The national strategy for Russian libraries up to the year 2030 was approved by the RF Government in 2021. The development vectors extend to every library in the country, including scientific and academic ones. The author reviews the library system of the Russian Academy of Sciences and evaluates the possibility to implement digital technologies. For this purpose, she analyzes the existing computerized information library systems in centralized library networks ( CLN). T he R AS l ibrary s ystem h as t he p otential t o i mprove i nformation support of research. The structure of the RAS library network replicates the regional and discipline-oriented organizational RAS structure. Based on the experience of Pushchino Central Library – department of the RAS Library for Natural Sciences, the author concludes that despite incongruous software, hardware and technology, the scientific libraries have the potential to improve library services to support research. Each library must support services demanded by its users and corresponding to their specific research goals

The authors analyze the bibliographic information on ecological developments in Donbass for 2000–2022. With the subject headings of the bibliographic index, they follow the trends in ecotechnologies, scientific research and implementation of environmental protection methods and optimization of industrial region’s environments. They emphasize the value of targeted scientific research as the key source of science popularization and public ecological monitoring. They review research, technological and socially important undertakings that in aggregate contribute to achieve all possible harmonization of human existence in the transformed natural ecosystems. The botanical ecological monitoring of natural environments in Donbass has been the only and unique large-scale continuing experiment of independent expertise of region’s natural ecosystems during the social and political conflict (2014–2022). The research project in Donbass is not only the intellectual property object but also the source of ecological education, in particular, owing to the bibliographic analysis and direct community outreach.

The authors introduce the findings of their research on updating and improving the existing (2021) master version of the State Rubricator of Sci-tech Information (GRNTI) and preparing the master version 2022, in particular, updating and improving the Rubricator links and reference tools to these tools of GRNTI Master Version 2021. Four types of references are used to point to logical connections of subject headings supplementing the classification hierarchy fixed in the code structure of the GRNTI General Table, namely “see”, “see also”, “see cross reference”, “equivalent”, and Notes [in Russian]. The general statistics of updates and developments in all three GRNTI levels are presented in the Appendix A. Most changes are made to the “see also” reference, which evidences on the increased share of interdisciplinary scientific research in the thematic structure of the GRNTI 2022 Master Version. This level of generalization with logical grouping and concepts ordering, including polyhierarchichal connections, reflects the general trends in the modern scientific and technological knowledge. The reference tools of the GRNTI 2022 General Tables maintain distinction of aspects reflected in the subject headings with logical-semantic connections. This enables to refer documents to relevant headings when indexing.

The authors review the principles and technologies of information retrieval systems implemented in Russia and abroad, with special attention to the function of e-library and interactive selective information dissemination. The main project aim is to build single comfortable information retrieval space integrating full-text abstracts, bibliographic resources legally acquired, structured and offered by SB RAS State Public Scientific and Technological Library.
Based on the analysis of user search behavior of the Library’s information retrieval system based on IRBIS WEB-module and of the functional distinctions between IRBIS64+ and IRBIS WEB-module, the authors review the demands to contemporary e-catalogs and e-libraries, parameters of new information retrieval system, and stages of its implementation. The new information retrieval system based on IRBIS64+ WEB-module will provide access to all resources comprising literature in-flow to the Library with significant search potential, and guarantee their comfortable use by various user groups. IRBIS64+ WEB-module in the Library’s information retrieval system will provide searching in full-texts, and enable to make queries using Boolean logics, to setup distance between words, to rank search results, and to specify them with faceted navigation. The users will be also offered to use thematic search by navigators (GRNTI, thematic navigators of databases). The e-library is to provide open access to information resources of RAS SB SPSTL, eLIBRARY, and other open resources. The digital collections are to preserve printed original copies, which is important for old and rare publications.

The modern science depends in many ways on efficient provision of fast, quality access to published research findings. The universities have been developing their institutional repositories that are mostly based on open-source software used in over 66% repositories, OpenDOAR reports. For their digital archives, these organizations choose between various possibilities: purchasing licenses, developing their own or using the open-source software. The author analyzes the use of software in institutional repositories of the world leading universities and compares these trends to that of foreign and national institutions. She focuses on the open-source software as that standing up the transition to the open science concept. The structure of 210 university repositories was reviewed. It was found that the open-source software was the most popular with Russian universities while their platforms selection was rather limited as compared to that of foreign universities. Further, unlike foreign universities, Russian higher educational institutions almost never develop their own repositories though have strong potential to do so.

The facilities and resources of the libraries determine their performance, therefore the development and improvements of physical facilities and librarians’ workplace must always be in the focus, along with the library’s functions, structure, and vectors of activities. The efficiently designed, comfortable, organized and technological workplace increases productivity. The latest achievements of science, technology and ergonomics contribute to efficient infrastructure, premises and collection utilization, and employees’ performance. Innovative workplace arrangement stimulates employees to develop interactive and other communications and to meet modern users’ demands to the fullest extent possible. The authors prove the necessity of developing library facilities and resources taking into account the state of modern society, science and technology. For this purpose, the librarians, architects, engineers, furniture manufacturers, designers and local authorities must join their efforts. The authors present the findings of the research based on the librarians’ survey and identify their preferences and ideal workplace image.

The prominent Russian scientists, Vladimir I. Vernadsky (1863–1945), whose 160-th anniversary we celebrate this year, and Nikolay A. (Nikolas) Rubakin (1862–1946), whose 160-th anniversary we celebrated last year, were both library workers and bibliographers. They both entered St. Petersburg Imperial University, the department for natural sciences of physics and mathemetics faculty, communicated closely when students, and maintained friends and scientific ties up to 1936. The cosmological and cosmographic ideas of Dmitry I. Mendeleev, their teacher, influenced them both. Like N. Rubakin, V. I. Vernadsky saw selfless service to the humankind as his supreme goal. In his studiesw of psychology, Rubakin came to the conclusion that human life passes at three levels, namely biological, social, and cosmical level. In his turn, Vladimir Vernadsky is among acknowledged adept of Russian cosmism and father of the teaching of noosphere. The humanitarian trend in Venradsky’s world outlook manifested as early in his life as did his interest in the natural sciences. He developed his strong humanist, social ethical ideals in his early years as the scientist and thinker. These two persons were both engaged in bibliographic work, synchronically for some period. Vladimir Vernadsky was among the founders of Moscow Commission for Home Reading of the Educational Department of the Society to Promote Technical Knowledge (1893); Nikolas Rubakin was a founder of the Department to Support Self-education at Petersburg Pedagogical Museum of Military Educational Institutions (1894). They both took the most active part in writing bibliographies of general and supplementary literature within the curricula of the two institutions. Vernadsky and Rubakin had their original attitude towards library work in the country. V. Vernadsky sent regularly scientific books and journals to Rubakin in Switzerland. Rubakin came into contact with Georgy, V. Vernadsky’s son, who was living in the U.S.
Almost Vernadsky’s every scientific achievement and social merits were acknowledged officially, unlike N. Rubakin who had no academic honors at all. Nevertheless, their contribution to the Russian and world culture is of the same value