The university library

The University Library

The University library is one of the biggest in the Republic. Its universal fund (as to subjects covered) amounts about 1 mln pieces.

Yearly it serves about 10000 readers, about 700 thousand books, journals and other materials are given to those, working and studying here. Within 1996 the library was visited by 350 thousand people.

List of members of staff, structure and qualification of employees are in comliance with documents regulating the activity of higher education institutions, and which were approved in 1996.

Structure of the library

1. Literature completing department with sectors:

completion;

accounting;

technical processing.

2.Department of scientific processing of literature with sectors:

bibliographic description;

systematization;

catalogues.

3.Deparment of keeping the funds.

4.Department of giving out scientific literature with sectors:

serving readers;

reading-hall with technical documentation;

inter-library service.

5.Department of training literature with sectors:

serving faculties;

hall of control pieces of training literature;

two reading halls in the students¢ campus.

6.Department of belles-lettres

7.Scientific-bibliographical department with sectors:

information;

reference-bibliographic sector;

popularization of library-bibliographical knowledge.

8.Scientific-methodical department with sectors:

methodical work.

9.Department of computer processing of library-information materials.

10.Administrative-organization work:

copying;

bookbinding.

11.Department of reading-halls for fields of knowledge:

reading-hall for natural and technical sciences;

reading-hall for humanitarian and socio-economic literature;

reading-hall for periodicals.

Personnel of the library

54% of the personnel have higher education of them 18,6% higher library education; 34% - secondary professional education of them 27% - secondary library education.

The University library is a methodical centre in automatization of library work in the republic. There is a permanently functioning seminar on automatization of the republican libraries, where practical studies are conducted on problems arising in the process of introducing information-searching systems in the libraries. In 1996 there were conducted 15 such seminars.

Fund of the library

Subscription was made in 1996 to the sum of 225 mln. roubles (325 journals, 58 newspapers, 6 review informations), for 1997 - 155 mln. roubles for half a year within the last 5 years nominations of periodicals has not decreased, (only the quantity of them has become less).

The central library-information commision of the State Committee of higher education has elaborated 7 priority programs of developing higher institution libraries and in the framework of that program the library of USATU obtains humanitarian literature free of charge:

in 1995 - 151 titles, 471 pieces to the sum of 36.578.850 roubles;

in 1996 - 34 titles, 102 pieces to the sum of 1.307.530 roubles.

According to the program of completing the funds of higher education institutions with foreign literature we have received from the USA humanitarian aid in the form of text-books, albums, aids for people studying English (1090 pieces - 27 titles). In February 1997 , 122 piecies - 21 titles of books were obtained from the fund Euroasia at the expense of sums granted by the USIA. Main sources of replenishing the library fund are: teaching and methodological center “Edwis”, “Asia”. Stock-taking of literature is conducted according to the instructions. The fund is kept in good condition (repair, book-binding, removing dust 3 - 4 times a year).

Service

There are some changes in the service of readers. Text-books are given to all categories of readers only in the teaching sector, and that allows to settle the points of terms and expediency of giving out the literature. At the sector of teaching literature there is a fund of single-copy literature which is used by teachers as a reference book, and by students as an information source.

Scientific literature and that obtained through interlibrary agreement are given out in the sector of scientific literature.

Limited-copy literature and scientific literature are given out reading halls:

humanitarian and socio-economic literature;

natural-scientific and technical literature;

specification-technical documentation;

periodicals;

information-bibliographic literature.

In the students campus students are served in two reading halls:

humanitarian and socio-economic literature;

natural-scientific and technical literature.

Since 1996 scarce books are given out for night free of charge.

Access to the fund is ensured by card catalogues of different types as well as by electronic catalogue which makes it possible to quickly find a required book or information.

Electronic catalogue (EC or Elekat ) was put into practice in 1995. It contain information about all books available in the library from 1989 to 1996.

In such disciplines as electrotechnics, sociology, economics, computers, history, mathematics, phylosophy, religion there is information on retrospective fund. In December 1996 some article on the university profile were placed in the electronic catalogue. The sector of automatisation conducts search of literature at the request of chairs with recording of information on diskettes (informatics, phylosophy, ecology, automated control systems, welding, etc.) and that gives the chairs an opportunity to have all required information on their profiles. Information access of the fund is also achieved by using such methods as open demonstration on different topics, course works and diploma projects, etc.

Further work in this direction envisages the introduction of information support of readers servicing process:

automatisation of registration process, giving out and return of literature;

improving dynamics of printed materials movement by timely determining readers, keeping literature for longer than fixed period;

keeping preliminary order card and replenishment card-index.

So, the library of USATU is becoming a modern information center of higher education in the Republic.