Belarus Agricultural Library (BelAL) is the national information centre for agriculture, food and forestry. The Library was created by the decree of the Council of Ministers of Belarus in 1960. Now the Library is a part of the National Academy of Scinces of Belarus. Mission of the Library is to provide free access to the agricultural international and national information resources.
BelAL is the National Сentre of Agricultural Information
- Organizes direct access to the international and national information resources on agriculture, food and forestry.
- Forms, keeps and uses information resources on agriculture, food and forestry.
- Disposes of the most representative collection of agricultural literature in the country.
- Implements information provision of agricultural enterprises and organizations, individual Users.
- Provides information delivery services.
- National centre of the International information system UN FAO AGRIS/CARIS.
- Deposit Library of FAO documents.
- Сentre of the national and international interlibrary loan system and documents delivery.
- Coordinating centre of information resources in agriculture of Belarus.
Library Information Resources are Available for Everyone
The Library has organized the most representative in Belarus collection of agricultural, forestry, food, food industry, natural resources, environment protection literature. In Library depository there are more than 0.5mln of documents: monographs and collections, theses, serial publications, etc. in Russian, Belarusian, English, and other languages. Library collects the stock from hundreds of sources in Belarus and abroad. Access to the information is realized with the Library automation system IRBIS. UNIMARC is the communicative format. Access to the Library collection is realized with the Electronic Catalogue BelAL (since 1992 with some retrospection before 1992) and Image Catalogue (before 1992).
Library supports and uses about 40 bibliographic, reference, factual, fulltext and expert databases , which contain about 20 mln records and mlns full text pages
Library Directs Its External Relations Towards Integration with the National, Foreign and International Information Сentres
BelAL activity is closely connected with all big Belarusian libraries by mutual usage of national information resources, including interlibrary loan and databases usage. Library is one of the founders of Belarusian Library Association. Library develops direct relationship with the national agricultural libraries and information centres of Central and Western Europe and America by purchasing and exchanging literature and databases. The most stable relationship Library established with the USDA National Agricultural Library and Central Agricultural Library of Russia. BelAL also supplies these libraries with the copy of agricultural literature published in Belarus.
BelAL is the national centre of the international information system of FAO for publications (AGRIS). Via Internet Library delivers the information on Belarusian agricultural literature to be included into AGRIS database.
BelAL is also the member of the Agricultural Research Information System (CARIS)created by the FAO International Information System. BelAL delivers to CARIS information about the current research projects. This database is also available in the Library.
BelAL regularly supplies the FAO International Information System with the national statistical information. Being the member of the International Agricultural Libraries Network (AGLINET), BelAL has the right to use the international interlibrary loan in many national agricultural libraries of the world. More than 200 foreign organizations exchange information with BelAL.
BelAL organizes navigation in agricultural world Web resources and integration of the national Web resources in Internet by the support of the national agricultural WWW navigator AgroWeb Belarus.
BelAL is the member of the International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists (IAALD), International Association of Users and Developers of Electronic Libraries and New Information Technologies (EL-NIT). BelAL is the participant of the "U.S./Central and Eastern European Agricultural Libraries Roundtable".
Library is Always Ready to Fulfill the Requests of Its Users
Skilled specialists in the field of information communications work in the Library. Fifty professional Library employees provide information service and technology. They all have library, agricultural, technical or linguistic education. Library staff values the information resources of BelAL as the national treasure and strives to make them richer and more accessible.
Library values partnership and cooperation with other people and various organizations, turned towards the realization of access to information.
