The authors examine the experience of the Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology in providing open access and building open archives. Within this project, the radically new system of online access to RNPLS&T’s resources was designed. Approaches toward establishing a single access point for heterogeneous information resources and their integration into a single retrieval system based on Russian and foreign experience, are discussed. The authors also focus on the new customer functionalities (e. g. personal accounts) that enable to order items in technologically diverse databases, and to choose lending location in RNPLS&T’s territorial distributed network. They emphasize that the objective is to provide relevant information retrieval functionality and enable access to publications with the mobile apps for ОС Android and iOS serving the same purpose. The authors discuss the system development plan, including integration with the National Electronic Library, Science Archive and other major federal information systems of various levels. The Article is prepared within the framework the State Order for RNPS&T for 2017.

The role of the higher education institutions’ libraries in building and maintaining the institution’s open archives is highlighted. The author emphasize that open archives are demanded highly by the scientific community as the data is free. The open archive structured by disciplinary or interdisciplinary principle can become the base for informal associations (collaborations, consortia, etc.) around science schools or research centers (faculties, institutions, universities, research organizations). Expanded functionalities and instruments to get scientometric indicators are analyzed in detail. These functions make the alternative source for measuring scientific performance of organizations and individual researchers systematically and adequately. The librarians responsibilities related to collecting and preparing scientometric indicators are highlighted. The open archives, institutional repositories, e-libraries can provide both traditional scientometric indicators (impact factors, Hirsch index, etc.), and alternative metrics (publication web indicators). Scientometric data collection, accumulation, interpretation and preparation are continuously expanding processes and they enhance the librarians’ roles.

The authors discuss the experience of the Science Library of the Siberian Federal University established through the merge of the four Krasnoyarsk higher institutions: the University, Technological University, the University of the Non-ferrous Metals and Gold, the Academy of Architecture and Construction. The history of the SFU Science Library, its main stages, the key current and prospective vectors are discussed. The authors characterize the SFU SL’s collections comprising the collections of the above mentioned institutions plus that of Krasnoyarsk State Institute of Commerce and Economics, merged later; they also characterize the Library’s users and user services. The Library’s innovative projects are presented, among them “The Siberian Federal University E-library as the information and education infrastructure of the innovative higher education institution”, the winner of the first All-Russia Library Innovations Contest, which made SFU SL one of the best Russian university libraries. The authors also discuss the Library’s projects Smart Library and Publication Activity Support Service . The SFU SL heads the Russian Library Association’s Section of higher education institutions. It is a member of the National Library Association “Libraries of the Future” and other associations; it takes part in professional contests sponsored by the RF Ministry of Education and Science and the Russian Foundation of Basic Research which enables to update and continuously optimize its activities.

The Belarusian-Russia University was established on the basis of Mogilev State Technical University, in accordance with the Agreement signed between the government of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation (Mogilev, January 19, 2001). New objectives of the library are set up due to new programs to be taught at the University. Today, the library supports 16 education programs as provided by the Belarus education standards, and 7 programs as provided by the Russian standard. The author discusses in particular: collection development funding; delivery of books published by Belarus and Russia publishers’; establishing the repository “Belarusian-Russian University E-library and digital catalog databases, and among them The Proceedings of the Belarusian-Russian University Researchers, «Authors’ abstracts. Theses», «Digital Documents»; library’s publishing activities, personal bibliographies of the prominent university scholars and researchers). The Library also acts as the coordination regional methodological center. The author concludes that the Library of Belarusian-Russian University plays a significant role in education and science promotion, opens access to the cultural heritage and intellectual resources for the students, professors and scientists, and offers relevant information products and services.

The findings of the sociological study of higher education institutions libraries of the Ural region zonal methodological association carried out in 2016 are presented. The study objective is to analyze the documenting process as a key factor of decision substantiation in the technological management aimed to facilitate performance of academic libraries, to select forms and conceptualize methodological support of documenting library processes at the universities. The documenting experience is examined in several aspects: document management, documenting process; types of documents; levels of mastering document management methods; self-evaluation of documents. The author concludes on the proposed hypotheses that the level of mastering the modern document management tools differs at various academic libraries of the Ural region. This is due to their varying attitude towards the necessity to improve it. The author identifies three groups of libraries mastering different levels of mastering methods and instruments of document management. As a solution, the author suggests that external methodical support and consultations and specialized training course should be offered to the libraries to develop essential competences which is not possible through fragmented events.

The author analyzes the current status of RFID standards as related to library technologies. Main features and distinctions of the standards designed by the two international organizations: ISO/IEC JTC 1and EPCglobal. RFID standardization is to make the technology applicable to various fields. The prospects for further RFID development towards global control systems, among them integrated library systems through consolidating local systems and harmonizing standards for different frequency equipment, are analyzed. The standard approach towards RFID technology application in libraries is discussed. The author also examines prospects for designing RFID dual-frequency library systems for HF and UHF tags based on the effective international standards. He also emphasizes that introduction of these systems is hindered by the lack of equipment with relevant features - tags and readers, and by manufacturers unwillingness to invest in production due to the absence of market outlets.

The author describes the functional features of “Book availability” module (based on the example of Ruslan ILS) providing library information support of education process in the higher education institutions according to effective education standards and regulations of the learning aids collection development/ She examines the benefits of the digital book sufficiency catalog as compared to its printed version. Due to IT application, the labor time expenditures decrease, less efforts of library staff are required, information delivery is more time-efficient and accurate, errors on the output reports are eliminated. The functionality of the “Book availability” module enables to generate reports with defined characteristics. The list of additional reports that can be efficiently used to monitor data on curriculum support at the higher education institutions is given. The author concludes that the digital book availability catalog is an important and flexible instrument to add, edit and deliver data on the availability of learning aids to support basic curricula; in user services it functions as a reference aid, as it comprises reference books on curriculum and education processes.

The collection of the Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch is based on Tibet and Mongolian books accumulated by generations of Buryat scholars, local historians, museum workers. In accordance with the RF Government Regulations of December 23, 2016 № 2800-r, RAS SB Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies is an academic organization to deposit of the RF Archival Fund documents that constitute the national property. To preserve and to study this rich heritage, the Institute’s Center for Oriental Manuscripts and Xylography was established. The author describes in detail the specialized database comprising bibliographic records of medical literature in the Center’s Tibetan collection. Based on the revealed information objects, authority records (metadata) of the following types were created: «person», «work», and «location». The rare publications were processed in accordance with the description scheme introduced by the international consortium Asian Classics Input Project (ACIP). The database gives insight into the content and genre diversity of the Tibetan medical literature corpus оn the whole, and may be used for developing offline and online apps for research and education; it can also make the core of e-libraries and knowledge bases.

The libraries’ functional objectives in the epoch of digital technologies and knowledge society are examined, along with the role of librarians of the new generation in increasing social status and relevance of the libraries. The author introduces the professional model of modern library professional and substantiates the necessity for innovative transformation of library education. She argues that networking makes an efficient organizational and technological instrument in the higher quality education process. The networking resource units are defined, namely - personnel, learning and teaching, information, logistical, and social resources, - as well as the basic networking principles: voluntariness, coordination, reciprocity, shared responsibility for the final result. The experience of networking in implementing large-scale education projects in advanced training and professional retraining is discussed. The author argues that the advanced professional library information education makes the most efficient application for the networking principles. The author concludes that networking cooperation as the innovative technology in advanced professional training facilitates building professional competences of the new generation of librarians who are to contribute to increasing libraries’ social status in the digital epoch.

The authors examine the approaches towards training students for the bachelor’s degree in Library Information Activities. The Federal State Education Standard-FGOS VO-3+ is discussed. Its key novelties are emphasized: academic and applied baccalaureate statuses, expanded universal cultural competences, independence of the higher education institution in making decisions on basic curriculum in the General Professional Education bachelor programs. The experience of the leading institutes of culture in structuring and detailing bachelor program is discussed. The key objectives of bachelor professional activities are seen as the basic goals of competence modeling. The authors formulate the objectives in various activities: technological; informational & analytical; pedagogical; organizational, management & project; academic and research; and methodological. Based on these objectives, they propose to formulate (related to appropriated professional standards and the Professional Standard of Library Information Specialists as soon as it is adopted - mandatory (for the whole field) and to recommend (for various profiles) enlarged integrated professional competences, and to identify indicators (knowledge, skills) to evaluate their maturity. This looks like a competence model prototype to be comprised by the Model General Education Program being projected under the standard FGOS VO-3++.