Continuous Library and Information Education in the Era of Digital Transformation

Abstract

Various modifications of the system of continuous library and information education are associated with the tasks of digitalization, determined by the national development goals of the Russian Federation. The purpose of this study is to identify the main transformational trends of this system in the context of the digitalization of culture. The authors reveal the concepts of “digitalization of education”, “lifelong education”. The article analyses the reports of the track “Professional education of specialists in library and information sphere” conducted in the framework of international scientific and practical conference “Science, Technology and Information in Libraries (LIBWAY — 2020)”, held on September 14—17, 2020. The authors identified the main problematic issues of continuous library and information education: personnel potential of libraries in the era of large-scale and accelerating technological changes; diversification of additional professional education for library staff as one of the links in continuous education; regulatory support for the development of system of continuous library education; new vectors in educational activities aimed at the formation of professional and supra-professional competencies as a factor of competitiveness of the library specialists in the context of multitasking and efficiency of the cultural sector. The article emphasizes that the continuous library and information education of specialists in the era of digitalization of culture is progressing due to the new information technologies, implementation of innovative library experience, as well as the formation of new competencies of library personnel. The authors state that the development of culture and the growth of the country’s potential depend on the success of building unified library and information knowledge space as a valuable resource and the basis for economic success in the future, part of which is the system of continuous professional education.