Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the role of translation in the dissemination of scientific information. Science has traditionally depended for its progress on the activities of individual workers in many countries. An example of this is the discovery and development of the antibiotic penicillin. Prior to 1958, the National Science Foundation's activities in the scientific and technical information field were, in general, similar to those of other United States government agencies in that they were dictated largely by the Foundation's own particular mission and information interests. The problems confronting an American scientist in his attempt to keep abreast of the latest scientific achievements of his colleagues overseas, result from a combination of factors. The magnitude of the scientific information problem can be measured in terms of scientists, time, as well as on the basis of pieces of paper. At the present time, the Foundation is supporting the translations of 41 Russian scientific journals on a cover-to-cover basis and nine on a selective basis through some 20 professional scientific and technical societies.