set methods of printing. Thepress is headed by a separate Director and hasabout 2200 staff member.

CENTRLAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHINSTITUTE OF PATENT INFORMATION

Since patents are considered to be oneof the most important media of scientificinformation. a separate library" All UnionPatent-Technical Library" has been created.This Library collects patents from alloverthe world. At present the Library pos se s s e snearly 7 million patents filed in 42 countries.This Library is open to readers.

The Central Scientific Research Instituteof Patent Information was created in 1963 fordisseminating patent information. The Insti-tute maintains a complete index of the patentsalong with abstracts on cards. for quickreference. Information about patents aresupplied on request. Pamphlets and mono-graphs containing review articles on topics ofimmediate interest to the research workers arepublished frequently. Besides. bibliographieson different topics. and geographical. author.and subject indexes of patents received in theLibrary are also published from time to time.

Vol 13 No Z June 1966

Mechanical and semi-mechanical methods areused for the production of these indexes.

The Institute publishes" Bulletin ofinventions and trade marks" (semi-monthly)containing abstracts of Soviet Patents.

The Institute is in possession of repro-graphic equipment (Xerox. Pyloris -Polishmake. VEGA-5 &. ERA-Z both Russian make).Photocopies of original patents are suppliedon request. A network of tele-typewriter con-nects the Institute with a number of informationinstitutes for quick dissemination of informa-tion. Work on machine translation is also inprogress.

ALL UNION SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHINSTITUTE OF MEDICINAL AND MEDICO-TECHNOLOGICAL INFORMATION (VNIIMl)

This organisation is under the adminis-trative control of the Ministry of Health and isequivalent to VINITI and deals with medicalscience only. The pattern of working is almostsimilar to that of VINITI. It publishes Medit-sinskii Referativnii zhurnal (MRZ) and EI formedical science s.

MRZ is published in 13 series coveringabout 35 branches of medicine and includesabout 50. 000 abstracts per year. VNIIMIdepends on the resources of the State CentralMedical Library and to a great extent the panelabstractors are expected to procure the journalsjournals for abstracting. About 23 Indianmedical periodicals are covered.

Besides they publish "Scientific Review"on different specific topics and also compilebibliographies.

95

-0f7"

APPENDIX I

SOVIET INFORMATION SYSTEM

I VINITI I I STANDARDS INST. I I PATENT INST. I

*....

*.

I CENTRAL ,BRANCH INSTITUTES OF INFORMATION IMETALLURGY MINING MACHINE

-,CHEMISTRY ETC. ETC.'" .... ,,

BUILDING,. ...•

/ ,

I .... .... "x 1. ..... l:: " I

SCI. RES. CONSTRUCTION FACTORY " SMALLINST. BUREAU " ENTERPRISES" " ,

(Jlc::xJ

".......... '

..... ," "" ," ,I REPUBLIC ....·u:ST. (INF. CENTRES) I

~r-•..0'(Jln•..a'n