Nauchno-informatsionnyĭ tsentr po kulʹture i iskusstvu "Informkulʹtura"

The Research Information Center for Culture and Art "Informkul'tura" (НИЦ Информкультура) was a specialized state information institution established in 1972 within the V. I. Lenin State Library of the USSR (now the Russian State Library) in Moscow. It was created by order of the USSR Ministry of Culture, following broader Soviet government decrees of 1966 and 1971 that built a nationwide scientific and technical information system. Its mission was to collect, analyze, and disseminate information on culture and the arts for professionals across the Soviet Union and later the Russian Federation. Informkul'tura covered a wide range of subjects: general cultural problems, sociocultural activity and leisure, librarianship and bibliography, museum work and monument protection, material and technical equipment of cultural institutions, cultural tourism, humanization of education, general art questions, fine arts, music, performing arts, and aesthetic education. Its core resource was bibliographic information produced by analytical indexing of acquisitions at the Russian State Library and major Russian libraries. Over time it developed a system of information publications, including bibliographic, abstract, and review indexes, express information, catalogs, and scientific-information collections. It also published the scholarly journal "Observatory of Culture" (Обсерватория культуры), which was included in the list of peer-reviewed journals of the Higher Attestation Commission (VAK). From 1982, Informkul'tura began building databases of bibliographic, factual, and abstract-bibliographic information. From 1994, it created databases of factual, bibliographic, and full-text information on topics such as European training courses for cultural managers, foreign networks of cultural organizations, music festivals, international music competitions, concert organizations and impresarios, scholarships and grants for cultural specialists, and cultural and leisure institutions of the Russian Federation. It acted as the head and methodological center for Rosinformkul'tura, the branch information system for culture and art, which was formally established in 1996 and comprised about 120 information services at federal and regional levels. The Informkul'tura website, launched in 2003, provided analytics, factual information, and bibliography on culture and art. In 2015, the center was liquidated. Its legacy includes the Rosinformkul'tura network and a substantial body of bibliographic and factual databases that supported cultural policy and research across Russia.

The creation of Informkul'tura was enabled by a series of Soviet government decisions aimed at building a nationwide scientific and technical information system. The Council of Ministers of the USSR issued decree No. 916 on 29 November 1966 "On the nationwide system of scientific and technical information" and decree No. 496 on 19 July 1971 "On further improvement of the state system of scientific and technical information in 1971–1975." On 28 August 1972, the Ministry of Culture of the USSR issued order No. 505 "On the creation of an Information Center on Problems of Culture and Art within the State Library of the USSR named after V. I. Lenin." This order established the center that became known as NITs Informkul'tura. From its founding, the center was embedded in the V. I. Lenin State Library (later the Russian State Library, RSL) in Moscow. Its primary function was to provide scientific information on culture and art to professionals throughout the USSR. It developed a system of information publications: bibliographic, abstract, and review indexes, as well as express information. The center's information resource was based on bibliographic information created by analytical indexing of acquisitions at the Russian State Library and major Russian libraries. In 1982, Informkul'tura began forming databases of bibliographic, factual, and abstract-bibliographic information, making it an early adopter of computerized information services in the Soviet cultural sector. In 1994, it expanded its database creation to include factual, bibliographic, and full-text information on specific topics such as European courses for cultural managers, foreign networks of cultural organizations, music festivals, international music competitions, concert organizations and impresarios, scholarships and grants for cultural specialists, and cultural and leisure institutions of the Russian Federation. Informkul'tura served as the head and methodological center for Rosinformkul'tura, the branch information system for culture and art. Rosinformkul'tura was formally established as the Russian system of scientific-information support for cultural activity in 1996, following a decision of the Second All-Russian Meeting of Heads of Information Services for Culture ("Libraries of Russia in the Information Support of Cultural Activity of Regions"), held in Ufa on 14–15 June 1995, which approved the "Regulation on the Russian System of Scientific-Information Support for Cultural Activity." The system had federal and regional levels. At the federal level, it included NITs Informkul'tura within the Russian State Library, information services at the All-Russian State Library for Foreign Literature, and the S. I. Taneyev Scientific Library of the Moscow State Conservatory. At the regional level, information services operated in republican, national, krai, okrug, and oblast universal scientific libraries, as well as in cultural and art institutions. In total, Rosinformkul'tura comprised about 120 information services, with regional centers (SMIKI) in central regional libraries, headed by Informkul'tura of the RSL, as the main links. In 2003, the Informkul'tura website was launched, providing analytics, factual information, and bibliography on culture and art, and making a significant portion of the electronic resources of Informkul'tura and Rosinformkul'tura available online. The center continued to publish bibliographic and abstract-bibliographic indexes, catalogs, scientific-information and information collections (such as "Protection of Cultural Heritage: Problems and Solutions. ICOMOS Materials" and "Library in an Era of Change"), and the scholarly journal "Observatory of Culture," which was included in the list of peer-reviewed journals of the Higher Attestation Commission (VAK). In 2015, NITs Informkul'tura was liquidated. Its dissolution marked the end of a dedicated state information center for culture and art within the Russian State Library, though the Rosinformkul'tura network and its regional services continued to operate in some form.

• 2015

  NITs Informkul'tura is liquidated.

• 2003

  The Informkul'tura website is launched, providing online access to analytics, factual information, and bibliography on culture and art.

• 1996

  Rosinformkul'tura is formally established as the Russian system of scientific-information support for cultural activity.

• 1995

  Second All-Russian Meeting of Heads of Information Services for Culture in Ufa approves the Regulation on the Russian System of Scientific-Information Support for Cultural Activity.

• 1994

  Informkul'tura expands database creation to factual, bibliographic, and full-text information on specific cultural topics.

• 1982

  Informkul'tura begins forming databases of bibliographic, factual, and abstract-bibliographic information.

• 1972

  Ministry of Culture of the USSR order No. 505 creates the Information Center on Problems of Culture and Art within the V. I. Lenin State Library.

• 1971

  USSR Council of Ministers decree No. 496 "On further improvement of the state system of scientific and technical information in 1971–1975" further develops the system.

• 1966

  USSR Council of Ministers decree No. 916 "On the nationwide system of scientific and technical information" lays groundwork for a national information system.

A state-run specialized information center providing comprehensive analytical, factual, and bibliographic support for culture and the arts in Russia, and the methodological head of the Rosinformkul'tura network.

• Observatory of Culture (Обсерватория культуры)

  Scholarly information-analytical journal included in the list of peer-reviewed journals of the Higher Attestation Commission (VAK).

• Protection of Cultural Heritage: Problems and Solutions. ICOMOS Materials

  Scientific-information collection published by Informkul'tura.

• Library in an Era of Change

  Scientific-information collection published by Informkul'tura.

• Bibliographic and abstract-bibliographic indexes

  Core information products covering culture and art.

• Databases on European courses for cultural managers, foreign cultural networks, music festivals, international music competitions, concert organizations and impresarios, scholarships and grants, and cultural and leisure institutions

  Factual, bibliographic, and full-text databases created from 1994.

1. 1Wikidata: Nauchno-informat͡sionnyĭ t͡sentr po kulʹture i iskusstvu "Informkulʹtura"wikidata.org
2. 2НИЦ Информкультура — Википедияru.wikipedia.org