Transforming scientific libraries within the concept of bibliography as surrogate knowledge .

Abstract

The author examines the concept of the bibliography as surrogate knowledge. The concept was developed by Prof. Yury Zubov (1924–2006), Dr. Sc. (Pedagogy), a prominent Soviet and Russian bibliographer, researcher, culturologist, in the late 1970s – early 1980s. The fundamentals of the concept are revealed and characterized, namely: 1) formalizing functions of bibliography that enable to structurize and compress the knowledge and knowledge information which makes an imperative for humans’ thinking limited with the brain capacity, time and spatial extent; 2) the concept logical justification based on the study of scientific knowledge genesis, beginning in the antiquity (encyclopedism – differentiation – integration). The scholar proved that bibliography development was determined by the scientific knowledge genesis and its content structure. The essential qualities of bibliography (formalizing qualities and genetic affinity with science and scientific knowledge) determine the concept’s prognostic character. The modern bibliographic activities have been coopting the features of science and scientific knowledge development, namely transdisciplinarity and postnonclassic science rationality norms. The concept key role in the development of scientific libraries in the circumstances of their transforming activities is substantiated.