The authors review the work of the Fifth Scientific and Practical Conference “The letter and digit: The libraries on the way to digitalization” (“BiblioPiter2024”) held on April 9–11, 2024. The conference subject scope comprised the following topics: The role of libraries in information support of science and education; training staff for specialized, academic and public libraries; AI tools development and use in education; status of and prospects for modern information, computer and Internet-based technologies in library practice; modern library functional transformation. The conference discussions are summarized.

Today, scientific reviewing is not the area of strength of Russian researchers. In many ways, it is due to the lack of research competences taught to the graduate students, and, in particular, search and analytical competences that correspond to the active-operational component of the competence. To overcome this shortcoming, the authors have developed and tested an approach to selecting publications for scientific reviewing. The approach comprises five steps: selecting the starting sample, its expansion, truncation, analysis, and final selection. The pedagogical experiment accomplished with the small groups demonstrated significant increase in the level of research competences in the master’s students who took the specialized course Science Communication based on the above approach. The course resulted in increased competences essential for effective search and analysis of scientific information. Further implementation of the method will improve the educational environment for building research competences in graduate students.

The authors discuss the results of the bibliometric analysis of Russian journals in the field of library science, bibliography and book studies. The purpose of the study is to build the rating of scientific journals on the List of the Higher Attestation Commission in the code 5.10.4 Library Science, Bibliography and Book Studies, which will allow potential authors to navigate publications: in their citation, the average Hirsch index of regular authors, the number of views and downloads of articles, the quartile of the journal that determines the journal relevance and authority with the scientific community. These indicators, especially the quartile, are crucial for the authors who seek publishing their papers to prepare for their dissertation defense, so that they avoid mistakes when choosing a journal.

The bibliometric approach to professional periodicals, its analysis based on the ratings of the RSCI and the Higher Attestation Commission, is embraced by the leading library scientists which is evidenced by publications of the Russian State Library, Russian Library Association, State Public Scientific Technological Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch, etc.

The significance of this study lies in studying the periodicals included in the List of the Higher Attestation Commission, and providing the comparative analysis of indicators affecting the journals ratings. According to the authors, the systematic bibliometric analysis based on RSCI indicators reveals the potential of individual journals, directions for their improvement and enables to determine the core serials of the industry documentary stream.

The findings of the study are seen as significant in the light of the changing specialty itself, the growing interest to domestic periodicals against the background of sanctions in the field of scientific information. The authors have developed their recommendations for journals’ editorial boards.

The authors explore the significant changes in traditional bibliometrics, including distinctive innovations in this area. Within the five-year period (2019– 2024), two processes have had a significant impact on the methods and technologies: these are the COVID-19 pandemic period (recognition of the importance of open research outcomes) and the period of sanctions (an attempt to exclude Russia from the global scientific process).

The authors review in brief the improvements of existing methods, e. g. the introduction of the system of beamplot diagrams and research-based citation analysis. The role of scientometrics in global rankings is evaluated. The focus is also made on new vectors of analysis development, such as altmetrics and artificial intelligence. The application of artificial intelligence tools not only ensures high speed but also lays the basis for the entirely new system for comparing scientific publications with the existing array of accumulated knowledge.

The author examines the development of the basic concepts of indexing information resources using classifications and dictionaries of information retrieval languages. The impact of digital communications and the Internet on the indexing methods in the information environment, including the libraries, is emphasized. The modern library collections comprise various types of resources, both traditional paper publications and digital resources of various types, widely available on the Internet. In these conditions, harmonization of indexing methods with the principles of Internet information retrieval grows in importance. The author discusses the regulatory framework for indexing in the library sector and its relationship with Internet standards within the concept of Semantic Web. The author reviews the main stages of the development of the regulatory framework both on the international level and in this country. The author emphasizes the need to study the experience of other organizations in the field of standardization for further development of indexing technology.

The authors discuss the findings of the study “Popular science books in Russian libraries”. The purpose of the study was to get data on the existence, quantity and relevancy of these publications in the libraries. The authors cite the results of the survey and provide their conclusions on the libraries’ managing their popular science collections and related user services. The digital survey was based on Yandex Forms service and comprised quantitative data acquisition and analysis. The authors conclude that with the government’s focusing on science popularization among the population, the libraries act proactively, promote popular science literature and hold various events. However, further system organizational and methodological support is needed to build the unified system of straight interdepartmental control of popular science literature publishing and relevancy, and to improve libraries performance in this area. The authors specify several problems, in particular, lacking the common approach to publishing and using of popular science literature. The solutions lie in new approaches toward typological classification of this targeted publications and target user audience.

In the recent decade, the interest in popular science seminars, lectures and master classes has been growing, which is evidenced by the specialists of libraries, museums and educational organizations. The authors argue that the dialogue between science and society should be enhanced, and it is important to attract public attention to the achievements in science and technology and to cultivate learning interest. The authors review the process of science popularization in Russia and the world, as science popularization is seen as the essential part of educating information literacy and engaging wider community in the world of scientific knowledge. The authors discuss various methods and instruments of science and technology popularization. The focus is made on the role of specialized and academic libraries being the hubs of knowledge dissemination and scientific communication, and supporting different user groups. The authors provide several recommendations for the libraries, in particular, on how to organize popular science events and to develop specialized programs for different age user groups. New options for preserving scientific knowledge digital collections, their processing and further utilization, are also proposed.

The authors discuss the findings of the study of documents of 1989-1993 issued by the executive authorities and preserved in the State Archive of Kaluga Region. The purpose of the study is building the electronic archive of the documents related to Chernobyl disaster mitigation efforts on the contaminated territories. The research method of data analysis was applied. As a result of the accomplished study, the document repository was established to preserve the most significant materials related to the recovery of radiation contaminated lands of Kaluga region. The documents for the conversion into electronic formats were selected by criteria of the relation to the actual mitigation efforts. The study findings may be applied to analyze administrative decisions on various stages of execution, in particular, to assess the impact of statement of controlled radiation contaminated areas and disruption of the existing economic set-up.