he article presents an analytical review of the All-Russian Library Congress, held in Vladimir — the Library Capital of Russia 2018 — on 12—18 May 2018. The Congress was devoted to the theme “Ba-
sing on the Past, We Build the Future. The Role of Cultural Heritage in Transforming the Librarianship in Russia”. The Congress held an open Discussion on the concept of librarianship development in the Russian Federation; it adopted the Guidelines on local lore activities for public libraries of the Russian Federation and approved the Regulations on the Council for Professional Qualifications in the Field of Library and Information Activities, planned for creation under the Russian Library Association. The Congress worked in various formats: pre-session events, plenary sessions, section meetings by library types and activity areas, and special events. The 19th Exhibition of Publishing Products, New Information Technologies, Goods and Services complemented the Congress. The Congress determined Tula to be the Library Capital of Russia 2019.

 In library science, the problem of classification of functions of library as social institution is debatable. Library scientists most often consider the following social functions: informational, educational, hedonistic, ideological, cultural and enlightening, compensatory, scientific-industrial, learning, pedagogical, cognitive, teaching, recreational, training, socio-cultural, etc. In the context of global crises, including financial crunch, the library has to defend its primordial intrinsic functions, realizing its mission even in the conditions of discrepancy of the current state cultural policy and interests of society. The authors compare the approaches to allocation of library functions in the studies of library scientists and philosophers, culturologists, sociologists. Unlike the library researchers, they allocate human-creative, cultural-creative, cognitive, configurative, socializing function of “the third place”. The novelty of the approach of philosophers, culturologists, sociologists to the allocation of intrinsic functions of libraries is evident in the conceptualization of library as cultural phenomenon with syncretism of material and spiritual values, realizing that library activity cannot be reduced to the solution of utilitarian, instantaneous tasks; understanding of library as an active participant (or actor — in terms of sociology) of the knowledge management process in the information society; comprehension of library as public place providing socialization of personality. The types of social risks caused by transformation of library functions in the era of sociocultural transformations are allocated. The paper emphasizes that among the dangerous landmarks in the activity of libraries, there is, firstly, pragmatic approach — commercialization of activities and earning money in the market conditions of libraries; and secondly, technocratization of activities — transformation of libraries into the technical centers for delivery of documents, whose activities are exclusively technological.

The article examines the issues related to such an intricate element of the document flow as serial publications, in particular, the continuing ones. This problem is worth considering because the flow of serial publications, being an important source of scientific information, has a permanent tendency to a progressive growth in numbers. Moreover, due to the development of new technologies, serials are actively turning from traditional printed form to the new ones, for example, CD-ROM or on-line access. All this brings some challenges for librarians. The correctness of identification of publications in the process of stocks generation affects the important technological activities, relating to their selection, description, organization, tracking completeness of their receipt and refection in catalogues, as well as their further use. To maintain the proper quality of serials stock generation, the State Public Scientific-Technological Library of the Siberian Branch of theRussianAcademyof Sciences works out and regularly renovates technological documentation regulating the processes of work with these publications. The ideological and technological solutions include the elaboration of a standpoint that allows determining the type of publications, the permanent adjustment of the criteria for serials evaluation and selection, the ability to change on the stage of current acquisitions the area of publications entering the total library stock. This made it possible to regulate significantly the stock structure. 

The task of optimizing the reader’s search is solved by means of transferring (since 1991) of serial publications’ bibliographic records, according to the formal identifier (pressmark), from the Electronic Catalogue of Books to the Electronic Catalogue of Journals, now titled “The Electronic Catalogue of Periodical and Continuing Publications”. The electronic reference and search system of the State Public Scientific-Technological Library of the Siberian Branch of theRussianAcademyof Sciences can be further improved for serials by filling with data on the retro-part of the collection of continuing publications. The nearest circle of tasks for the library specialists is supposed to include the working out of a strategy on unifying the accounting of serials.

On December 11, 2018, it will be 100 years since the birth of A.I. Solzhenitsyn (1918—2008) — a Russian writer, dramatist, poet, public and political figure, Nobel laureate (literature, 1970). For  16 years, Solzhenitsyn’s creative activity was running abroad, where his earlier and new works were actively published. Against the background of the history of foreign publishers cooperating with A.I. Solzhenitsyn and the disclosure of the author’s creative ideas, this article gives an overview of foreign publications of A.I. Solzhenitsyn’s works in Russian (collected works, anthologies, publication of single works), by analyzing the materials of the bibliographical index “Solzhenitsyn’s Works Reflected in the Books of Russian Emigration: The Soviet Period”, compiled in 2018 by employees of the Bibliography Scientific-Research Department of the Russian State Library, and the electronic database of the Russian State Library “Books in Russian Published Abroad, 1927—1991”. Structurally, the article presents a chronological overview: each section covers a decade of creative and publishing activities, contains the statistics of publications in different countries, followed by a disclosure of each of those publications, mainly in chronological order, except in individual cases requiring a different logic of narration. There is also some contextual information on the publishers and publishing houses released Solzhenitsyn’s works.

The reviewed monograph “The Origins of Book Culture” by Y.N. Stolyarov is a unique domestic study of the origins of book culture, such as myths, folklore, religious beliefs, and epos. Each of the origins is considered in a separate chapter of the book. The author sets the task to restructure the domestic tradition of book culture and traces the evolution of the sources from the standpoint of modern book science. In the evolution of myths, folklore, beliefs, and epos one there is seen the cognized objectivity of the world, even the prediction in the future. This is done for the first time and it is one of the main merits of the author. Y.N. Stolyarov relies on many original works of the past and the present of the researchers of Russian and foreign texts. This makes the book rich in research and reference materials, presented by specific times and names. The text of the monograph convinces the reader that the author formulates his own concept of knowledge on the book culture and offers the library professionals to move to a new level of its study and understanding. Describing the role and place of the book, Y.N. Stolyarov shows it as a carrier of communication from ancient times. Of particular interest are his observations about the origins of abstracting. Reading the book leads to conclusion that the instinct of culture is inherent to human. The sense of human activity lies in culture movement and evolution. In the process of evolution, this movement becomes an arena for competition. The world of book culture ceases to be universal; it becomes a product of its diversity. Monograph is beautifully published, has an annotated index and detailed bibliographic list of literature. Y.N. Stolyarov’s book should be considered as a launching platform for studying the deep fundamentals of the book culture of every nation and people.

Libraries of Russian scientific institutions keep private book collections of the outstanding scientists. They are valuable objects of cultural and historical research, while maintaining some of their informational importance. The article describes the collection of A.E. Chichibabin, the famous chemist and academician. It was discovered in the library of the N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Science. The collection was given to the library after the scientist’s departure from the country and was depersonalized because the owner had been deprived of his academic ranks and USSR citizenship. The initial stage of the collection’s reconstruction has been carried out using the survived copies with the owner’s marks and the lists of received books. All identified publications have a personal signature of the scientist or traces of its earlier presence; a number of copies contain endowment inscriptions, proprietary notes and bookstore marks. The qualitative analysis shows that the publications’ subject matter refers to various areas of chemical science, representing the owner’s direct professional interest. The collection is fairly wide in chronological coverage, diverse in type of publications (monographs, periodicals and reference publications, university proceedings, dictionaries, practical manuals, etc.) and multilingual. Its high scientific level is evidenced by the presence of works of many outstanding Russian and foreign chemists, Nobel laureates of the early 20th century. The bibliophilic nature of the collection is emphasized by the presence of books of the 18th and early 19th centuries, reflecting the main periods of science development. Further study of the publications from the personal library of academician A.E. Chichibabin will add new touches to the scientist’s biography, the history of formation of his scientific school and help to trace his scientific and personal ties with colleagues from Russia and other countries.

The article studies the original version of the multi-lingual World Digital Library (WDL), without which the establishment of the new information paradigm of digital libraries in the United States would be incomplete. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that the Russian library community is offered specific experience of formation and functioning of one of the largest electronic libraries having unique a cultural status. The World Digital Library, with its international content and a broad program of international cooperation, is under the auspices of the US Library of Congress and UNESCO. Its main objective is to promote international and intercultural cooperation, to improve the quality and cultural diversity of the Internet and to contribute to education and science. For the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the WDL serves as a recommended for the library community model of high standards for metadata creating and search service organization, while respecting the priority of non-commercial access to databases.

The article focuses on the history of the World Digital Library, the stages of its formation, as well as the development of the concept that became its basis. The focus on collecting digitized versions of the most va- luable materials on history and culture was tested within the framework of previous projects of the Library of Congress in particular, American Memory, the Meeting of Frontiers Russian-American project, the collection of materials on the development and settlement of Siberia and the Russian Far East, as well as Alaska and the North-West of the United States.

One of the strategic tasks of the WDL resources management is to establish full parity for representatives of different countries, not only in terms of potential access to content through multilingualism and a unified information structure, but also taking into account their equal involvement in the real process of familiarizing with the treasures of world culture. The article analyzes in detail the structural principles of the WDL organization, as well as the dynamics of its cooperation with partner libraries. Particular attention is paid to assistance programs for partner libraries in developing countries.

Private music collections and archives are an important part of the holdings of the National Library (NL) of Estonia. The article presents an overview of seven private music collections stored in the Library. The author analyses their composition, characterizes the most significant publications and presents biographical information about the creators. The history of the deposited collections is considered in the context of the history of the NL of Estonia and formation of the Music Department. In 1959, based on the existing collection of musical literature in the NL of Estonia, founded in 1918, the Music Department was established and the service of readers was organized. The priority in acquisition of music collections were the works by Estonian composers and recordings of Estonian musicians, as well as retrospective publications. The pride and glory of the Music Department are complete collections and private archives. The NL became the holder of 40 different private collections and archives of organizations, including 14 private collections related to music. These are the private libraries and manuscript collections of six composers, music and recording collections of two opera performers, creative archives of two conductors and one pianist. The collections have reached the NL in different ways: the Library accepted the first two in the 1960s, the next eight came only in the 1990s, and four have been added to the holdings over the last ten years. The author emphasizes the cultural significance of the collections: they enrich the Library’s collections and are important for the Estonian nation. Each collection carries valuable information about its owner, gives joy of new discoveries to researchers and to all who are interested in music. Additional value comes from knowing that a person who completely loved and knew about music has designed that private collection. Emotional influences and personal contacts often play a key role in the decision to give private collection to the library. Thus, cultural exchange and partnership are important areas of library work.

The article examines the features of the Reformation book bindings of the 16th century, in particular, the appearance of cliches in the decor of binding, used for stamping, with the new frequently used iconographic subjects with female images of Judith, Jael, Esther, Lucretia, the allegory of Righteousness, and others, as well as captions. For the first time, there are described the Reformation subjects and captions on the cliché bindings of the books, kept as part of the displaced cultural valuables in the Russian State Library (RSL). The article serves to disclose the RSL collections and to introduce into scientific circulation the new scientific material on the design of German Renaissance covers of the Reformation era. For the first time, the author presents the deciphering of the iconography of subjects and captions accompanying these images, and references to the Sacred texts, which are absent, either totally or partially, on these bindings. Captions to the images are presented in the original language with the translation into Russian. Images on the bindings are analysed from the point of view of confessional affiliation of their owners. The article notes that biblical dramas appeared in the theatre of the 16th century. Martin Luther wrote about it in the Preface to the Books of Old Testament in the first edition of the Bible in German in the translation of Luther, published by Hans Lufft in1534 inWittenberg. In the Preface to the Books of Judith and Tobit, Luther formulated the concept of the ancient Judaic drama, setting the task to revive the tradition of sacred didactic dramaturgy. Great success enjoyed the drama “Judith” by Sixt Birck, German playwright of the age of Reformation. The author particularly strengthens the didactic tasks of Protestant texts, interpreted as moral teaching and preaching. The article may be of interest to art historians, historians of book and binding, as well as museum workers.

The article considers the ex-libris of Gottlieb Beratz, the priest of the German settlement in the Volga region (late 19th — early 20th century), presented in the rare small-format edition of Marco Polo’s book “Travels” published in the first third of the 19th century. The study of bookplates in rare editions is important as an additional source for the analysis of history of a book, the author’s biography and the history of bibliophilic collections or a specific copy of a book. Presented for the first time detailed description of the ex-libris of G. Beratz, being a contribution of the study of Russian bookplates, may help in the search for the book collection of scientific interest, based on the presented edition available in the LNS RAS and considering the personality of the owner. In this regard, the author examined the stamps on the Marco Polo’s book, which indicated the movement of the book from G. Beratz’s library to Saratov institutions, and then to Moscow. The author describes in general terms the technique of ex-libris of G. Beratz, technological process of phototype and zincography. The article suggests that ex-libris was made in the typolithographic printing of G.Kh. Shelgorn, where G. Beratz published his works. The owner of the book collection, which included Marco Polo’s “Travels”, was not only a priest of the German parish in the Volga region, but also a writer, playwright and scientist, well known in the circles of historians. He was the author of scientific work about the migration of Germans to the Volga region, published not only in Russia but also in Germany. The article briefly describes the history of creation of the book by Marco Polo with reference to the biographical details of the traveller, as well as the main periods of the biography of the Pastor G. Beratz, owner of a large bibliophilic collection.

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.

The article presents an analysis of visual data — photos posted in the public domain on the Internet — to characterize social and cultural events in libraries. The article studies libraries of the Volga Region. The author compares dominant types of structuring photographic images. Among the visible vectors of the work on organizing social and cultural events in libraries, there are the appeal to staging methods (from holding library events on the stage sites of culture palaces to using “literary” costumes by the library staff or offering those costumes to readers), the search for symbols for library space marking easily “readable” by the widest audience, the creation of a gaming environment, the desire to go beyond the library walls, the positioning of the library as a prominent member of the local community, participant of festivals and initiator of special celebrations. The article considers the means of adaptation to the conditions of work in the open urban space, focused on inclusion in the routes of movement of the local population, regardless of the weather, on attracting attention to the activities of libraries, on creation of an attractive image of the library. Among the attributes of cultural practices represented in the photographs, the author distinguishes musical, ritual and culinary components, and workshops aimed to develop manual skills, writing, creativity, including non-verbalized. The hypothesis that this kind of activity actualizes sensory, tactile, emotional, social skills of library audience is put forward. This setting is interpreted as a desire to fill the shortage of such skills among the readers of the screen era. At the same time, the book as a text is shifted to the periphery of the frame.

24—25 April 2018 the Russian State Library (RSL) held the International Scientific-Practical Conference “Rumyantsev Readings — 2018. Libraries and Museums as Cultural and Scientific Centers: Historical Retrospective and Look into the Future. To the 190th anniversary of the RumyantsevMuseum”. Three hundred eighty five specialists fromRussia, Azerbaijan Belarus,Kazakhstan,LithuaniaandUkraineattended the conference. During online broadcasting of Plenary Session and one of the Sections there were registered 692 connections.

In addition to the main topic stated in the title, the Conference traditionally deals with a wide range of issues on theory and practice of library and information science, bibliography science, bibliology, history of public holdings and private collections, and current activities of modern libraries. The following sections worked at the “Rumyantsev Readings” Conference: “Libraries and Publishers: Ways of Cooperation”, “Library Classification Systems”, “Specialized Documents (Maps, Printed Music, Sound Recordings, Newspapers, Dissertations, etc.) in Library Collections”, “Archaeographic and Historiographic Aspects in Study of Manuscripts”, “Manuscript Sources in Library Collections”, “Rare and Valuable Books, Book Monuments and Collections”, “Collectors, Researchers and Custodians. Libraries and Museums in the Context of History”, “Effective Management in Library: Problems and Solutions (Pre-Session Meeting of the 32nd Section of the Russian Library Association on Library Management and Marketing)”, “Electronic Information Resources”, “Theory and Practice of Librarianship Development at the Present Stage”, “Bibliography and Information — Bibliographic Services”. The following Round tables took place at the Conference: “Public Centers of Legal Information of Libraries as Centers of Formation of Information and Legal Culture of Citizens: the 20th Anniversary of the Formation of Public Centers of Legal Information in Russia”, “Library in Preservation and Development of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the CIS Countries”, “Standardi- zation in the Field of Library — Information Services: Discussion of Draft Standard”, as well as the Seminar “Science in Library: Content, Organization and Presentation of Results”, from the series “The Role of  Science in the Development of Libraries: Theoretical and Practical Aspects”.

Traditional annual conference of the Russian State Library is one of the largest scientific-practical events of the library life in our country and can rightfully claim the international status. The number of participants from year to year demonstrates interest of researchers from various scientific and cultural insti- tutions and practical experts of librarianship to the issues raised at the Conference and the need for such events. “Rumyantsev Readings —2018”helped to draw attention to the problems of operation of libraries at the present historical stage, to the search for innovative development ways, expansion of cooperation between institutions of culture, education, science and intercultural interaction, preservation and study of the world cultural heritage and national values, intensification of scientific research on a wide range of issues of bibliology and library and information science.