The International Nuclear Library Network (INLN), coordinated by th
IAEA Library
i.e. the Library of the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

, is a consortium of nuclear libraries and knowledge centres. The Network seeks to promote the exchange of nuclear information and to strengthen strategic partnerships amongst members. The underlying strategy is twofold: first, whenever a new partner joins the network, the shared information base is enlarged; and second, the larger the information base becomes, the more attractive the network is. The 37 nuclear libraries coming from 27 countries that participate in the coalition have managed to enhance their information pool and extend their services to cover nuclear information and knowledge needs on a global scale.

History

The International Nuclear Library Network was founded in 2005 by the IAEA Library and the

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is a Canadian federal Crown corporation and Canada's largest nuclear science and technology laboratory. AECL developed the CANDU reactor technology starting in the 1950s, and in October 2011 licensed thi ...

(AECL) Library. In its initial years, it counted a total of five members (in addition to the initiators, the

National Atomic Energy Commission The National Atomic Energy Commission ( es, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, CNEA) is the Argentine government agency in charge of nuclear energy research and development. The agency was created on May 31, 1950, with the mission of dev ...

of Argentina, the Turkish Atomic Energy Agency and the Institute of Nuclear Physics of Uzbekistan Academy of Science. In 2006, the

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is a statutory body of the Australian government, formed in 1987 to replace the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. Its head office and main facilities are in southern outs ...

(ANSTO) also joined the network. In 2007, the INLN welcomed four new members: the China Nuclear Information Centre, the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, the Obninsk State Technical University for Nuclear Power Engineering in the Russian Federation, and the Russian Association of Nuclear Science and Education (RANSE), thus increasing the membership to ten participants. In 2008, at the meeting of INLN Members and prospective members, during the 34th

International Nuclear Information System The International Nuclear Information System (INIS) hosts one of the world's largest collections of published information on the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. History INIS is based in Vienna, Austria and has been operating since ...

(INIS) Liaison Officers Meeting in Vienna, a large number of nuclear libraries from around the world expressed their interest and subsequently joined the INLN: the Belarus INIS Center, Chair of Ecological Information Systems, the Nuclear Research Institute Rez plc of Czech Republic, the

Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority The Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA) has been established in 1955. It leads the national research and development in the basic and applied peaceful nuclear research. Egypt was the second in the African Continent, after South Africa, to build ...

(EAEA), the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission Library, the

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's premier nuclear research facility, headquartered in Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) in January 195 ...

(BARC) of India, the

Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII), ''An Institiúid Éireannach um Chosaint Raideolaíoch'', was an independent public body in Ireland under the aegis of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. The ...

, the

Japan Atomic Energy Agency The is an Independent Administrative Institution formed on October 1, 2005 by a merger of two previous semi-governmental organizations. While it inherited the activities of both JNC and JAERI, it also inherited the nickname of JAERI, "Genken" ...

(JAEA), the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares (ININ), Centro de Información y Documentación Nuclear (CIDN) of Mexico, the Centre National de l' Energie des Sciences et des Techniques Nucléaires (CNESTEN) of Morocco, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) at the

University of Science and Technology (South Korea) The University of Science and Technology (UST) is a group of public universities and research institutions in Seoul, Suwon, Changwon, Ansan Ansan (Hangeul: , ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies southwest of Seoul and is p ...

, the

Vinca Nuclear Institute ''Vinca'' (; Latin: ''vincire'' "to bind, fetter") is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, native to Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. The English name periwinkle is shared with the related genus '' Catharanthus'' (a ...

of Serbia, the Centre National des Sciences et Technologies Nucléaire
(CNSTN)
of Tunisia. In November of the same year, the Library Network of the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission (Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear – CNEN), consisting of seven nuclear libraries, became an INLN official member. In January 2009, the

Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission or CEA (French language, French: :fr:Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives, Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), is a French pub ...

(CEA) - Centre de Saclay - Centre de Ressources Documentaires joined the Network, while in 2010, the

, the

Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority ( no, Statens strålevern, abbreviated to NRPA) is a Norwegian public agency under the Ministry of Health and Care Services headquartered in Østerås, Bærum municipality, Greater Oslo Region. It works ...

, and the

Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology The Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology (PINSTECH) ( ur, ) is a federally funded multiprogram science and technology research institute managed for the Ministry of Energy by the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sc ...

decided to become INLN members. The Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency of Indonesia -

Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir The Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency ( id, Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir, BAPETEN) is a non-Ministerial Government Institution (LPND) which is under and responsible to the President. BAPETEN has the tasks of implementing the surveillance of all a ...

and the New Zealand

Institute of Environmental Science and Research The Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute (CRI). Its purpose is to deliver scientific and research services to the public health, food safety, security and justice systems, and the enviro ...

– National Radiation Laboratory are the newest members, raising the total number of Nuclear Libraries/Information Centres participating in the INLN to 37.

Structure and function

The International Nuclear Library Network (INLN) represents a coalition of nuclear libraries. It is designed to be an Internet-based

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

and

information system An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people ...

. Its information portal is hosted by the IAEA Library and it is supported by nuclear libraries and knowledge centres worldwide; it is developed and maintained in a decentralized manner, in accordance with agreed standards. It links not only bibliographic information to full-text and audio-visual information, but also librarians, library clients and researchers to the appropriate information. Moreover, the network links nuclear information workers to each other, forming a strong community of practice, sharing knowledge, best practices and lessons learned. Among the services that INLN members provide to each other are: research services,

interlibrary loans Interlibrary loan (abbreviated ILL, and sometimes called interloan, interlending, document delivery, document supply, or interlibrary services, abbreviated ILS) is a service where patrons of one library can borrow materials and receive photocopies ...

, document delivery, current awareness services and any other services participating libraries wish to provide other libraries. The website offers a landing page hosting access to members' online catalogues. The success of INLN is based on its democratic structure: all participating libraries are equal partners, valued according to what they bring as practitioners in terms of information and their willingness to share, rather than on predetermined hierarchical or status levels. The actual work of the network focuses on concrete actions, bringing the right information in the right format at the right time to the right place.

Membership

Membership in the INLN is open to States who are Members of the

IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

and to UN organizations. Other interested international, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations may also join, subject to agreement of the INLN Members. Each INLN Member has the same rights and responsibilities. To apply for INLN membership, an official request is to be made by the appropriate library to th
IAEA Library
which is the coordinating library of the Network. If the requesting library is located in an IAEA Member State or belongs to an UN organization, the IAEA Library as the coordinating library will make modifications to the INLN website and inform the applicant and other participants about a new member. For other prospective participants, the coordinating library will seek approval from all existing member libraries/knowledge centres. The Coordinator, after receiving the approval from current members, will inform the applicant and the members of the outcome, and proceed with updating the INLN website.

Country members and institutions' external links

References

* Giannakopoulos, Thanos (2012). "INLN achievements in 2011." In ''IAEA: Nuclear Information & Knowledge'' 12:10. Online. Available
INIS & IAEA Library Newsletter
* Hahn-Weinert, Ruth (2009). "INLN: Facilitating Exchange and Building Partnerships." In ''IAEA: Nuclear Information & Knowledge'' 7:3. Online. Available
INIS & NKM Newsletter
* Hahn-Weinert, Ruth (2008). "The year in review: International Nuclear Library Network." In ''IAEA: Nuclear Information and Knowledge'' 5:12. Online. Available
INIS & NKM Newsletter
* Hahn-Weinert, Ruth (2007). "Doing More with Less: The International Nuclear Library Network." In ''IAEA: Nuclear Information and Knowledge'' 3:15. Online. Available
INIS & NKM Newsletter

History

Structure and function

Membership

Country members and institutions' external links

References

Other external links