Information support of agricultural sciences

Abstract

The Central Scientific Agricultural Library’s system of the agrarian science information support is examined. The Library strives to make the content available online to the maximum. Most of its information services are offered both in conventional and online formats. For the recent 26 years the Library’s products have been being generated in digital formats and are accessible via the Library’s www-site in a varying degree. The www-site serves as a billboard promoting the Library’s events and activities, as well as the reading environment for the users retrieving information. The system of agrarian researcher awareness-building includes alert informing, current informing, and selective dissemination of information. The main information source is the CSAL collection comprising above 3 millions of depository items. On this basis of information products are generated: bibliographic, abstract and full-text databases, bibliographic and abstract publications, and electronic libraries. The key information product is the AGROS database comprising information on books and articles in 42 languages of the world of the total volume of over 1.95 million records. The database provides efficient identifying and subject-specific search owing to target- developed information retrieval languages: the information retrieval thesaurus in agriculture and foods, RUSMARC format. The authors conclude that agrarian science information support comprises diverse information products; well-developed awareness-building system enables to receive information in print and digital formats, online or in the Library’s physical premises, independently or through librarian’s assistance.