Institutional aspects of scientific and research activities of the universities subordinate to the RF Ministry of Culture are revealed. The analysis enables to evaluate the research and education performance of the education institutions in culture and arts, the dynamics of staff structure, efficiency of researches, and the impact of institutional factors. The authors emphasize that the universities of culture and arts need to integrate their efforts to initiate and pursuit their research and creativity projects.

The data generated by several poll-centers and analytical centers on changes in temporal and topological characteristics of society and Internet advancement rate are revealed. The place of web-technologies in providing virtual user services and libraries’ strategic development is emphasized. Web-services in communication and information awareness, and other areas (e-mailing, teleconferences, mobile services for instant messaging, etc.), and the services to support building and hosting resources (www-sites, social media, podcasts, digital depositories) in library technological processes is defined. The examples of software solutions are given. Criteria for web-technology performance are introduced (efficiency, effectiveness, quality and others).

The issues of information technologies and applications at V. I. Lenin Nizhny Novgorod State Regional Universal Scientific Library are discussed. Those issues include: technical tools, electronic catalog, web site, social networking, digital library, network local and remote electronic documents. Major activities in library informatization are highlighted. The Absotheque Unicode automated library information system (ALIS) is described. The focus is made on design and development the electronic library on the basis of local lore collection. The unique electronic subject collections dedicated to the history of Nizhny Novgorod region are presented. The corporate web-project «Regional Corpus of Book Memorials of Nizhny Novgorod Region» is presented as well. The prospects for the regional library development are indicated.

Application of cross media technologies in library local lore is discussed with the example of the subject www-site «400 Outstanding Novokuznetsk Residents». Indicated how new technologies (multimedia, cloud services, cross media) drastically change the formats of local lore information presentation, promotion and use. The skills and tools modern bibliographer needs to obtain to design interactive materials are listed. Cross media local lore is defined as the process of integrating information and communication technologies into the single information resource. Functional options of the www-site «400 Outstanding Novokuznetsk Residents» as a library local lore media product of a new type are demonstrated.

The issues of functional characteristics of contemporary RFID equipment for libraries are highlighted. The equipment is examined from the viewpoint whether its consumer qualities meet the standards and needs of contemporary libraries. The recommendations on selecting RFID equipment and spare parts for library automation are given. The paper is oriented toward library managers and library automation technologies professionals.

The experience of South Kazakhstan Branch of Kazakhstan Republican Library for Science and Technology in serving professionals with regulation technical documents and full-text databases in online mode is presented. The applied methods of electronic resources use are listed. The most convenient and often applied services (particularly - electronic document delivery) provided with use of convenient ALIS are presented.

The history of formation of the House of Technology, sci-tech library of Severonikel enterprise and Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company is highlighted. The major segments of the sci-tech library of Monchegorsk aimed to form a new information and communication environment at the library are analyzed. They include: implementation of ALIS IRBIS, handling joint events with other institutions in the town, formation of interactive expositions «Live environment», lectures, photo expositions, photo archive and others.

Following previous papers about the activities of V. I. Charnolusky (Scientific and Technical Libraries. - 2016. - № 10-12; 2017. - № 2), undeservingly forgotten Russian bibliographer, Doctor of pedagogical sciences, professor, his last creative project Union-wide oriented is highlighted. The project deals with: formation of All-Union Information and Bibliographic Bureau, Russian State Library for People’s Education under the aegis of the USSR Central Executive Committee Academic Committee, but operating on the premises of V. I. Lenin State Library of the USSR. The destiny of that project and its negative consequences for both Russian State Library for People’s Education and V. I. Charnolusky personally are studied.

New textbooks for bachelors in library and information science published by «Professija» publishing house - «Subject Fields Information Resources» and «Library and Information Services», as well as «Library Science» published by Moscow State Institute for Culture are presented. The structure and contents of textbooks are analyzed. The digital library by «Professija» publishing house is presented.

Review of the book: Germany’s Library and Publishing Activities in Occupied Territory (on the Examples of Central Regions of the RSFSR) : A monograph. - Orel : Gorizont, 2015. - 130 p. The monograph by A. L. Yesipov deals with library and publishing activity of Nazi Germany in temporarily occupied territories of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. The author analyses the Nazi’s library and publishing policy in occupied territories, as well as activities of libraries subordinated to them. The major segments and results of Nazi propaganda, as well as little known documents produced by German authorities are presented.