The Idea of “Proactive Library” in R.A. Baryshev’s Monograph and Dissertation as Manifestation of Dilettantism

The monograph “Proactive library in the information and educational environment of University” (2020) and the dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences “University library as a proactive system: modern opportunities and development prospects” (2022; rejected by the Dissertation Council upon the results of defense) by R.A. Baryshev use methodologically flawed basis and theoretically are untenable. The monograph and dissertation on the so-called proactive university library as a system do not contain scientific novelty and of no practical value.

The main idea of the “proactive library” is to focus on anticipating readers’ requests and, therefore, it requires reliance on forecasting methodology. However, the author of the monograph and dissertation presents other methodological grounds. The conceptual grounds that should form the essence of the theoretical development of the topic raised and should have theoretical novelty and scientific significance, in fact, are reduced to principles that have long been known and widely used in practice, and the key strategic directions that complement them, as the author himself notes, have been developed by an external institution. R.A. Baryshev did not show how the library services offered by him work ahead of requests. The monograph and dissertation do not contain information on what was exactly provided for in advance and what is the proportion of justified forecasts. The monograph was released without scientific review; it does not make any significant contribution to the library theory and practice. The main text is prepared on the materials of only one library — the Siberian Federal University, it has no grounds to claim generalizations that apply to all university libraries of the country. At the same time, the stated topic — forecasting of readers’ needs and requests and their preventive satisfaction — is of exceptional importance for library science and it requires qualified research.

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