The aim of the article is conceptual justification of the modernization process of the municipal children’s library in Krasnoyarsk. The article substantiates the prerequisites for the modernization of urban libraries associated with the rethinking of library functions in the era of informatization. The library is considered as a public institution, whose activities are subject to changes in time and space. Publications of many domestic librarians, such as S.G. Matlina, O.A. Dubinina, V.V. Zverevich and E.A. Kalinina, became the basis for this study.

The process of modernization of municipal libraries, launched in Krasnoyarsk in 2015, occurred as a spatial modernization. Single color scheme, design, symbols and library logotypes are intrinsic to Krasnoyarsk libraries. The developed brand is networked, but it remains possible to create an individual image of each library separately, taking into account its personification and priority areas of activity. The technological processes of modernization of the children’s library presented by the example of S.V. Mikhalkov Children’s Library, belonging to the Krasnoyarsk Centralized Library System for children named after N. Ostrovsky, are of great interest for professionals. Implementation of the concept of library as a centre for the development of language culture became part of the modernization. The research trend allowed to create a unique zoning for the library through the image of ‘laboratory’, using the principle of research, study and discovery. For two years of work, the main indicators of the modernized library activity changed: attendance, book delivery and the number of readers have increased. The updated library, offering modern work formats, is now popular among the population, as clearly evidenced by the dynamics of the main indicators of library activities. The library becomes an attractive and even prestigious place of work for young and promising professionals, full of ideas and desire to implement them.