CHEMICAL LITERATURE IN THE SOVIET UNION AND PROBLEMS OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INFORMATEON ON CHEMlSTRY By V. V. KAFAROV Chief of Sector of the "Referativnyi Zhurnal: Khimiyn." Institute oi Scientific and Technical Information, Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R., k b s c o r
In this brief report i wish to point out a problem connected with the chemical literature in the Soviet Union and the problem of information in the field of chemistry and chemical technology. A well-known decision was issued by our Government about the development of chemistry of plastics and high polymers i n May, 1958. The publication of chemical literature dealing with the problems of chemistry and technology of high molecular weight compounds will be developed in accordance therewith. According to our calculations, our country has reached second place in world publications on chemical problems, and now approximately 14% of all the chemical publications in the world a r e those of the Soviet Union. This figure c o r responds exactly to the calculations published in "Chemical and Engineering News" in June, 1958. The majority of the chemical journals a r e published by the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. They a r e "Izvestiya Akademii Nauk S.S.S.R., Otdelenie Khimicheskikh Nauk" (Bull. of the Academy of Sciences U.S.S.R., Dept. of Chem. Sciences) "Zhurnal Analiticheskoi Khimii" (J. Anal. Chem.) "Zhurnal Obshchei Khimii" (J. Gen. Chem.) "Zhurnal Prikladnoi Khimii" (J. Applied Chem.) "Zhurnal Fizicheskoi Khimii" (J. Phys. Chem.) "Kolloidnyi Zhurnal" (Colloid J.) "Uspekhi Khimii" ( P r o g r e s s in Chemistry) "Zhurnal Nauchnoi i Prikladnoi Fotografii i Kinematografii" (J. Sci. & Applied Photography & Cinema) Additional a r t i c l e s dealing with chemical problems a r e published in the "Reports of the (Doklady Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R." Akademii..Nauk S.S.S.R.) A s e r i e s of chemical journals a r e published by the academies of sciences of the constituent republics and by local branches. In the year 1958 the Ministry of Higher Education began to publish "Nauchnye Doklady Vysshei Shkoly" (Scientific Reports of the College) and "Izvestiya Vysshei Shkoly" (News of College) dealing with all the fields of knowledge, chemistry and chemical technology inclusive.
All the chemical higher institutes of learning publish scientific r e p o r t s on chemical problems. The All-Union Chemical Society, named after Mendeleev, has been publishing the journal "Chemical Science and Industry" (Khimicheskaya Nauka i Promyshlennost) since 1956. The Chemical Committee publishes two journals "Khimi che skaya Pr omy shlennos t" (Chemical Industry) and "Kauchuk i Rezina" (Crude and Vulcanized Rubber). Four new journals were started in 1959: I'Iskusstvennoe Volokno" (Synthetic F i b e r ) , "Lakokrasochnye Materialy i Primenenie" (Varnishes. Dyes, & Paints), "Plasticheskie Massy" (Plastics), "Khimicheskoe Mashinostroenie" (Chemical Machine Building. o r Chemical Apparatus & P r o c e s s Industry Machinery). In the system of branch institutes of the Chemical Committee, a great number of bulletins a r e being published covering the problems of chemistry and chemical technology, and exchange of experience on new technology. In this report i t is not possible even to enumerate all the publications on problems of chemistry and chemical technology, o r on problems which a r e closely connected with them. The scientific and technical l i t e r a t u r e on chemistry and chemical technology published in our country and abroad is examined in the Soviet Union by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. This work is c a r r i e d out i n various ways. First of all the "Referativnyi Zhurnal Khimiya" (Abstract Journal Chemistry) is published twice a month; furthermore, the Institute has organized an express-information s e r i e s , that is, a b s t r a c t s in booklet f o r m issued shortly (usually within ten days) after the original article is received by the Institute. These abstracts cover the most important problems of chemistry and chemical technology. In addition, abstracts of separate a r t i c l e s on problems of chemistry and chemical technology a r e being made. The Institute of Scientific Information, besides the abstract journal "Khimiya ,I1 publishes al SO these abstract journals: "Astronomiya i Geodeziya" (Astronomy and Geodesy) Biologiya" (Biology) "Geogrdiya" (Geography) "Geologiya" (Geology) "Matematika" (Mathematics) "Mashino str oenie" (Mechanical Engineering) "Mekhanika" (Mechanics ) "Metallurgiya" (Metallurgy) "Fizika" (Physics) 16
CHEMICAL LITERATURE I N THE SOVIET UNION "Elektr otekhnika" (Electrical Engineering ) Centralization of the a b s t r a c t s journals dealing with various fields of knowledge in one organization al:Lows the a b s t r a c t journal "Khimiya" t o cover the non-chemical l i t e r a t u r e , which is usualky not r e a d by chemists, but which sometimes publishes papers directly concerned with c h e m i s t r y and chemical technology. This s y s t e m is not o~nlym o r e economical, but it a l s o i n c r e a s e s the efficiency of our scientific effort in publishing the a b s t r a c t s . It is a l s o evident that this s y s t e m simplifies the organization of auxiliary departments, such as l i b r a r i e s , the bibliography group, the transcription group , etc., - since each of these departments s e r v e s simultaneously the whole Editorial Office. Finally, a uniform network of a b s t r a c t s journals enables u s i n each of these journals t o determine its confines with m o r e precision, making t h e m n a r r o w e r , which, i n t u r n , makes it possible t o i n c r e a s e correspondingly the scope of each a.bstract. However, i.t should be noted that such a narrowing of th.e confines does not imply that any p r e c i s e demarcation between separate ch.emistry and physics, o r chemiss e r i e s (e.g., t r y and biology) is possible. The mutual penetration of knowledge i n modern science v e r y urgently deman.ds that between various s e r i e s of a b s t r a c t s journals t h e r e should exist broad fields of knowledge overlapping each other. Thus, one (of the guiding principles in the organization of our a b s t r a c t journals is their completeness. The r e a d e r who is a chemist, m u s t find io h i s particular a b s t r a c t journal all the works which a r e of i n t e r e s t to a chemist. At present the Institute of Scientific and Technical lnformation r e c e i v e s about 13,000 foreign and 2000 Soviet periodical and s e r i a l publications each month. Some 5500 of them are examined, and a b s t r a c t s are published in the a b s t r a c t journal "Khimiya." The lnstitute has an international bookexchange department which exchanges l i t e r a t u r e with 836 scientific organizations in 60 countries and receives f r o m them approximately 3500 titles of journajis. In addition t u that, the l a r g e s t pilbiishing offices of the worid (Prentice-Hall, Masson, Dunod, Wiley and Sons, kaciem-ie-Verlag, Oldenbourg, Ceorg Thieme, and o t h e r s ) send I?S their books f r e e of charge to review. Abstracts of these books appear in our a b s t r a c t journal, thereby aiding their publicity and distribution throughout the world. F e r some of these publishing companies we Grganize exhibitions of their bocks in the HDuse of Scientists in M o s c o u ~ and in s 0 r . e
