The role of libraries in promoting knowledge: How to make science truly open?

Abstract

The modern open science makes an ecosystem comprising open scientific knowledge, science infrastructure, dialogue with other systems of knowledge and engaged social actors. The latter is channelized through the concept of wide social involvement in scientific research – the civil science concept. Despite the libraries are mostly oriented toward the former two components, which is due to their information functions, they are also able to build themselves in the ecosystem through collaboration with civil science project. However, such projects have not become popular, which significantly narrows down the potentialities of open science. The purpose of the article is to analyze the possibilities for libraries; entering the open science ecosystem through supporting is to open engagement of social players in science. The author discusses the obstacles on the way of the citizen science as a part open science ecosystem, and libraries involvement. Thus, underdevelopment of civil science in Russia may be partially due to insufficient dissemination of scientific thinking in the non-scientific spheres, the closeness of scientific community and its low interest in communicating with the wider audience. The analysis of 431 websites of Russian research institutes proves that just about 42 % of them popularize scientific activities. Besides, many research institute are not so eager to disseminate instructions for developing the sphere of open and citizen science. Consequently, the libraries cannot jump to the collaboration with citizen science. As the first step, the author suggests to contribute to popularization of science and scientific system and in particular, the open science, and within its context, of the citizen science oriented on the community and researchers.