The 2016 legislative innovations for public libraries are discussed. “The Basic Principles of the State Cultural Policy” is examined as the core document for developing and improving legal acts and regulations. The goals of the document implantation are: to provide for cultural processes in Russia; to advance the unity of the Russian society through the priority cultural and humanitarian development; to foster civil identity; to educate active citizens; to preserve historical and cultural heritage and to use it in educational and civilizing efforts; to transfer Russian civilizational values and norms, traditions, customs, and behavioral patterns from generation to generation; to build environment for everyone’s creative potential implementation; to provide everyone with the access to knowledge, information, cultural values and benefits. The tasks to be accomplished to achieve these goals are formulated. The federal laws “On amendments to the Federal Library Law in the Respect to Building the State Information System “The National Electronic Library” and “On Amending the Federal Law On Mandatory Copies” are highlighted.

Libraries’ functions in the era of digital communications are defined; the need for fundamentally new approach toward library services to reflect digital society demands is substantiated. The author concludes that, in the radically new circumstances, libraries will offer complex of user-oriented services relevant to the society’s interests. The libraries will cease to be institutions for document arrays acquisition, storage and delivery for public use, and become the open innovative and education sites to support every form of gaining knowledge and competences enabling users to adapt to continuously changing environment. The author suggests several measures to preserve the social institution of libraries in the circumstances of high technologies exponential growth. The author emphasizes that the libraries’ task is to organize and to hold lectures, trainings, workshops, discussions to motivate knowledge gaining, to widen horizons and develop users’ critical thinking. With these activities, the libraries will convert into intellectual center, improve their reputation and increase their role considerably. The author also argues that changes in library functions will inevitably result in transformed library structure and space. The importance of interaction with the user groups is emphasized.

Prospects for higher library education are discussed within the context of the professional standard «Specialist in library information activities» (2014) as a regulatory document to lay down requirement to job content and conditions, qualification and competences, actual functions (required procedures, skills, and knowledge) of various library professionals are discussed. The dependence between the education content and library practical demands and the need to overcome their disparity are revealed. The expanding range of professions for libraries is characterized. The author concludes that the professional standard is an innovative and relevant document needed to reform the higher education in librarianship and the professional training curricula. Its implementation is to improve acmeological parameters of library education, to make universities’ education program relevant to professional practice. The author emphasizes that universities will have to work hard to develop new core professional programs, to integrated them with the requirements of the professional practice (including through the more efficient interaction with employers). To consolidate professional attitude toward the challenging issues of the forthcoming reform and to implement networked education technologies for deep professional training, coordination of regional higher schools activities is needed.

The relevancy of the problem of specifying and probating the system of measurable indi­cators for publication activities in regional scientific societies is proved. Contemporary scientometric works contemplating publication activities analysis for Russian regions are re­ viewed. In particular, the articles by V. Markusova, A. Libkind, A. Terekhov, D. Rubvalter, I. Libkind, T. Krylova, mentioned. These authors review the regions’ contribution into competition research projects and analyze research activities of Russian universities based on the Web of Knowledge statistical data. Bibliometric data on fundamental research in Novosibirsk region are revealed. Bibliometric analysis is suggested as the basic method for evaluating and interpreting the flow of scientific publication by the authors affiliated with territorial institutions. Expected findings of such study are discussed: data on the regions’ publication activities being introduced to science agenda, possibility to establish creative correlation between parameters and indicators of the publication flow generated by the regional academic community and dependent on the regional academic potential specific features. The publication is prepared under the Research Project № 17-13-62001 of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.

The author examines the problem of transformation of libraries as a social institution; changing functions in the circumstances of society informatization; chances for library’s keeping its social mission when changing functionality; social and ethical aspects of changes in libraries. Positive and negative aspects of such events as Biblionight and similar, are highlighted. The author argues that the digital epoch could not wipe out the book culture but it has transformed it and provided new opportunities for development. She also focuses on training librarians and current problems of the profession. The quality of education must be measured by actual competences of the alumni rather than the set of continuously changing standards and newly invented competences. To fill the gap between theory and practice, internships in the best libraries, master classes delivered by library experts, their enrollment in teaching library disciplines, introduction to technological novelties at the universities’ libraries will help. She also argues that, instead of spontaneous optimization, the libraries need a structured strategy of development while preserving all the best experience.

The experience of Zonal Scientific Library of B. Yeltsin Ural Federal University in designing the model of professional interaction of the Urals university libraries is discussed. Various training and teaching formats are described, among them interactive research and methodological conferences, Ural Center’s ARBICON Projects, and publishing annual research and practice collection of works on the academic libraries’ problems. The author reviews in detail two programs being in high demand, namely Information Bibliographic Support of Academic Publications (updated since 2017) and Libraries in the Modern Information Education Space . She also emphasizes that the Ural ARBICON Projects Center invites expert lecturers and is focused on the newest trends in librarianship. The Center also promotes practical components of education. Beside the mentioned advantages, the students appreciate the low costs and dormitory housing for those who need it. The author concludes that the proposed model of advanced training of the Ural academic librarians is very viable, and that its components complement each other, is open for administration and motivates students’ creativity.

In 2017, announced the Ecology Year in Russia, ecology, as a traditional theme at the Crimea forums, held a particular place on the Forum agenda. The paper offers a review of the materials on ecological education in libraries presented within the framework of the Forum. The author focuses on the work of the Section “Ecological information and ecological culture” that, in particular, embraced the teleconference with the participants of the round table “Culture. Ecology. Informatization: Towards sustainable development” within the framework of IX International IT-Forum with BRICS and SCO participation (Khanty-Mansiysk). The lecture delivered by V. Grachev, President of Non-government V. Vernadsky Ecological Foundation, is reviewed as a significant event within the Crimea Forum professional program. The author notes that Vladimir Vernadsky saw the shift in the worldview and ideology toward noospheric thinking , and, as a result, toward efficient nature management, as the ecological problems solution. The results of the All-Russian contest of Ecological Education Events within the framework of the Day of Ecological Knowledge All-Russian Library Event were announced.

The history of establishing national research universities (NRU) and federal state universities (FSU) and relevant standards is reviewed in brief. Based on several scientometric indicators (Hirsch index, publication record, citation, etc.), the research results of 10 FSU and 29 NRU are analyzed (as for the early 2017). The estimations were made by qualitative indicators of the universities’ faculty staff, data on publication activity and citation of Russian institutions in the Russian Science Citation Index databases. As a result of the study, the NRU and FSU rating lists were acquired, and the leaders were defined. Revealed are the universities which academic results are highly demanded, and the universities that need to improve their scientometric indicators. The leaders are named among the NRU and FSU. Five FRUs and 14 NRU undoubtedly comply with their status which is evidenced by their productivity since their establishment up to January, 2017.

The authors discuss partnership model of the higher school and aggregators of digital library systems, university structures, including the library, as well as undergraduates and faculty staff of Kemerovo State Institute of Culture in promoting and distributing the Institute’s digital versions of printed publications. It is emphasized that using the Database enables the faculty to comply with the Federal Higher Education Standard requirements, and to use digital versions of documents unavailable in printed format. The project is intended to consolidate the authority of KSIC science and pedagogical schools and to make its science and learning publications accessible. It is also expected to solve the copyright problems (signing agreements with ELS aggregators and licenses with thew faculty), to increase eLibrary.ru science citation index for the authors at Kemerovo State Institute of Culture. The quality operational efficiency of user services are to follow. The strategy of project implementation, applied regulations and standards, publication distributions statistics, 4-year monitoring findings, interaction with eLibrary.ru, as well as its economic and social impact, are discussed.

Valery P. Leonov proposed an original approach, opening prospects for the development of bibliographic studies in the digital age. The book's title conceptualizes and designates a new research program. The poetics of the bibliography is more than a theory of fine literature. It is understood as cultural-historical discipline combining information and humanistic functions of books. As a result of the very thorough analysis of the works on history and theory of literature, he concludes that the poetics should be understood as an art of bibliography. Leonov’s poetics of bibliography reveals the cultural and anthropological value of reading and writing, restores the high status of printed books. The library is seen as an important institution of socialization and humanization. The relevance and significance of the book are emphasized. V. Leonov has compiled the massive array of historical sources and current publications that modern bibliographers should get familiar with. The study findings may apply to developing new education courses in bibliography. The book will be of interest to professionals and the wide audience.

The article is prepared on the occasion of the 10-th death anniversary of Isaac Morgenstern, an outstanding researcher bibliographer, Doctor of Science in pedagogy, professor, Honored Higher School Worker, an expert in bibliographic science, social informatics, and book studies. The experience of the Scientific Library of Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture in exploring the researcher’s personal library and archives is discussed. The vectors of the memorial exhibition activities are described. One of the significant projects of the Year of the Memory of Morgenstern was the release of the unique in its kind calendar-almanac "Homo Informatus - Homo Informans". Among the other memorial events are: the long-lasting themed exhibitions (“From a concept to implementation”, “We commemorate…” “The world of his interests” “The human world panorama”), the bibliography of inscribed publications, organization of the archive of journal and newspaper clippings collected by Isaac Morgenstern. At the Library’s www-site in the “Collections” section, you will find information on the collection of bibliographer’s personal library, in “Publications”- the almanac digital version, in “Exhibitions” section - virtual exhibitions similar to the traditional ones displayed in the reading room named after Isaac Morgenstern.