It is widely believed in the research literature that the library profession has been obsolete as the library operations can be efficiently and effectively accomplished by robots and computer programs. The author argues it is a technocratic mistake to think so and consistently denied this assumption. He warns of unlawful identification of library tasks and mission. The task is to accomplish technological functions that can be transferred to intellectual robots. The deepest humanistic essence that justifies libraries’ existence is their moral impact on modern social conscience.

The author proves that it is a mistake to ignore the role of library intellectuals in building digital economy is mistakenly ignored. He suggests to look at library intellectuality as not only a librarians’ characteristic but also an integral personal quality. The concept is rather social and ethical one than a professiological, and matches other configurations of intellectuality and intelligibility. Today, the humankind is at the cross-roads of noosphere (kingdom of reason) and necrosphere (kingdom of the dead). The library community has to play its role in choosing the right historical way. The author concludes: the library profession mission is to humanize digital economy.

The author explores the critical phenomena in modern library and information education which he regards as “ringing bells”. That is decrease of the state-financed openings in universities and specialized colleges of library and information studies; introduction of the Unified State Exam which has destroyed the system of occupational orientation at library departments; merging library departments with other departments; the problems of the faculty staffing. Arkady Sokolov identified these malignant processes as “the library school annihilation”.

The author puts forward the suggestions to change the situation: restitution of Moscow State Institute of Culture as a head of professional educational institute; summoning professional conference to develop a strategy and tactics of library education; building post-graduate program to prepare professors for regional professional higher schools and colleges. The author emphasizes the critical need for the national policy for the library industry and consolidation of resources, not only those of library university department and colleges, but also the educational centers to train and retrain librarians on the premises of several major libraries.

The role of advanced professional library and information education as an essential part of continuous education system and its importance in educating new generation of library professionals are substantiated. The author reveals the role of the advanced professional education as an efficient site to apply and generate new ideas, to promote innovative experience and professional communicationsб and to modernize librarianship. She concludes that the main task of modern advanced library and information education is to assist librarians’ professional socialization. The methodological basics of the advanced professional training are characterized: teaching innovativeness, integration with library practice, social transparency and dynamic character. The author describes the mechanism for the transfer from the discrete stage of the advanced professional education to a systematic approach: the vertical-horizontal interaction of the advanced professional training structures, consistency and continuity of the educational process, education quality control, efficient combining online and offline education. The author emphasizes that the key factor for improving advanced education is to engage practicing professionals who master innovations introduction technologies. The need for public professional accreditation and certification for alternative education programs (including that of libraries), and systematic monitoring of the education system is proved.

In the case study of Kazan State Institute of Culture, the authors analyze the potential of the Institute in training skilled professionals in information studies and information technologies highly demanded by labor market. In 2017, to optimize the curriculum, the discipline “Information studies and information technologies” was introduced in every training program, and “Information security and information protection” in several programs.

The authors name the major components of the Institute’s information and education environment, that is: the faculty, facilities and equipment. The steps to introduce digital training are discussed. The examples of organizational infrastructure of the faculty and the students in advanced training and teaching information technologies; introduction of MOODLE system, retraining courses to support digital learning, students engagement to collaborative projects using specialized software, are given. The survey data are presented to characterize students’ and professors’ attitude towards digital training and learning.

The authors emphasize the humanitarian character of information science, its orientation towards human resource priming, integration of information and computer technologies.

The author investigates into the history and development of the bookcrossing social phenomenon and its spread in the countries of the world. He interprets the term of bookcrossing: Transfer (release) of the books already read by a person, to other people. The websites to track the routes of books (their journey), the quality, the data on donators and recipients: the international one – www.bookcrossing.com, and the Russian www.bookcrossing.ru, are named.

The stages of the website use are characterized. The Russian website provides the bookcrossing statistics, however, some people object this practice.

The donation forms accepted in Russia against the background of the U.S. bookcrossing rules conflicting with the Russian mentality are discussed. The author proposes several versions of the term translation into Russian (personally, he prefers “the book journey”). The author demonstrates the transformation of the bookcrossing in Russia: the books are left on special bookshelves in public spaces. The trend is emphasized: the books are no more supplied with notes comprising the review, link to a websites, etc. He substantiates the humanitarian principles and efficiency of the new forms of free transfer of books to people and institutions.

The author characterizes the information potential of the theses in lexicography to be efficiently used in reference and bibliographic user services. From this viewpoint, 150 dissertation research papers were analyzed to reveal and illustrate the different types of lexicographic information resources (LIR) described in the above works, or listed in the supplementary bibliographies. The LIR distinguishing feature is their multifuntionality: they act as the source for latent bibliographic information, as a historiographic source, as a lexicographic source, etc. Using this intensive information potentiality enables to comply with various user requests of lexicographic character, even the most complex of them.

The article is supplemented with the vast table comprising the main LIR obtained as the findings of dissertation research. The author suggests that many theses bibliographies enable building subject bibliographies to be used in reference services.

The author concludes that the information features of the dissertations in lexicography enables to comply with various complex requests and to improve reference user services.

The need for studies to analyze the evolution of university libraries at the various historical stages is substantiated. The authors identify three periods when the library role was changing radically due to the changes in ideology and social demands. The authors explore the first period in detail and point to the narrative character of most publications on the library history lacking analysis of their humanitarian origins. The authors argue that, to conceptualize academic libraries mission at the present time, it is necessary to understand the university library mission from the historical perspective. They emphasize that cultural and educational activities

today is viewed in the context of personal socialization, or student’s social adaptation while the vector of information space development calls for conceptualization of the libraries’ humanitarian mission.

The authors argue that, to understand a university library mission and, speaking wider – an education humanitarian principle we have to turn to historical and philosophic essence of humanism and enlightenment at the earliest stage of Russian academic libraries of the late 18th – early 20th century.

The main aspects of university library collection development in changing education environment are discussed. The need for efficient management of building and using digital information resources is stressed. The focus is made on shaping the image of librarians and a professional guide, on transforming libraries’ role and exploring modern user demands in the information and technological environment. The increase in the library user number is explained by the two-level education system and new structures within the universities. The authors analyze and generalize on the university libraries practical experience. Methods and approaches toward building library collections at N. Ogarev Mordovian State University, P. G. Demidov Yaroslavl State University, Yaroslavl State Technical University are discussed. The authors emphasize that not only libraries are in charge of providing teaching aids to support university curricula but also faculty, administration and providers.

The legislation and regulations of academic libraries’ collection development are analyzed in the historical context. The authors conclude that the libraries have to adapt to continuous changes and transformations building their strategies and priority system, identifying their mission in the ever-changing world.

The experience of the International Society for Knowledge Organization (ISKO), its tasks, current status, and main activities are discussed. The initiative of establishing ISKO belongs to Ingetraut Dahlberg, its first president. The part Russia takes in ISKO and that of the Russian ISKO section are discussed.

The author analyzes the ISKO portal structure, the content of its main divisions illuminating the mission, elected bodies, its history, national sections, events in reversed chronology, and publications. The international Encyclopedia is one of the dynamic ISKO projects and a nonexhaustive digital resource; the entry on the Russia’s national classification system, namely BBK (Library Bibliographic Classification) was added to the Encyclopedia in 2017. The history of the project and the difficulties of editing text for foreign users are discussed. The information and scientific importance of publishing the BBK entry in ISKO Encyclopedia is stressed.

The author concludes that, to cooperate efficiently with foreign colleagues, ISKO has to publish books, textbooks, monographs both in the Russian and English languages and to participate in IFLA activities.