The European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) with site at Frascati, near Rome, was established with the purpose to investigate space phenomena by carrying out laboratory experiments and theoretical studies. With the reform of ESRO, the role of ESRIN radically changed and it was transformed in a Space Documentation Centre provided with the mostly modern informatic facilities. All the previous equipments and scientific acquisitions were gradually transferred to the universities in the member states and to the Italian National Research Council (CNR).