Absorptive Capacity and Smart Library

The current competitive environment is significantly modifying the libraries' learning processes due to an information explosion, allowing this to be transformed into knowledge. This opportunity has been exploited in the past by the tools of “business intelligence,” but integrating it into libraries is still a daunting task. Absorptive capacity was applied to smart libraries from Schöpel's multidimensional model's perspective. Literature was thoroughly reviewed from credible sources such as ISI Web of Knowledge and Scopus. The contribution to the literature is smart library development through absorptive capacity. This approach aims to create a library intelligence model that aims to explain the absorptive capacity process that leads to smart services, people, place, and governance. This chapter presents a unique integration of various concepts: the concept of absorptive capacity and smart library. This allows the development of better library practices by obtaining benefits from these investments and facilitating intelligence creation inside libraries.

Functional Potential of the Activity of the NGO Ukrainian Library Association for the Development of Library Studies

The article is devoted to disclosing the functional potential of the Ukrainian Library Association (UBA) as an open professional organization that focuses its efforts on developing librarianship in Ukraine and strengthening the democratic foundations of social development in the country. The use of a set of research methods, the main of which were socio-communicative, systemic and functional methods, as well as empirical methods of inclusive and external observation, led to consideration of ULA and its activities from the standpoint of fulfilling its obligations, its compliance with library community expectations. Implementing certain functions of the ULA and its activities is revealed as a system of interconnected forms and tools that complement each other, enhancing the final effect. The creation of the ULA is considered as a response of the professional community to the need to solve certain tasks and implement a number of functions in relation to the development of the national library business and society as a whole. For the first time, the functioning of UBA as an open adaptive leadership organization that implements organizational, mobilization-motivating, communication-coordination, information, educational, scientific-methodical, consolidating, representative, advocacy, compensatory functions is substantiated. The content of these functions is revealed. The purpose of the compensatory function is to provide libraries with the necessary theoretical and practical basis for the effective implementation of promising areas of activity in the absence of relevant approved guidelines at the national level. It was found that from the beginning of the ULA the statutory documents of the organization did not provide for the implementation of the compensatory function. Still, during the development of the association and expressing its focus on prompt and effective solutions to current problems in library development, its implementation became an important vector of the ULA.

Innovative Activity: State Regulatory Legal Acts and Possibilities of Their Application in Library Practice

Innovative ways of the development of libraries is a topic that has a sufficient degree of elaboration. However, the documents that provide regulatory and strategic support for the creation and implementation of innovations, as well as the boundaries of their applicability in the library sphere, are not sufficiently examined. The article presents the regulatory legal acts and documents of the strategic planning system that influence the development of libraries and can be used to create and implement sectoral library development programs. Most of these documents have status of regulatory legal acts. They can be used as a conceptual and methodological basis for creating programs and strategies for the development of libraries, given that the availability of such documents has already become mandatory for many branches and organizations, not only in the industrial or commercial spheres of the economy.

Funding issues and development of digital libraries in Nigeria

Purpose Funding issues is observed to be the major stumbling block for the development of digital libraries in Nigeria. Hence, this paper aims to explore issues in obtaining and allocating funds for digital library development. Design/methodology/approach The review is an explorative report of the state of affairs of digital library development in Nigeria with the associated fundraising issues. Findings Digital library initiatives are coincidental development with transformational change in the technology-driven world of global information distribution. The desire of the information users to have better-unrestricted access to information becomes the hallmark of digital content development and web-based information services. The goal of making information accessible globally to large and diverse information users was achievable with the development of a digital library that provides enhanced information services, improves access and usability of digital information resources. Originality/value The library of the future has already materialized in form of digital library services, but the cost of developing a digital library is not foreseeable cheap, and if Nigerian libraries are to achieve digital library service goal, alternative sources of finance need to be sought after through fundraising scheme from friends of the library, rental services, consultation fees and collaboration effort on library consortia as well as advocacy for open access initiatives.

Libraries of Tajikistan: current state and development prospects

In the article, the author reveals the systems of libraries in the Republic: the number of libraries, the total amount of library collections in traditional and electronic media. Training and professional retraining of personnel, perfecting the librarians social image, scientific-research and scientific methodical work effectiveness’ growing are of great importance.The dominant role of the National Library of Tajikistan as a center for scientific research of the dynamics and prospects for the development of library and information technologies, advanced training and retraining of library workers in the Republic is observed.The article touches upon priority trends of the National Library development, gives characteristics of some long-term projects, such as “Creation of an electronic collection of book monuments of Tajik-Persian literature”, “Creation of an electronic collection of book monuments on the culture and art of the Tajik people”, aimed at forming the national segment of the electronic collection of book monuments of the Tajik people. Another important direction of its work on preserving and popularizing the historical and cultural heritage is the creation of historical and local history resources for the state public libraries of the Republic.

University Library Development Strategy

The paper is devoted to the development of a university library strategy in the period of digitalization of all spheres of social activity. There are analyzed theoretical approaches and practical methods for developing strategic planning in library activities. The paper defines the need for strategic management as a factor in the effectiveness of a university library. There are considered the directions of the library strategic development, which depend on the vector of development of the university, its educational and research activities.The strategic planning is presented as a process of modeling the future activities of the library. It includes the library’s mission formulation, its objectives, tasks and events to achieve the goals, as well as its key performance indicators. The article sees the development strategy as an element of the management process aimed at creating and maintaining a strategic balance between the goals of the library and the university, its potential and likely development prospects.The article shows the advantages of SWOT analysis as a unique tool for designing a library development strategy. There are presented five stages of developing the Strategy for the Scientific Library of the Siberian Federal University. The authors note that the library has a good potential to develop the digitalization process: there is a digitization center, good technical equipment, its own software products, an extensive repertoire of world resources, a wide range of online services, etc. However, there are also weak points that hinder the library development: the obsolescence of the computer equipment, the lack of modern ergonomic space for individual and group work of students, the irregular acquisition of printed publications, the instability of funding, etc. All this can complicate the library development in the context of the digital economy development and lead to a decline in the prestige of the library. The library’s development strategy is aimed at eliminating these problems. It presents the goals, objectives, efficiency criteria for each area of activity of the modern library of the university. The article reveals the main strategic directions of the library’s development. The proposed strategy can become a real tool for optimizing the activities of all libraries in the transition period of the digital society development.

The American Library Association: The landmarks of international library and bibliographic cooperation (1876–1976)

During the first 100 years of its existence, the American Library Association (ALA), the oldest national library association in the world, contributed much to the international library and bibliographic cooperation. The author describes the key areas of ALA international activity during the period under review. He identifies the following areas: support of building national library associations of other countries, projects and programs of international information exchange, promotion of basic democratic principles of libraries’ work, shared cataloguing, building the professional library education system, creation of the library periodicals and others. Based on the facts revealed in the periodicals, the author claims that national library associations are among the key instruments of library development both on the national and international levels. The fact that the American Library Association played a critical role in interlibrary relations strengthening during the described period evidences the association’s importance in the process of international library cooperation development.

Strategic Vectors of Library Development

Establishing of library development strategy is the most important stage in solving the tasks of adapting to the changing environment and increasing demand of users. The purpose of this study is to determine the vectors of strategic development of libraries (public libraries and libraries of scientific and educational institutions). Basing on the results of the analysis, the author identifies nine essential strategic directions and ten vectors, revealing the prospects for the development of libraries, being not only the information repositories and library and information centres, but also working, creative spaces, communication platforms, places for renting equipment, startup sites, etc. The article presents the specific features of public libraries, which are close interaction with the local community, promotion of intercultural and intergenerational dialogue, as well as socialization of the population. Strategies of libraries of scientific and educational institutions much attention pay to the integration of librarians in the research process, creation of analytical products, development of services for scientometric analysis and information support for open scientific research. Libraries strive to serve readers and visitors with the use of modern information technologies, organize spatial environment that ensure comfortable stay, provide resources and services that meet the changing preferences of users, which allows creating positive image of the library and attracting readers.