OSTIblog Posts by Debbie Cutler

OSTI Joins In Celebrating the Forty-Fifth Anniversary of the International Nuclear Information System

Published on Mar 25, 2015

Forty-five years ago, nations around the world saw their dream for a more efficient way to share nuclear-related information reach fruition through the creation of a formal international collaboration. This was accomplished without the internet, email, or websites.  It was the right thing to do for public safety, education, and the further advancement of science.  It was also a necessary way forward as the volume of research and information about nuclear-related science, even back then, was skyrocketing and exceeded the capacity for any one country to go it alone.  And the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) was part of the collaboration from its initial planning stages.

The International Nuclear Information System, or INIS, as it is commonly known, was approved by the Governing Board of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1969 and began operations in 1970.  The primary purpose of INIS was, and still is, to collect and share information about the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, with participating nations sharing efforts to build a centralized resource.