1. P. Korshunov’s contribution to the theory of bibliography is discussed; the discipline structure and development stages are analyzed. The main principles of Oleg P. Korshunov’s theory are outlined: dialectical method of rising from the abstract to the concrete applied to bibliographic phenomena studies; the view of document communication system as a metasystem of bibliographic functioning. The theory also sees the contradictions/information barriers existing in the system of document communications as an intrinsic reason for the emergence of mediating social institutions (libraries, archives, bibliography, etc.), which mission is to establish correspondence between documents and end users. Oleg P. Korshunov also developed the concept of bibliographic information as an intrinsic distinction of bibliography from other types of information activity; he derived the modes and functions of bibliographic information and common patterns of bibliographic activity. The author specifies several rival bibliography theories: information-cultural (M. G. Vokhrysheva, N. B. Zinovieva), ideographic (N. A. Sliadneva), management (A. A. Grechikhin), semiotic (G. Ya. Uzilevskiy), and synergetic (T. A. Novozhenova). The author points to the conceptual diversity of the theory of bibliography in Russia and current unavailability of the single theory. The author demonstrates the achievements and challenges of the theory of bibliography within the framework of academic studies, as well as maturity of bibliography subdisciplines, i. e. theory and methodology of bibliography, history of bibliography, management of bibliographic activities, bibliographic methods and technologies. The prospects of theory of bibliography are specified as stated by Russian scholars on the basis of Thomas S. Kuhn’s theory of scientific revolutions. They unanimously connect development history of theory of bibliography to the bibliological and documentological paradigms (in different terminologies), while interpreting the future of bibliography in different ways though always with dominating technological issues.

Changing scientific knowledge entails the exclusion of some areas of research and inclusion of others into the main line of development of science, with the new publications revising well-established concepts and offering the new ones. Any rational reconstruction of the history of science has to identify the line of development that has resulted in the modern knowledge.

The Soviet Library and Bibliographic Classification developed in the mid-20th century responded to the challenges of the epoch. The paradigm shift of the 1990s in this country resulted in the conceptual revision of scientific values and the emergence of new academic disciplines. That period gave rise to applied studies with their specific goals and values, standards and norms.

In the recent period, the humanities studies proliferate to construct generalized interdisciplinary theory. The vast number of publications in the humanities knowledge suggests that the appropriate place for these studies within the structure of the national Library Bibliographic Classification has to be found.

The role and tasks of academic libraries are changing due to external factors, and among them is the atrophy of their function as the only information source. The authors analyze the survey of the Novosibirsk Scientific Center’s libraries related to the relevant services provided by academic libraries. The study goal is to determine the balance of traditional and innovated tasks being accomplished by the libraries. The idea of the survey was conceived in 2019 before the pandemic. In Part One, the authors describe the methods and methodology of their study. The key method is the survey questionnaire. The findings are analyzed and the conclusions are presented: to solve new problems (like establishing and maintaining the systems for monitoring researchers’ publication activity, maintenance of institutional data repository, preparation of reviews and analytical surveys, advocating institutes through social media, users support on copyright and plagiarism, consulting on grant selection and application), academic administration bring the expertise of librarians, or establish new structures; however, the librarians are insufficiently engaged in solving the new tasks of science support. The authors suggest that their findings reflect the activities of academic libraries, however after the pandemic, the situation may change with the world.

The modern trends for the libraries to update library and information education in the Republic of Kazakhstan are examined. The state and the society offer challenges: meeting the expanding information demands in science, education, economics and industries; contributing to the information society. The human resources in the information industry makes the most important factor of increasing the efficiency of libraries. In 2018, the Congress of Kazakhstan librarians adopted the concept of human capital assets which required advanced training, expanding professional competencies and recruiting young professionals. Today, the university library departments focus on increasing scientific and creative potential of the faculty, engaging students in projects and creative activities; educating creative thinking and skills of applying innovative technologies in professional activities. The educational process and curricula are improved as a result of the feedback obtained from graduates and employers. Among the modernization trends in library education in the Republic of Kazakhstan are the country’s integration into the single information space and implementation of the main educational content within the context of trilingual educational policy.

The recent transformations in scientific communication are reviewed. These changes are owing to information and communication technologies increasingly used by scientific community. The main trends in the “Big Science” scientific communication are specified. The developing system of book and periodical publishing, scientific events, scientific schools and invisible colleges is discussed. The institution of peer reviewing is described. Presentation of library and information scientific publications in international science citation databases is characterized. Main features of scientific schools and invisible colleges within library and information science under the circumstances of wide use of information and communication technologies are defined. The conclusions are made on the status of scientific communications and communications between researchers and practitioners. The modern digital communication channels enable to enhance the interaction and to apply research findings to the library and information sphere which, in its turn, will support greater transparency and visibility of scientific activities and research and their intensive use by professional community.

The author argues that true understanding of book communications may be obtained through the application of research tools of various disciplines in the humanities. The evolution stages of scholarly views on the book phenomenon of social communications are reviewed. On each stage, researchers always turned to the other sciences’ methodologies. The author introduces her original interpretation of interdisciplinary studies of book communications. She emphasizes, however, that the central place in such studies belongs to the socio-communicative approach, where subject is examined within the context of communication. This non-linear and multilevel model covers both synchronous and diachronous cross-sections of communication, including the feedback. For the accurate representation at the diachronic level, both the historical-genetic and the cultural approaches have to be applied. The literary theory and in particular the concepts of receptive aesthetics, poststructuralism and hermeneutics have to be applied to obtain comprehensive understanding of the authorial and the readership roles in the structure of book communications. The information sciences and theories in postmodern philosophy would enable to understand the laws of book communications within the new information environment. Methodologically, it is important to use the works that investigate into the new communication environment phenomena such as the Internet, hypertext, online literature, and collective authorship.

The 20-year document flow in library automation is analyzed based on the Russian Science Citation Index. The study goal was to evaluate the state of library automation as reflected in the document flow in library and information studies. The stages of library automation are specified; selection principles for related publications retrieval and analysis are characterized. The dynamics and statistical data of the dataflow are presented; sustainable interest toward the problem is revealed. Based on the 2- and 5-year impact factor, 10 most productive journals on the subject are identified, among them “Scientific and technical libraries” and “Bibliotekovedenie” [Russian journal of Library Science] journals. Organizations leading in library automation are introduced. The sectoral and content structures of the array of interest are characterized; the current trends in library automation related to expanding ALIS functionality and implementation of information and communication technologies are identified. The ranked list of publications on individual automated library and information systems is included.

The websites can be classified by various characteristics. Classifying is essential for drawing up requirement specification presented to webmaster and achieving contractor - customer understanding on the resulting website. Every website type has its unique specific structure. Based on the study of the existing Internet sites of Russian libraries of different types and affiliation, the author attempts to identify their key features. The classifications by implementation technology, affiliation, purpose and target age, or by resource content type and status are discussed. The classification proposed in the article is based on a speculative study of national and foreign experience and the author's suggestions on how the libraries’ traditional management, bibliographic, and methodological activities can be transformed on the Web. Other classifications are proposed: by user group age, content type, or status.

The library science terminology related to the new information technologies has become unstable with the emergence of the term “digital” as an alternative to the term “electronic”. The author expresses high opinion of the analysis of these terms, accomplished by Ksenia Yu. Volkova and Victor V. Zverevich in their article “Digital or electronic” (Nauch. and tech. b-ki. - 2020. - № 12. -P. 159-172), and as a follow-up, digs into the semantic difference of the terms content. In the professional literature, the discussion of modern terminology began with the term "virtual" in the 1990s. It was at the same time that the short life for the term was predicted, and experience speaks to the truth of the prediction. Electronic and digital document types exist in the technodocument cluster and - further - only of its technotronic subtype. The technotronic document is a document which creation and reproduction require modern technical instruments and technologies. Electronic document is the most modern type of technotronic document for the moment. The digital - electronic contraposing, which is widely used in the modern world library literature, is incorrect. In fact, the digital opposes the analog. Electronic is a general term applied both to digital and analog, as well as to virtual. The terms electronic and non-electronic make the dichotomous pair of concepts. The author foresees long relevance of the concept of electronic library science.

The author clarifies the corporate library’s definition, specifies its particular qualities and distinctive features. She reviews the issues of education, competences, and advanced training of corporate library staff.

The corporate libraries (during the Soviet era they were sci-tech units and trade-union libraries of organizations) are affiliated by both governmental and commercial organizations. As a result of cost optimization, the number of technical libraries decreased, while the trade union libraries completely ceased to exist. However, in every epoch, the mission of institutional or corporate library to satisfy the information needs and demands of workers and their on-the-job training. The collections of corporate libraries comprise digital resources, books, unpublished documents, periodicals and other information sources demanded by the corporate community.

In fact, globally, the corporate libraries are the special libraries affiliated by companies and institutions, their units fulfilling information, cultural and educational functions and contributing to corporate efficiency improvement. In Russian library science, the corporate libraries have remained understudied; they are not represented in the Russian Library Association (RLA) or the National Library Bibliographic Classification (LBC). Meanwhile, in foreign countries, the corporate libraries have been well-established institutions with their specific features widely recognized. The author examines the problems the corporate library structure, efficiency and functionality, as well as the competences of staff, their education and experience.

The competences and high qualification of corporate specialists enable them to meet information needs of corporate professionals immediately, completely and relevantly and to support strategic decisions. The author specifies the key competencies that contribute to the efficiency of corporate libraries.