50th Anniversary of the State Institution I. Lupinovich Belarus Agricultural Library of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (BelAL)

10 February, 2010

The Council of Ministers of the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) in its regulation d/d 10.02.1960 № 162 for the enhancement of scientific information on the latest achievements of the national and foreign agricultural science and technology for the leading Soviet political and collective farming officials and workers, staff of the research and educational institutions, gave permission to the Ministry of Agriculture of BSSR to organize the Belorussian Republican Scientific Agricultural Library of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of BSSR. It could be stated that since that day the Belarus Agricultural Library (BelAL) started functioning as the central library of the agrarian branch.

Today BelAL is the leading special research library of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, special national centre of document depository storage, coordination centre of information resources of agro-industrial complex of Belarus, national information centre of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Belarus. The main mission of the Library is, on the one hand, the integration of the national agricultural information into the world information space on the basis of modern information technologies, on one hand – organize the maximum possible access for the Belarusian agrarian scientists to the world information resources on agriculture and allied branches.

At present the Library subscribes to more than 40 databases, which contain millions records about the world information flow, as well as millions of full text pages.

The Library has organized the most representative in Belarus collection containing 0,5 mln of documents. Information collected by the Library could be considered one of the most important strategic resources for the development of economy, science, technology, production, business, and education. The Library has organized the open access to the international and national information resources on agriculture and allied branches with no subordination or social status limits of its users. On its Internet site the Library represents the full texts of journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Agrarian Series” http://vesti.belal.by.

Library coordinates the creation and usage of information resources in the agro-industrial complex by means of introduction of automation systems into libraries of research and educational institutions, application of the international formats for data creation and exchange, Web navigation, and education programmes.

BelAL is the member of the International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists, International Association of Users and Developers of Electronic Libraries and New Information Technologies, and Belarusian Library Association.

In the course of 50 years the Library has delivered more than 10 mln documents and responded to hundred thousand reference information requests. In the intellectual sphere there are no specialists, who didn’t or don’t use information resources of BelAL. Academic elite of the national agro-industrial complex has grown under the actual participation of BelAL.

Library’s motto - "Information Without Borders!".