The paper reviews some international online library and information professional publications including the websites of library associations, academic research charities and foundations and research groups. The paper is divided into the following sections: pandemics and open science; coronavirus and library materials and spaces; new impetus for digitization; copyright: latest news. These topics have not been predefined but taken shape as a result of analytical work and research in the body of professional publications. Analysis of leading library experts’ discussions in social networks has also helped to reveal current trends in library and information infrastructure development. COVID-19 pandemics brought about significant changes to the life and projects of the whole library and information space. A major step to open science has been taken when academic journal publishers, leading universities, research charities have taken responsibility to work in a collaborative manner and share coronavirus infection research data and results speedily and freely. Transition to digital collections in library holdings has accelerated, collections of e-books are growing, and the effect of prior digitization projects has manifested itself. The importance of libraries as a trustworthy source of information does not fade; caution is needed when using information from preprints published on preprint servers; the increasing need of informing digital materials users of attached copyright is highlighted.

The authors attempt to determine publishing contribution of editorial board members (EBM) into the rating of their parent journals as exemplified by Russian journals in library and information sciences divided into low-, middle-, and top-rank groups. To determine this contribution, we studied EBM scholarly input to their parent journals vs. to other sources; besides, the scholarly input by EBM and other authors in each journal was compared. No correlation between the journal rank and share of EBM’s publications in their parent journals and/or EBM’s citations of their journal, or correlation between the journal rank and share of EBM papers in the respective journal were detected. However, the positive correlation was revealed between the journal rank and share of foreign EBM, regardless of their scholarly input in their parent journal. The analysis of citation of EBM papers in their journals, as well as the analyses of their journal citations provided by EBM in other sources, demonstrates significant impact of EBM on bibliometric indices of top- and low-rank journals implying active involvement of EBM in the development of their parent serials. The lowest or even negative impact of EBM on journal rank was identified among the middle-rank group of journals since their papers were poorly (if ever) cited. Thus, formal inclusion of experts into editorial boards of those journals and low interest they take in their journal may be assumed. Our findings contribute to scientometric studies of editorial boards and may be of interest to editors-in-chief and founders of journals.

Altmetrical indicators are characterized in brief; their advantages, disadvantages and applicability in assessing periodicals are examined. The authors attempt to define the significance of library journals based on the alternative metrics of views and loadings. Essential data are obtained from Russian Science Citation Index database. The selection of publications under examination is substantiated. The low-cited publications and those RSCI provide insufficient data on, were not considered. The comparison is made; the mostly cited, viewed and loaded journals are identified for the years 2013-2017. The key study tasks are to identify citation, view and loading level for each journal; to reveal correlation between loadings and citations and to evaluate its closeness. The main advantages of altmetrical indicators are: responsiveness, open access, wide coverage of sources. The reasons are discussed why the high-cited publications correspond to the limited number of loadings. This correspondence enables to suggest that the higher the number of loadings, the more significant it is. The authors suggest using number of loadings to reveal the most authoritative publications when developing library collections. They also suggest that the role of altmetrics will be increasing.

The authors examine the libraries’ independent calculations and analysis of alternative metrics to determine user-defined relevancy of publications. Logfiles collected by web-servers at users’ accessing e-catalogs may be used for such calculations and analysis. The almetrics’ key advantages as compared to traditional bibliometrics and webometrics are: real-time representation; openness and transparency; coverage of wider non-academic audience; coverage of various sources and research findings. The web-server log-files enable to analyze number of user views of bibliographic records in e-catalog, to rate authors, individual publications and topical queries for a time period. In case of links to full texts, the number of pdf. documents loaded by users and n umber of p ages viewed ( when library computer-based system supports full-text document scrolling mode) may be defined. The authors also discuss specificity of handling log-files for various analysis types: statistical, content addressable, defining sequential sets, clustering. The functionality and table structure of RNPLST’s software module for advanced bibliometric analysis is described. The further task of the study will be to define trends of user behavior and forecasts for user group behavior when using e-catalog.

The article is prepared within the framework of the State Order to Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology “Development and improvement of the system of Open Archive of integrated information and library resources of Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology as modern knowledge management system in digital environment: on the way to Open Science” № 075-01300-20-00 for 2020–2022.

The article analyzes the pool of Russian scientific journals in physics presented in the Russian Science Citation Index. The stages of this study are described and presented in detail. A preliminary general list of journals (173) has been formed and a list of journals (113) has been prepared according to the main selection parameters, which make it possible to identify the leading publications, both in their subject heading and in the section "Physics" in general. Based on the current version of the "State rubricator of scientific and technical information", the distribution of scientific journals by subject headings was carried out. Analysis of scientific journals in 12 thematic areas of physics made it possible to draw the main conclusions: on the presence in the VAK List (42 journals); on indexing in scientific citation databases – Web of Science (29 journals), Scopus (34 journals), RSCI (95 journals); for inclusion in the Russian Science Citation Index (54 journals); on the availability of free publication of manuscripts (40 journals); on the availability of royalties for the publication of manuscripts (4 journals).

The article is prepared within the framework of the State Order “Development and improvement of the system of Open Archive of integrated information and library resources of Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology as modern knowledge management system in digital environment: on the way to Open Science” № 075-01300-20-00 for 2020–2022.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of research results of Russian scientists and specialists in 2013–2019 in the field of artificial intelligence methods in solving information security problems. The analysis was carried out on the basis of RSCI databases (Russian science citation index), taking into account a number of scientometric indicators: the publication activity of researchers – the annual number of their publications based on research results, as well as the citation of these publications and the demand for the results of work.

The author identify the dynamics of the formation of indicators of publication activity: there is a continuous increase in the number of publications in this field of knowledge throughout the analyzed period up to 2019 inclusive. At the same time, the growth in their number in 2019 exceeded the figures of 2013 by more than six times. This fact indicates the explosive growing interest of Russian researchers in the analyzed area of knowledge (even in the 2014 crisis). It is noted that the citation index, despite its minimum value in 2015, reaches its maximum in 2017, exceeded the value in 2013 more than twofold.

The most popular research results are highlighted in 2017. The minimum demand was observed in 2 015 (this indicator may have been affected by the 2014 crisis). At the same time, the maximum of 2017 was 20% higher than the value of 2013 and more than twice the minimum value of demand for 2015. Small indicators of demand for research results in 2019 are obviously due to the same reason as for low citation indicators this year: the slow "response" of the scientific community to the current year's publications.

The directions of research in the field of information security, the results of which were distinguished by their high demand, were determined.

The article provides illustrations reflecting the results of the study.

In 2007, Google introduced its Google Trends service to assess statistically users queries. However, despite some success in using Google Trends data for forecasting, most researchers think that without them they can obtain approximately similar results based on other models. Nevertheless, other researcher have been still exploring forecast functionality of the service.

The authors analyze Google Trends’ estimates of queries in ecology. Their goal is reveal general trends and contradictions and to analyze RNPLS&T resources’ meeting global trends in ecology and sustainable development information.

Google Trends data is about similar to the current user activity idicators for the Library’s e-catalog and do not allow forecasting rise of or decrease in user demands. Google Trends enables to make some, rather approximate estimations of thematic information flow. Therefore it may be used by librarians as a source to evaluate interest users are expected to take in ecological information when the Library is planning for events or collection development. Further research is needed for advanced service application in user demand forecasting.

The paper is prepared within the framework of the State Order № 075- 01300-20-00 “Development and improvement of the system of Open Archive of integrated information and library resources of Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology as modern knowledge management system in digital environment: On the way to Open Science” for 2020–2022.

The author demonstrates the dependence of sci-tech library’s functions and services from its role in the structure of its mother organization. Sci-tech libraries act as independent divisions or a unit within the larger department. In the latter case its activities are less visible therefore it has to demonstrate its efficiency and input to the division or organization. The experience of the Sci-tech Library of Krylov State Research Center (KSRC) is discussed. The library is a structural unit of the Information and Publishing Center. The partnership between the publishing unit and the library determines the efficiency of collaboration within the division which is evidenced by the contribution of the Sci-tech Library to the publishing process; thus, the Library provides bibliographies to the scholarly papers to be published. The author demonstrates that the professional knowledge and expertise of librarians make the library an equal partner, and that the traditional library function is positioned as a unique service. The author also discusses the problems of information culture of professionals, in particular their carelessness toward bibliographic references. The examples are given of frequent problems researcher authors face when providing references. The prospective vectors of the Sci-tech Library’s education activities are analyzed.

Wikipedia is one of the most visited sites on the Web and a common source of information for many users. As an encyclopedia, Wikipedia was not conceived as a source of original information, but as a gateway to secondary sources: according to Wikipedia’s guidelines, facts must be backed up by reliable sources that reflect the full spectrum of views on the topic. Although citations lie at the heart of Wikipedia, little is known about how users interact with them. To close this gap, we built client-side instrumentation for logging all interactions with links leading from English Wikipedia articles to cited references during one month, and conducted the first analysis of readers’ interactions with citations. We find that overall engagement with citations is low: about one in 300 page views results in a reference click (0,29% overall; 0,56% on desktop; 0,13% on mobile). Matched observational studies of the factors associated with reference clicking reveal that clicks occur more frequently on shorter pages and on pages of lower quality, suggesting that references are consulted more commonly when Wikipedia itself does not contain the information sought by the user. Moreover, we observe that recent content, open access sources, and references about life events (births, deaths, marriages, etc.) are particularly popular. Taken together, our findings deepen our understanding of Wikipedia’s role in a global information economy where reliability is ever less certain, and source attribution ever more vital.

Key services provided through the websites of scientific and technical libraries are discussed. Various structures of libraries’ websites or Internet-portals are described, and their feasibility is substantiated. Conclusions are made on the need for continuous website promotion in search engines in order to attract new users. Promotion of research studies to the library’s patron organizations can be accomplished through information awareness services like electronic exhibitions, news services, etc. A version of researcher’s personal account and account-based services are described. The personal accounts give researchers access to the full range of services of sci-tech libraries and provide the feedback option. Methodological and consulting services are characterized. The new version of the website of the Library of Pushchino Research Center that features online access to all available library resources. The author concludes on the need for further improvement of relevant information user services.

The publication coincides with the 90-th anniversary of the Sci-tech Library of Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University. The history of the Library is described; the Library was established as a result of merging several universities, in particular it comprises the collections of Warsaw Emperor Nickolas II Polytechnic Institute. The Library’s collections have been supporting educational and research activities of the University. The continuing process of collection development is based on modern technologies which meets the user demands.

The most recent data on library services, collections and users is provided. The library processes are computer-based; the e-catalog and e-library databases are available. The library collections support the learning process in 1,623 courses and disciplines. The role of the library in the educational process and university’s research programs is emphasized. The library environment has become more comfortable for the users.

The Library contributes to cultural and social activities and to students’ personal development and social adaptation, humanistic education of the young adults. Innovative activities are described.

The author concludes that the Sci-tech library plays a significant role in educational, research and social processes and offers its users various and relevant information products and services.