The Institute of Social Sciences Information was established in 1975 following the merger of the Library of Social Sciences (established in 1960 under the National Committee for Social Sciences) and the Department of Social Sciences Information (established in 1973 under the Việt Nam Committee for Social Sciences). Its principal tasks include: building up and carrying out information, documentation and library programmes and directing and co-ordinating the information, documentation and library activities of all research institutes and centres of its parent body, the Việt Nam Academy of Social Sciences, organising and developing an information network in the social sciences, including collecting, acquiring, exchanging, maintaining, processing, notifying and providing libraries and information centres in Việt Nam with information and documents in the social sciences and humanities; studying, notifying and providing up-to-date information in the social sciences and humanities necessary for the planning of socio-economic, scientific and cultural development programmes in the country; building up a suitable reference system including both traditional and computerised catalogues; and studying theoretical and practical issues relating to information, documentation and library activities, applying modern information technologies in the organisation and development of information network and library services. The Institute is the largest library in the country specialising in the social sciences and contains works dating back to the French colonial period. Its collection comprises some 40,000 books, 490 newspaper titles, 2,300 review and periodical titles, 9,820 maps, 56,000 photos, 25,700 photofilms and 5,200 film rolls. Special collections include a rich collection of French and quốc ngữ materials, part of the former library of the École Française d’extrême-orient (EFEO). The Institute issues numerous publications, including the following magazine: