The author evaluates the effectiveness of Russian research studies in quantum technologies (including use of quantum computers, quantum cryptography, quantum communications) in 2011–2020. The analysis is based on the Russian Science Citation Index and scientometric indicators: researcher publication activity – yearly number of publications of research findings, citations and penetration of these publications.

The author found that almost till the end of the reviewed decade the number of publications and citation had been constantly increasing which evidenced on the increasing interest of Russian researches toward this area not prevented even by the 2014 crisis: at the end of the period, the number of publications outstripped the minimum of 2011 four times, and in 2013, it exceeded the citation maximum two times. The author points to the fact that the highest publication activity and citation of Russian researchers was in the area of quantum computers, and the lowest – in quantum communications; the highest demand was demonstrated in 2012 in quantum communications. The maximum penetration in the area of quantum computers of 2017 is approx. by half and twice lower than the similar indicator in quantum cryptography in 2011 and quantum communications.

The relatively low indicators of penetration of research products in 2020 via all vectors are obviously of the same nature as the low citation indexes in 2020: the delayed response of scientific community to current year publications. The highly demanded vectors of studies in various areas of quantum technologies are determined. The illustrations are provided.

The authors present the web-system providing services of acquiring and accessing multiaspect information on science and research products (publications and papers delivered at scientific events) generated by researchers at an organization or a group of organizations. The system is designed at the Interdepartmental Supercomputer Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The System is targeted at both end users interested in obtaining specific data and at administrators and librarians who are to report to their parent organizations. The System’s information base comprises linked data on the following categories: personalia (authors of publications and papers); organizations with their divisions; publications at analytical, monographic and union levels; inventor certificates; scientific events (conferences, symposia, seminars); papers. The system is structured in two modules, the administrative (for data loading and editing) and user module – retrieval system for information search, visualization, navigation through linked resources and data exporting. The System specific feature is that it introduces the concept of “equivalent” objects, i. e. the objects represented by different metadata though related to the same physical entity. In compliance with current reporting standards, the entries also comprise funding resources of the publications, as well as the authors’ affiliation as specified in the articles. While accentuating the friendliness of the system user interface, the authors recommend to use the System in research and academic libraries as an instrument of publication activity assessment.

The author reviews publications on the problem of self-citation and resulting mispresentations at the stage bibliometric analysis. He introduces the definition of self-citation and its special cases, i. e. author’s, institutional, publisher’s and disciplinary. The formulas for general self-citation metrics, i. e. self-citation and self-citedness coefficients, are provided. The global publications on author’s, institutional, national and journal self-citation are reviewed thoroughly. The current concepts of the role and impact of self-citation on scientific activity assessment are generalized. On the basis of his analytical review, the author argues that the researchers obtain consensus on several aspects, e. g.: а) excessive and absent self-citation are both seen as pathologies; в) self-citation has insignificant impact on large research entities though this influence can be critical when analyzing contributions by individual authors; с) self-citation impact is well-expressed for scientific entities with weak bibliometric indicators, while the top scientists, organizations, journals, etc., get most of external links. The author examines the response of bibliometric indicators and databases to self-citation manipulations to adjust the indicators.

Part I of the review is intended to define the basic concepts and terms and to examine the most popular author’s self-citation.

The concepts of “repository” and “metadata” used in e-libraries and Internet resources are examined. The authors propose to make STEM projects repository a new form of projects preservation. The authors discuss repository hierarchical structure. They suggest to use two subject headings, i. e. student classification and tag clouds. Using these headings is characterized by specific character of STEM design. The examples of foreign repositories and their structure are provided, in particular SIEMENS repository and various formats of educational resources in such repositories. The authors introduce a new structure of data repository structured as a tag cloud comprising two areas – secondary school resources and academic resources. They point to the importance of resources of STEAM-STEM- projecting which is to support learning in natural sciences, to accumulate experiences of teachers, schoolchildren, professors and students in this area and to provide for prompt information retrieval and discovery of projects in various topics with interdisciplinary links and with the possibility of application in engineering disciplines.

Several findings of the study of students’ attitude toward methods and forms of e-learning and distance educational technologies, are discussed. The surveyed area of studies is “library and information activities”. In May, 2021, the author conducted the survey at educational institutions of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. The master program students demonstrated the higher level of engagement working with electronic and online learning technologies than the undergraduates. The author explains this with the fact that postgraduate students are offered more time for their independent work, moreover, they master the universal competence – “the ability of self-organization and self-education”. The author establishes that big (and possibly, excessive) number of information systems and mass media was used for the final and midterm assessment and knowledge transfer using distance learning technologies. In the final part of the study, the author demonstrates that the vast majority of respondents (75.7% bachelors and 81.5% masters) think it necessary to apply e-learning and online technologies in education. The study enables to evaluate the modern trends of continuing library and information education and to specify challenges of its development in the circumstances of digital transformation of education and culture.

Library user satisfaction is traditionally related to meeting his/her information needs. For long, “user satisfaction” was considered to be a relative indicator as the libraries were established in adapted spaces in Azerbaijan. “The service management” concept put this problem on the agenda. Today, within the context of Azerbaijan economic development, the libraries and information organizations meet the world standards which makes the user satisfaction issue relevant. The authors examine the factors of user satisfaction and reveal strong and weak points of library and information activities in Azerbaijan. The study is based on SERVQUAL model. The Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) was calculated and assessed according to Laykert-а scale of 1 to 7, and the threshold index. Based on the analysis findings, ergonomic environment, provision of new information, staff expertise and openness of managment innovations were identified as the key factors of user satisfaction and service quality. The authors emphasize the importance of international standards and exeprience exchange in the area under consideration and the need for new approaches, models and assessment methods.

The author reviews in brief the concepts of and terminology in information literacy and analyzes the content of “information literacy” concept. She emphasizes the need for information literacy knowledge and skills to promote sustainable personal development. The experience of the academic library of Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management (NSUEM) in organizing practice-oriented lessons with innovative game models like “Intellectual work-shops”, “Bibliographic pursuit”, “Bibliographic hackathon”, is discussed. These models proved to be effective. The practice-oriented lessons and final assessment can be organized both online and offline. Individual student consulting is also significant for building information literacy. The author concludes that information literacy makes an essential part of continuing education. Academic libraries have every opportunity to promote, consult, and navigate their users through the world of information.

The author expresses his positive attitude to the three-volume book by Yakov Shrayberg: “My friend Katia Genieva” (Moscow, 2021). The reviewer argues that by addressing to E. Yu. Genieva’s personality and activities, the author, in fact, portrays the historical experience of the recent forty years rich in social, political, economic and ideological developments. Ekaterina Yuryevna Genieva – late Director General of the All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature named after M. I. Rudomino, a global personality, famous for her public, cultural, philanthropic, philological, library and library science initiatives. Her efforts coincided with Russia’s hinge period, and she found herself “in the right place at the right time”. The book conveys Genieva’s exceptionalism; her leadership, compassion and contribution to many aspects of life, are well-documented in the book. The book focuses on her many good points; while humanly downsides may make the theme of another book, if anyone volunteers – then we will get the objective profile of our outstanding contemporary.

The St. Petersburg digest of selected works by Professor Valery P. Leonov published in specialized editions in the period of 1972–2020 is reviewed. The digest was published in St. Petersburg. The works for the digest were selected by Valery Leonov himself. “The Selected Works” comprise his papers, interviews and communications and reflect the dynamics of Leonov’s scholarly interests and preferences in library and information segment. The digest is divided into eight subject sections: 1) Bibliology: new aspects of theory; 2) Library science as a fundamental science; 3) Bibliographic information and the problems of its surrogation; 4) Library and bibliographic processes as a social phenomenon; 5) Bibliography: in search of a new paradigm; 6) The concept of the exact bibliography science; 7) Biography of the Library of the Academy of Sciences: an experiment; 8) The International Association of Bibliophiles and the Library of Russian Academy of Sciences. The special section of the digest is dedicated to Leonov’s teachers, colleagues and friends. In the epilogue, the readers will learn about several episodes of Leonov’s biography. The book is supplemented with the detailed name index. The digest will be of interest to the wide library and information professional community.