About the National Book Chamber of Belarus
History
In 1924 under the decree of the Council of Peoples Commissars of BSSR from June 25 № 47 in structure of the Belarus state and university library the department «Byelorussian book chamber» was formed.
In 1977 under the decree of the Council of Ministers of the BSSR № 141 from May 13 “About founding the state book chamber of BSSR” the department was reorganized to the independent establishment “The State Book Chamber of BSSR” under the supervision of the Council of Ministers State Committee dealing with publishing houses, printing industry and book selling. The Chamber was charged with functions of the republican scientific center of state bibliography, national publishing archive, publishing statistics, centralized cataloguing and of a branch center of scientific-technical information in the sphere of publishing activity, printing industry and book selling.
In 1992 under the decree of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus № 579 from September 23 “About renaming the State Book Chamber of the Republic of Belarus into the National Book Chamber of Belarus” it got the status of national establishment.
Nowadays the National Book Chamber of Belarus is an establishment which is ascribed to a branch of culture and is financed from the Republican budget.
The fields of activity
Receiving the obligatory free copies of all kinds of publications issued on the territory of the Republic of Belarus as well as beyond its borders on publishers orders, carrying out its activities in accordance with the license, obtained in the Republic of Belarus.
State bibliographic registration of all publications coming out in the Republic of Belarus.
Preparation and issue of current state (national) bibliographic guides and manuals of retrospective bibliography.
Forming data bases of books and booklets, author’s abstracts of dissertations, cartographic editions, fine arts and notes editions, newspapers and magazines article and of exteriorics of Belarus.
Statistic registration of all kinds of publications and issuing the annual statistic collection “Belarus publishing”.
Organization and storing of printed editions from the beginning of XX century at the National book depository – The Archive of Publications.
Working out and introduction of normative documents on publishing, polygraphy, book selling and bibliography.
Activity connected with fulfillment the functions of National agency of the Republic of Belarus on international standard book numbering (ISBN).