DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION RETRIEVAL LANGUAGES AND SUBJECT INDEXING

The National Library of Russia is one of the first public libraries in Eastern Europe and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is the methodical, scientific and cultural center of federal significance. The National Library of Russia is located in St. Petersburg.

Support and development of RUSMARC (Russian version of UNIMARC) within the National Library of Russia is carried out by the Department of information retrieval languages and subject indexing.

Department of information retrieval languages and subject indexing Goals:

  • Support and development of RUSMARC (Russian version of UNIMARC);
  • Monitoring and analysis of changes in the UNIMARC format system, modification of RUSMARC formats;
  • Organization of RUSMARC (Russian version of UNIMARC) training, curricula development, working out the educational materials and manuals, interaction with libraries and profile universities;
  • Web-site managing on issues related to RUSMARC (Russian version of UNIMARC), publishing RUSMARC changes and updating;
  • Publication of editions related with changes and new edits of RUSMARC (Russian version of UNIMARC), translations of IFLA materials, educational and methodological RUSMARC materials;
  • Interaction with the producers of the library software.

Department of information retrieval languages and subject indexing is actively working with foreign libraries and international associations. It has long-standing contacts with IFLA. International Seminar on Authority Control and National Subject Authority File was conducted in the National Library of Russia back in 1995.

Department of information retrieval languages and subject indexing is the headquarters of the Russian Expert Council RUSMARC (Russian version of UNIMARC). Department of information retrieval languages and subject indexing was formed on the base of the Problem commission on subject indexing. The Commission started its activities from 1968 and highly contributed to the development of RUSMARC, electronic cataloging, authority control and subject authority file.