Established in February 1995, the Centre for International Librarianship (CIL) superseded the Department of Scientific Information on Librarianship Abroad. It inherited vast experience and traditions accumulated by the Foreign Library Science Department set up at the Library for Foreign Literature in 1957.

The CIL focuses on the study of the current state of librarianship and library science around the world, informs Russian librarians on best practices and achievements of foreign libraries and associations, familiarizes them with topical issues and trends in international library co-operation. The Centre's staff annotates and reviews articles published in foreign language journals on library and information science, compiles and issues current and retrospective bibliographies, makes analytical and subject surveys, writes articles for the professional press, provides reference and information services.

The main CIL's publications are as follows: a current annotated bibliography "Bibliotechnoje Delo i Bibliografija" (Librarianship and Bibliography) and a collection of papers entitled "Biblioteki za Rubezhom" (Libraries around the World). The bibliography is published in co-operation with the Research Centre "Informcultura" of the Russian State Library and is also available as a local database and on CD-ROM.

Since the early 1970s the Library for Foreign Literature has served as an IFLA clearing house: until 1992 for the USSR, and afterwards for Russia and selected CIS countries. Therefore provision of information about IFLA activities is one of CIL's priority services. The Centre maintains a collection of reports and communications from the annual IFLA conferences and other IFLA papers, provides them on users' requests. Selected, the more important, IFLA documents are translated into Russian. From 1987 through 2001 the Centre issued an annual annotated index of IFLA conference papers. Electronic versions of these bibliographical indices and the issues of "Libraries around the World" are available in the section "CIL publications" on the Centre's home page and also in the sections "IFLA" and "Electronic editions" on the VGBIL Web-site (www.libfl.ru). In 2000 a new rubric entitled "News of International Library Life" appeared on the Web-page of the Centre for International Librarianship. Here one can find information on important events, facts, international projects and programmes.

The Centre's staff advises on topical issues of librarianship in different countries, helps with finding literature for research and graduation works. On readers' requests we make searches in the local bibliographic database.

The Centre devotes much attention to continuing professional education of librarians, helps to organize seminars, workshops and conferences on various issues of international librarianship. In close co-operation with the International Relations Department the CIL organizes traineeships in VGBIL for Russian and foreign specialists. The Centre's staff is involved in federal and international projects and programmes aimed at improving the system of continuing library education in Russia.

The Centre for International Librarianship is located at the address:
6 Nikoloyamskaya Street,
109189 Moscow, Russia.

For more information on the CIL contact us at:
Tel./Fax: (7-495) 915 78 85