The plenary meeting was started by Vladimir I. Gnezdilov, acting as director general of the RSL. In his speech he marked the specialists’ growing interest towards the event and the considerable broadening of the geography of the participants. The latter included representatives from Moscow and Moscow region, together with those ones from Tula region, Vladimir region, Tver region, delegates from Primorsky Krai, from Ekaterinburg, Yaroslavl and Saint Petersburg. 

 

In continuation of his speech Mr. Gnezdilov read out the government telegram from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. There librarians were congratulated on the All – Russian Day of Libraries. Apart from warm words and high mark given to their work, there was pointed out the significance of library contribution into up – bringing of youngsters.

 

The theme of V.I. Gnezdilov’s speech was “The Russian State Library nowadays”. It disclosed targets the library was following for the moment. The All – Russian Day of Libraries 2017 the Russian State Library was entering as:

– an operator of the National Digital Library;

– an official body receiving electronic legal deposit copies;

– an authorized organization maintaining register of rare and valuable books of the Russian Federation.

 

Then, Mr. Gnezdilov emphasized the fact that the Russian State Library was successfully progressing in: 

– enhancing services for readers by organizing free zones of comfort inside the library, and that one for users by providing wide access capabilities to electronic resources, this including through virtual reading rooms;

– its exhibition activities. Ivanovsky Room which had been opened even less than a year before, turned out to be an exhibition area of authority, and it became popular with visitors due to its interesting events;

– its excursion activities. The excursion routes would contribute to revealing richest funds of the RSL and to disclosing potential readers in the school children of nowadays visiting the library;

– improving state of its material and technical base, with a special attention to problems of document preservation; for the moment the RSL was turning into a central discussion platform in conservation and restoration of collections matters;

– broadening aspects of educational activities in the field of further professional training; it would offer modern forms of educational programmes with usage of remote educational technologies.

 

As a significant direction for further development there was pointed out the broadening of geography of the opened virtual reading rooms of the Russian State Library.

 

To conclude V.I. Gnezdilov expressed his hope that the experience the professionals of the RSL were ready to share would turn out to be useful for the participants of the Open House.

 

Academic secretary of the Russian State Library Elena A. Ivanova presented the agenda of the plenary meeting.

 

“Closer to our readers. Electronic resources and services of the Russian State Library” was presented by Nina V. Avdeeva, head of the Administrative department of management and monitoring service for clients of the RSL. The speech contained information on the digital library of the RSL, it gave brief characteristics to its eleven collections (Digital Dissertation Library of the RSL, Universal Collection, Early – Printed Books, Sheet Music, Scientific and Educational Literature, Manuscript Collection, Shneerson’s Library, Collection of Artworks, Map Collection, Collection of Periodicals and Deposited Documents). The speaker reported facts concerning the total volume of the electronic library and the volumes of thematic collections as well. Besides, there were described access capabilities through RSL websites, together with mobile applications supporting access to the library’s digital catalogue, and main services the RSL was offering on its Internet Store.

 

Head of the Department of support of Internet technologies of the RSL Vassily V. Pavlov presented his speech “Architecture of digital library from the example of DL RSL”. The speaker would quote GOST R 7.0.96 – 2016 “Digital Libraries. Basic Types. Structure. Technology of Formation” defining main characteristic features of electronic libraries, their contents, structure, functions and organizational matters. Apart from key terms and definitions of the aforementioned document, the report contained information on the Digital Library of the RSL, on its main functions and ways of their realization. Details were given on the system and processes of stocking the Russian State Library. There was also demonstrated recurrence of the cataloguing processes and those ones of preservation of electronic documents. Then, there was characterized the system of reader – and – user service at the Russian State Library, there were pointed out certain peculiarities of document search and delivery, as well as of management of access rights. The speaker concluded by emphasizing the fact of flexibility of the architecture of the RSL Digital Library, and that one of its capacity of easy adaptation towards the appearance of new functions and changing the existing ones, and towards implementation of new technologies, too.

 

Report “Acquisition of electronic legal deposits at the RSL” (by I.A.Gruzdev and �.�. Yerpuliov) was presented by head of the Department of organization and management of the collections of Digital Library of the RSL Anton A. Yerpuliov. It contained information on how to transfer legal deposit copies of printed works in the electronic form to the Russian State Library according to the special procedure set at the Russian State Library itself in accordance with Federal Law  �278-FZ “About Amendments to Federal Law � 77-FZ dated by 29^th December 1994 About Legal Deposit Copies” dated by 3^rd July 2016. Since 1^st January 2017, all legal deposit copies were to be transferred to the Russian State Library both, in the printed and in the electronic forms, the latter by means of information and communication networks. For those purposes the Russian State Library had specially developed an automated system of preservation and recording legal deposits, the access to which was provided from the website. The speaker pointed out that for the moment the system h�d registered 1,728 document producers and 37,347 requests. The most active regions turned out to be Moscow, Nizhniy Novgorod, Altai Krai, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar Krai.

 

After that there was pronounced speech “Information resources of RSL website Rosinformkultura” by Milena L. Sukhotina, chief researcher of the Centre of researching problems of library development in the information society. It provided information concerning the Russian system of research and information support of cultural activities (Rosinformkultura) started in 1995. Rosinformkultura was an open - type system, and it aggregated resources of libraries, museums, research and educational establishments of the sphere of culture. The activities of the participants of the system were supported and coordinated by the Russian State Library. �s Sukhotina described the website of Rosinformkultura in details, she also gave information on its open resources, such as “Library in the Age of Changes”, “Library business and bibliography”, “Union catalogue of editions and unpublished documents of regional libraries of Russia”, “Guide around Internet resources”. In conclusion the speaker invited her audience to participate in the 6^th All – Russian Review Contest of Best Electronic Edition in Culture and Art, as well as in the 10^th All – Russian Meeting of Heads of Information Services in Culture and Art “Libraries in information support of realization of National cultural policy – main trends and aims” (3-4^th October 2017).

 

The report entitled “Our experience of realization of educational programmes of further education (DPO) for specialists of library and information spheres at the Education Centre of the RSL” was read out by head of the Education Centre of Further Education of the Russian State Library Ekaterina B. Dudareva. She reminded the audience that the RSL educational centre was celebrating its anniversary. It had started its educational activities for the specialists of the library (and not only for them) in the far 1937. The two main trends of that time were further training and professional re - training. One of the basic programmes of the re – training, in its turn, was educational programme “Higher Library Courses” providing its graduates with the diploma authorizing them practise library and information jobs as professionals. By the way, the centre carried out its work having obtained a special licence. The educational programme itself was successor of the library courses opened in 1913 at the Moscow State A.L. Shaniavsky Public University. It included main and additional library and information subjects which would help ‘not librarian’ specialists to master professional skills within nine – month period of time. Since the year of 2015, the programme was realized with usage of remote education technologies and in the correspondence – form which enables specialists of regions further than Moscow and Moscow region get advanced education of quality in the library and information sphere.

 

To conclude the plenary meeting, there was held presentation of the new editions by the “Pashkov Dom” publishing house. Head of the sector, chief editor of BBK Research centre of development of library and bibliographic classification of the Russian State Library Edward R. Sukiasian demonstrated the novelties:

– Tables of library and bibliographic classification. Organization and technology of usage;

– Additions and amendments to Library and Bibliographic Classification. Medium tables. Edition 4;

– Library and bibliographic classification. Abridged tables;

– Library and bibliographic classification. Tables for child and school libraries. 

 

The issued editions turned out to be results of thorough job of professionals of the Research centre of development of library and bibliographic classification of the Russian State Library.

 

A book of belle – lettre prose “White Swan”, which was written by “a great friend of the Russian State Library”, statesman and social activist Victor I. Dobrosotskiy, was presented by President of the Russian State Library Victor V. Fedorov. Victor Vassiliyevich pointed out that the aforementioned book could be called a piece of ‘human literature’ and passed the turn to speak to its author. 

 

Within the framework of the Open House, the Russian State Library hold several roundtable discussion panels among the participants of which there could be mentioned specially invited guests from different establishments and organizations the library would cooperate actively when solving urgent problems. The roundtables were devoted to the following subject matters:

• Improving reference and bibliographic user services;

• Library as a communication platform of legal informing, human rights protection and civic engagement (with participation of representatives of the Apparatus of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation);

• Public reporting of the library – art or bureaucracy?;

• Interlibrary service in the modern information and library environment.

 

Meeting of specialists participating in roundtable "Dynamics of NDL development – contents, access and search capabilities” witnessed interest towards the theme raised by Alexey Grigoryev’s speech (technical manager of ELAR projects) “National Digital Library – search capabilities”. There was given statistics data on the information resource (36 million bibliographic descriptions, 4.3 million electronic copies of documents) and demonstrated wide search capabilities of NDL. NDL statistics and its analysis were also reported in the speech by head of the Department of NDL management of the RSL Valery E. Kornev “Analysis of NDL statistics”. Mr. Kornev defined main blocks the data was linked to. They were NDL participants, collections, site traffic (the so – called ‘web statistics’), processing, technical support and usage of basic user services. Apart from that there was given detailed characteristics to the collections and popular editions. The first quarter of 2017 registered 317,402 accesses to editions and 3,908,497 accesses to pages. In conclusion the speaker emphasized that the ‘trustworthy statistics data’ accessible for the participants of the project was by all means ‘a way of user engagement’ to Russia’s largest legal online resource, i.e. National Digital Library.

 

The Department of dissertations of the Russian State Library organized roundtable “Order of transfer of legal deposit copies of dissertations after their defence and of the accompanying documentation to the Russian State Library and to Sechenov Central Scientific Medical Library” with participation of representatives of the Department of Attestation of Scientific and Research and Teaching Personnel of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and of Dissertation Councils. The event was also attended by the following people: Pavel P. Starikov, executive officer of Federal State Autonomous Research Institution “Centre of Information Technologies and Systems of Executive Authorities (CITiS)”, Vladimir V. Gayduk, deputy director of the Department of Attestation of Scientific and Research and Teaching Personnel of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Alexey S. Starkov, deputy director of Central Scientific Medical Library of the First MSMU named after I.M.Sechenov of the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development of the Russian Federation, deputy IT director of the RSL Igor A. Gruzdev and deputy director in external cooperation and exhibition activities of the RSL Natalia Y. Samoylenko.

 

Irina L. Sakirko, head of the Department of dissertations of the Russian State Library, announced the agenda and introduced the participants of the roundtable. 

 

The first to greet the audience was N.Y.Samoylenko. She pointed out the historical significance of librarians’ job as of "guardians of civilization and science”.

 

V.V.Gayduk’s speech was “Presenting accompanying documentation to the Ministry of Education and Science after defence”. The speaker emphasized the importance of the dissertation transfers within the framework of the currently in force statutory acts and raised the problem of discrepancy of dissertation texts from the sites of organizations and of those ones transferred to CITiS and RSL. 

 

Ms Sakirko spoke on the procedure of transferring legal deposit copies, both paper and electronic ones, of dissertations after defence to the Russian State Library. 

 

A.S. Starkov reported on how to transfer electronic legal deposit copy of dissertation to  Sechenov Central Scientific Medical Library. 

 

After that deputy head of the Department of support of access to digital resources and head of the Department of prospective development of the RSL Tatyana A. Blinova presented her speech “Organization of work of RSL Virtual Reading Rooms”, in which she gave details on how to view documents of the RSL Digital Dissertation Library.

 

I.A.Gruzdev’s report gave information concerning the statutory document, which was being prepared by the RF Government, which would provide legislative basis for transferring electronic legal deposits and work of the RSL in the ‘interim period’.

 

P.P.Starikov explained the procedure of acquisition of electronic signature and of transferring electronic copies of dissertations to CITiS. He would also point out the drawbacks of the system marked by the participants. 

 

The induced discussions touched upon the following matters: 

– documents standardizing the processes of transferring legal deposit copies of dissertations after defence;

– order of transferring electronic and paper legal deposit copies of dissertations after defence to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, to the Russian State Library and to Sechenov Central Scientific Medical Library;

– acquisition of identifying non – qualifying electronic signature for transferring documents to CITiS;

 

The participants of the roundtable obtained an opportunity to get acquainted with the exhibition of unique in design authentic dissertation theses of 1950-1990. 

 

The guests of the Open House were offered training lectures “Licensed electronic resources for librarians” and “National Digital Library – new capabilities”, as well as numerous and diverse tutorials with RSL specialists from the Technology department, RD of rare books, Department of library and information service, Department of preservation of main collections, Research centre of development of library and bibliography classification, Research department of bibliography, Centre of researching problems of library development in the information society, Department of book acquisition, Department of sheet music and records, Department of maps, Department of artworks, Centre of remote service and MBA and Department of official and statutory editions.

 

The representatives of the Russian State Library organized different excursions for their guests, and offered to their attention book – and – illustration exhibitions, among which there could be mentioned: “The unknown Paustovsky. Life in publications – for the author’s 125^th anniversary”, “95^th anniversary of the Pioneer Organization. Pioneers in national editions of different years”, “Book companions to our Victory”, “Light for the World and Salt for Earth – for Saint Cyril Philosopher’s 1190^th anniversary”, etc.

 

According to the statistics data, the Open House at the Russian State Library was attended by 397 people, and over 400 users were following the events on the Internet. 

 

The Russian Association of Digital Libraries broadcast directly from its official website http://www.aselibrary.ru/video/conference43/conference437948/ the plenary meeting, roundtable “Dynamics of NDL development” and the roundtable with representatives of Dissertation Councils, CITiS and Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. 

 

Video materials of the Open House at the Russian State Library are available on the official website of the Russian Association of Digital Libraries http://www.aselibrary.ru/video/conference43/conference437948/.