The article reveals the foundations of design and research surveys, on the basis of which the Russian State Library (RSL) implemented the project of repair and restoration works for the central entrance of the library. The aim of the works was to adapt the cultural heritage object to modern use. The building complex, conceived in the mid — 1920s, was completed by 1940, but it was not fully commissioned until 1960. In the mid — 1970s, there was insufficient space to store the growing holdings. The front decoration of the central hall suffered enormous damage over the years. In 2019, a negative trend in the condition of the building was revealed. The main book depository was overloaded. The problems of the RSL are combined in a comprehensive investment programme for the reconstruction and restoration of infrastructure facilities. In 2019—2020, design solutions were developed for the repair and restoration of buildings and individual public spaces of the library. In 2021, the first stage of restoration of the entrance group began. The decision was made to carry out the work in a service-preserving environment and the challenge was to transform the very model of service to readers. The team working on the restoration made decisions reflecting the development of 21st century technologies and current standards for the automation of library processes. As a result of the works, new technological channels for the building operation and space for servicing readers were arranged, a climate control system was installed, the power supply and electric lighting system was replaced, historical interiors were restored, modern fire and engineering safety systems were created, a new centralized information and navigation complex for readers was deployed, etc. In 2023, a grandiose historical space was opened for the RSL readers.

The article is devoted to the methodological analysis of the concept of “popular science event”. The study begins with a bibliometric analysis of publications from Russian Science Citation Index and scientific electronic library eLIBRARY.RU, selected by the search prescription “popular science event”. The main research method was the analysis of the flow of publications related to the thematic area “popular science events” from January 1, 2008 to September 14, 2023. A total of 75 relevant articles were selected for the research topic. Based on the general bibliometric indicators of the selection of publications on the topic of popular science events, conclusions were drawn about the local nature of the analyzed topic. The greatest interest in this topic was aroused by specialists in the field of pedagogy, cultural studies and economics. In general, this area of activity is now relevant, but it is not sufficiently developed in methodological terms. There is no definition of this concept in publications, however, due to the development of communicative practices in which the genre of popular science event is used, its introduction into the terminological range is required. Therefore, the next stage of the research is the operationalization of the concept under study. The greatest attention is paid to the analysis of publications from the field of library science. The dictionary articles devoted to the interpretation of the main component of the considered concept “event”, including the specific context of use — “library event”, are also regarded. Popular science events held in libraries have different goals, objectives, content and composition of participants. Depending on the content of the listed characteristics, such events become important for self-education of people and assistance to the scientific community in popularization of science.

The article may be useful for specialists whose work is related to the organization of popular science events in libraries and popularization of scientific knowledge in general.

Library classification was originally created for the purpose of thematic arrangement of books on the shelves in libraries on the basis of classification systems. The creation of the latter, in turn, is closely related to the classification of sciences, as works devoted to certain fields of knowledge or spheres of human activity are classified.

Throughout their history, classification schemes have been transformed and structurally changed, based on the basic principles and levels of scientific knowledge. Originating in the ancient period, science has been developing for centuries according to the disciplinary principle. However, in the process of evolution of scientific knowledge there is interdisciplinary integration, which involves both natural, technical and social sciences. Complex fields of study are formed as a result of interscientific interaction, when the most distant sciences can discover a direct connection. This is a joint cognitive activity of specialists from different scientific disciplines, involving not only research, but also other types of activity (organizational, communicative, journalistic, etc.). Thus, the sphere of interdisciplinarity is formed.

The article considers the representation of the problems of interdisciplinary research in the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) and in the Library and Bibliographic Classification (LBC), recognized as the national classification system of Russia.

A scientific review of the problems and content of the 20th International Scientific Readings in Memory of N.F. Fedorov is presented. The event took place on June 7—10, 2023 in Moscow and was devoted to the ideas, projects, and heritage of Nikolai Fedorovich Fedorov (1829—1903), an outstanding Russian philosopher, theorist of library and museum studies, pedagogue and innovator. The relevance of the Forum is conditioned both by the necessity of forming the programme of celebrating the 200th anniversary of N.F. Fedorov’s birth, which will be celebrated in 2029, and by the large-scale work on the creation of an encyclopedic online resource dedicated to the philosopher. Its goals: to present in a systematized form the main achievements of Fedorov studies of the 20th—21st centuries in Russia and abroad, to give a coherent and authoritative body of knowledge about N.F. Fedorov, to become a guide to his creative heritage and Fedorovianism of the 20th century, to show the significance of N.F. Fedorov’s ideas for modernity. The opening and plenary session of the event took place in the Russian State Library. The reports delivered during the readings contain the latest results of research in the field of N.F. Fedorov’s biography, introduce new archival data into the scientific turnover, make a significant contribution to the analytical description of N.F. Fedorov’s philosophical system, his language and poetics, aesthetics, pedagogy, and museology. As part of the readings, a round table was held devoted to the programme of celebrating the 200th anniversary of N.F. Fedorov’s birth. It presented current memorial, educational, creative projects of libraries, museums, schools, cultural centers working with the name and heritage of the philosopher of the “universal cause”. In addition to the scientific agenda, the programme of the readings included the ceremony of awarding the N.F. Fedorov Medal to librarians who embody his model of a “library open to all”.

The article is devoted to the 85th anniversary of Yuri Nikolayevich Stolyarov, an outstanding Russian scientist, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, a recognized leader in the field of library science, documentology, document science knowledge, whose contribution to the development of scientific disciplines of document-communication cycle cannot be overestimated. The purpose of the article is to consider through the prism of personal perception the enduring significance of scientific activity of Yu.N. Stolyarov, his role in training and education of scientific and professional staff. The great importance of the fundamental research of Yu.N. Stolyarov for the development of the theory and practice of library science, document science, book science, including book culture, their role in the formation of documentology as an independent scientific discipline is emphasized. His invaluable contribution to the solution of terminological problems relevant to these spheres of scientific knowledge is highlighted. The article highlights the main components of high creative achievements of Yu.N. Stolyarov. Among them are the amazing ability to always be in scientific search, to discover new knowledge, to determine the vector of its development for many years ahead, as well as the scale, systematicity, originality of thought, the highest competence in the field of philosophy and methodology of science, the widest range of scientific interests, inexhaustible energy and tireless work.

The purpose of the article is to present a toolkit for analyzing changes in the system of library training, its subsequent adjustment and transformation into an effective tool for the development of the industry. The basis of this work is the monitoring of the functioning of the system of university and additional professional education (APE) in the field of “Library and Information Activities”.

To solve this task the specialists of the Russian State Library have developed and created two registers: The Register of basic educational programmes of higher education, implemented in the direction of “Library and Information Activity”, and the Register of existing educational programmes of advanced training and professional retraining for library specialists. The registers are placed in the “Library Professionals” section of the federal state information system “National Electronic Library”. A study of these registers has been carried out and their expert evaluation has been made. The result of this work may be the creation of a “map” of higher and additional professional education of Russian library professionals.

The register of basic educational programmes of higher education implemented in the field of “Library and Information Activity” contains details about 73 educational programmes of higher education of institutions from 32 subjects of the Russian Federation. The register of educational programmes of professional development and professional retraining for library specialists includes information about 241 educational programmes of additional professional development (29 professional retraining programmes and 212 professional development programmes). These programmes are implemented in 34 subjects of the Russian Federation.

The programmes of APE are analyzed. The author’s methodology of evaluation of professional retraining programmes is presented. The minimum number of points that a professional retraining programme received according to the results of the examination was 6, the maximum number of points was 43.33 (out of 50 possible).

Conclusions on the results of the expert evaluation are given. The prepared registers are presented as one of the elements of the information and educational platform of Russian libraries.

The compatibility of library and fashion is examined in the context of the current problem — audience engagement. The study uses the method of observation, analysis of scientific literature and documents.

Does a modern library need fashion? Can such topics of library events and information content of library media be considered appropriate for the “temple of the book”? Are these issues of interest to readers (visitors)? What forms and formats of work to apply for fashion coverage? What advantages does a library have over a fashion magazine? The authors offer answers to these questions. Fashion is a cultural phenomenon that has a significant influence and is therefore of interest to many categories of readers. The concept of “fashion” in the text of the article is most often used in a narrow sense, as the art of creating a beautiful image with the help of clothes and accessories. The extent to which libraries address this topic is analyzed. Three main library sites of Yekaterinburg (Library Center “Yekaterinburg”, Sverdlovsk Regional Universal Scientific Library named after V.G. Belinsky, Municipal Association of Libraries of Yekaterinburg) were chosen for the study. The library media of these institutions were studied. Libraries, using the official website and social media pages, are gradually enhancing the dialogue with the reader by offering articles, reports, videos and other information materials with a broad cultural theme. In the future, library media can develop in the thematic niche of urban periodicals covering lifestyle and everyday culture, systematically addressing the theme of “fashion”. The authors suggest creating a separate rubric dedicated to fashion in the corporate media of libraries (on their websites) in order to make this process manageable. The article presents a model of a fashion column, justifies its importance, and lists the target groups.

On September 27—28, 2023, the Russian National Library (RNL) hosted the First All-Russian Meeting of Deputy Directors of Libraries for Scientific and Methodological Work, organized on behalf of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation together with the Russian State Library (RSL) and the Russian Library Association. The main purpose of the meeting was to improve the organization of research work in central libraries of the Russian Federation subjects for more active participation of libraries in the implementation of the tasks set out in the “Fundamentals of State Cultural Policy”.

The meeting was the next stage in the consistent work of national libraries to support, intensify and institutionalize research work in Russian libraries: the RNL developed a normative-recommendatory act “Sample Provision on Organization of Research Activities of the Central Library of the Subject of the Russian Federation”, adopted on June 15, 2023 at the All-Russian Library Congress; together with the RSL, courses were held as part of additional professional education on “Organization of Research Activities in Libraries”; a collection of articles “Research Activities in Regional Libraries: Content and Organization” was published.

In the course of the meeting the issues of paramount importance for the central regional libraries were discussed: state scientific policy, the problem field of library research, experience in organizing research work in libraries of different types, methodology and techniques of library research, organization of interaction between central regional libraries and the RNL and the RSL within the framework of forming a unified system of scientific and methodological work of libraries. The main attention was paid to the central libraries of the subjects of the Russian Federation, which play the role of scientific and methodological centers for the libraries of the region. Based on the results of the meeting, further necessary measures were outlined to strengthen the scientific functions of libraries, which are important for the development of the country’s culture.

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