CISTI Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information NRC National Science Library

About CISTI

The Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CISTI), also known by its French name Institut canadien de l'information scientifique et technique (ICIST), was Canada's national science library and a leading provider of scientific, technical, and medical (STM) information services. It operated as part of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and was headquartered at NRC's Montreal Road campus in Ottawa, Ontario. CISTI is now known as the NRC National Science Library (NSL) following an internal rebranding in the early 2010s.

History and Founding

The NRC library was established in 1924. It became the National Science Library in 1957 and was officially renamed CISTI in 1974 when the National Science Library merged with the NRC's Technical Information Service (TIS). CISTI's purpose-built facility at Building M-55, Montreal Road, Ottawa, opened in 1974 and is considered a notable work of modern architecture. In 2009, CISTI launched the NRC Publications Archive (NPArC), an institutional repository for NRC-authored scientific publications. Following restructuring in the early 2010s, the CISTI name was phased out, and the institution became the Knowledge, Information and Technology Services (KITS) branch, with the public-facing name reverting to National Science Library. It celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2024.

Collections and Holdings

At its peak, CISTI housed one of the world's most comprehensive collections of scientific, technical, engineering, and medical publications. The collection is accessible through the NRC's current information services. Document delivery services from the historic CISTI collection are provided through a partnership with Infotrieve Canada / Copyright Clearance Center on behalf of NRC. The NRC Publications Archive (NPArC) provides open-access discovery of NRC-authored scientific and technical publications.

Access and Usage

The National Science Library and its legacy CISTI collections are accessible through the NRC's website at science-libraries.canada.ca. Document delivery and literature search services remain available to Canadian researchers and international clients via CCC / Infotrieve.