Head of Library – Tsveta Philipova

The library at the Institute of Biology and Immunology of Reproduction „Acad. K. Bratanov” (IBIR) was founded at the same time with the institute in 1938 and its fate is closely related to the institute’s development.
The library’s major goal is to provide information about scientific and applied research in the institute which is achieved by the combination of traditional and modern technologies. Our services are focused on the creation and development of a modern library and information center in the field of biology of reproduction. In addition, the library at the Institute of Biology and Immunology of Reproduction is a branch of the Central Library of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), which allows to maintain connections with other libraries in the system of BAS and with other scientific libraries in Bulgaria and the rest of the world.
Since the foundation of the library we successfully applied the principles of reasonable selection of literature, timely replenishment of the fund with field related books, issues and world’s leading periodicals. The main task of the library is cataloging and organizing the book’s fund with Bulgarian and foreign literature in order to satisfy the necessities of researchers and specialists in IBIR. In this regard, our books are in the research fields as follow: animal and human biology of reproduction; animal embryotechnology; artificial insemination of animals; cryobiology of gametes; immunological problems of assisted reproduction; molecular immunology; immunoneuroendocrinology. The library preserves and periodically supplements in separate annual collections the scientific achievements of all collaborators of the institute since 1991.
The library is well supplied with new journal editions, subscriptions, book exchanges and donations. We have an extended collection of more than 11,536 volumes of scientific literature: 4732 books and 6804 volumes of specialized periodicals. Each year the library receives more than 30 peer-reviewed journals and 150 volumes of other periodicals which is the best of global scientific research and is strongly related to the research field of the institute. In addition, we are engaged to annual renewal of the most peer-reviewed journals.
Our library maintains alphabetical, systematic and topographical catalogues of books and periodicals. One of the biggest advantages is that the library is a place that provides modern and extended information services. We are the first in BAS’s system that introduced an electronic catalogue of books and periodicals. The software of this electronic catalogue is PROCITE. In 2010 the library introduced library-information system ALEPH500, developed by ExLibris Ltd company of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, on the basis of which we build the electronic catalogue. This increases the opportunities for easy access of external readers to the library’s database. Moreover, the library provides additional services as bibliographic references, scanning and photocopying of documents.
The electronic information provided by the library includes using of computers with internet access, also access to all electronic resources provided by the Central Library (http://www.cl.bas.bg) that unites all institutes of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. This includes the following international databases in the area of biology and natural sciences:

• Elsevier: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/homepage.cws_home
• Thomson Reuters – Web of Science: http://apps.isiknowledge.com/UA_GeneralSearch_input.do?product=UA&search_mode=GeneralSearch&SID=R1agio5DekEig6hHMiK&preferencesSaved=
• Thomson Reuters – Essential Science Indicators: http://esi.isiknowledge.com/home.cgi
• Science Direct: http://www.sciencedirect.com/
• SciBx: http://www.nature.com/scibx/index.html
• Springer Link: http://www.springerlink.com/
• ProQuest: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/catalogs/databases/detail/proquestcentral.shtml
• Scientific Journals International: http://www.scientificjournal.org/
• Scopus: http://www.scopus.com/home.url
• e-Library: http://elibrary.worldbank.org/
• World Data Bank: http://databank.worldbank.org/ddp/home.do
• Open J-Gate: http://www.openj-gate.com/Search/QuickSearch.aspx
• Directory of Open Access journals: http://www.doaj.org/
• HighWare press – Stanford University: http://highwire.stanford.edu/
• Biology Reports Faculty of 1000: http://f1000.com/evaluations
• Research Gate: http://www.researchgate.net/application.Index.html

In general, the library has two main work areas: reading room and book depository room. The reading room offers comfortable work places, free and direct access to periodicals received by the current year and opportunity to use part of library’s rich fund –more than 1000 volumes of reference books, dictionaries and encyclopaedias.

Prospects for development of the library are closely related to the Institute’s research achievements and strictly follow the guidelines outlined in the Institute’s future work. “The library is a growing organism”. These are words of Ranganathan – one of the renowned scientists with large contribution to the definition of library science. For the library at IBIR, these words have become a reality. The ensured free access to the on-line catalogue, subscription of some the most important scientific journals, actively embracing forms of computer communication, together with the storage and supply of knowledge written on paper, transform the IBIR’s library into a center that combines traditional and electronic library resources, which is a fundamental mission of the modern research library.