INIS: a computer-based international nuclear information system

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Balakrishnan, M.R.

Affiliations: Library & Information Services, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Bombay 400085, India

Abstract: Print-on-paper data bases are not always as convenient to use as their computerized equivalents, nor are they as flexible. The author presents a description of a cooperatively produced system involving both hard-copy and machine-readable outputs, the International Nuclear Information System (INIS)-its history and organisational structure, as well as more detailed accounts of its subject classification scheme, the INIS Thesaurus, input standards, and the various products/services generated by the system: the printed INIS Atomindex and Cumulative Index, the magnetic tape distribution service, the online data base, and on-demand supply in microfiche of grey literature documents cited by INIS, through its Clearinghouse. The INIS data base now contains more than 880,000 records. Coordination of the system is the responsibility of a secretariat located at the Vienna headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

DOI: 10.3233/ISU-1986-62-302

Journal: Information Services & Use, vol. 6, no. 2-3, pp. 51-73, 1986