ever, is that scientific institutions have engaged in 

 much the same kind of hoarding practices as industri- 

 al enterprises. They are reluctant to share, much 

 less give up, valuable and scarce resources, even if 

 they do not use them. The establishment of a rental 

 system is a means by which to free the quantity of 

 little used, highly expensive, greatly needed, but 

 essentially "frozen" equipment that is growing at an 

 appreciable rate. It represents a device by which to 

 break down some of the institutional barriers between 

 the "haves" and the "have nots," to bring together 

 the demand of some organizations and the supply of 

 others. 



Suffice it to note that in the early 1970s the 

 rental of scientific instruments and lab equipment 

 began to be organized, initially in the Leningrad re- 

 gion. Plans have been worked out to develop such 

 rental services in a number of major scientific cen- 

 ters throughout the USSR, such as Moscow, Minsk, Tbi- 

 lisi, Kiev, and Irkutsk. Along with filling one-time 

 orders, the servicing of customers on the basis of 

 long-term contracts has begun to be practiced. Rent- 

 al arrangements sometimes involve the provision not 

 only of equipment and supplies but also of important 

 services, such as testing and measurement. This is 

 particularly important for extremely complex and 

 costly instruments, which can be easily damaged if 

 not handled properly. Given the present shortage of 

 technicians, this is a good way to maximize the ser- 

 vices and skills of existing specialists and to main- 

 tain quality control. Interestingly, other organiza- 

 tions like the USSR State Committee on Standards, the 

 USSR Ministry of Chemical Industry, and the USSR 

 Academy of Sciences have also begun to set up rental 

 services involving very sophisticated equipment and 

 precision instruments.^ 



Nonetheless, the inadequacy of supplies and the 

 inefficiency of their administration remain constant 

 complaints in the Soviet press. Here it is important 

 to bear in mind that the supply function, like plan- 

 ning and financing, is fragmented among numerous or- 

 ganizations. There is no single master and alloca- 



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