Bibliometry as a Means of Optimization of Library Activities: History and Current Status

Abstract

The aim of this article is to consider the history and current prospects of bibliometrics in the library as a tool for optimizing activities.Research methodology. The author has used systemic and comparative approaches as well as a problem and analytical analysis to examine the principles, areas of focus and the research trends at the bibliometric analysis in the library activities.Results. The current status in which the libraries of Ukraine now find themselves requires significant changes both in the areas of library activities and in the methods and forms of its organization. Libraries in the form of the usual accumulation of knowledge have become obsolete; they nowadays need to prove their feasibility and usefulness to the society in general, and to the relevant government and commercial institutions in particular. Without this, it is impossible to have the right attitude and funding. This situation is not exceptional and is complicated by well-known economic difficulties in Ukraine. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the increasing competition from extremely dynamic new information structures.Bibliometric analysis, proving the experience of individual libraries, forms an important information resource for control and management of library processes, which becomes especially effective in terms of its automation. The latter is especially important for Ukrainian libraries under the modern conditions, when the implementation of the function of documentary memory by Ukrainian scientific libraries due to existing financial and logistical constraints is much more difficult, which gives special importance to the need to supplement the initial parameters of library acquisition models. Thus, the citation analysis can be used as a method of selecting documents in the initial fund of the library.Novelty. The possibilities of bibliometric analysis increase significantly when used in the conjunction with other methods. For example, solving one of the most painful problems of Ukrainian libraries today, but like the world libraries in general, is to ensure high-quality acquisition of library holdings without the involvement of a marketing approach to the acquisition process, monitoring the flow of documents. In addition, bibliometric research can be conducted not only to solve internal problems of libraries. Bibliometrics is a necessary component of many information products and services created by libraries. Bibliometric research can be the basis for the formation of knowledge bases in the scientific library.The practical significance. Bibliometric studies can help to solve the problems of acquisition of the library collections, to become a basis for definition of strategy of acquisition in general. In addition, bibliometric indicators of citations, the influence of a particular author, scientific journal, direction, etc., and is one of the criteria for current and retrospective replenishment of library holdings, determining the scientific value of publications.