LNS RAS Research Articles

Networked library information interaction, the case of the central library of Pushchino Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The issues of networked library interaction is examined and exemplified by the experience of the Pushchino Scientific Center Central Library (division of the Library for Natural Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, LNS RAS). Ready-made software solutions designed by LNS RAS specialists enabled the participating libraries to implement computer-aided collection development system, union reference aids, online ordering, lending and refusal registration, digital resources access system. The authors focus, in particular, on specific networked interactions between the scientific library and users of its information services. Within the framework of the Library-Research Institute of Pushchino Center cooperation, the main efforts of the Library are focused on implementing modern network technologies, providing access to information resources, research information support, developing union Internet-based catalogs within the online order system, designing problem-oriented databases and maintaining current list of networked resources in physico-chemical biology. New library services are described, e.g. bibliometric and patent research, design and maintenance of the library website. Approaches to building network interaction with libraries of various types, institutions of memory (archives, museums, etc.), publishers’, and mass media, are discussed. The authors come to the conclusion that networked cooperation is efficient organizational and technological instrument to provide equal use opportunities for every member of library information network.

Results of bibliometric analysis of the publication activity on the scientific library website

The main function of the scientific library is to provide information support and library services to meet the needs of research scientists engaged in research activities and it is becoming increasingly important to enhance the outreach services, build public awareness of science reducing the evidence-practice gap. With that in mind, library websites are among the most appropriate platforms, that hold potential in addressing these concerns, providing online access to a wide range of library and information science sources, visualization of the results both of scientific research carried out by scientific institutions and the librarydevelopments. In this paper we focus on the website of Central scientific library (CSL), department of Library for Natural Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LNS RAS), in Pushchino Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (PRS RAS). This website has been designed as the multifunctional information system offering the users, on one hand, the means for searching the requested information in electron catalogs of the library and all its departments, dissertation database, branched index system in physico-chemical biology, publications of the research scientists from the Center, databases by subject relating to research activities performed in PSC RAS), and, on the other hand, the results of a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of published research of the scientific institutes in the Center (https://cnbp.ru/). The scientific community of PSC RAS has appreciated posted on the library website research projects such as “Achievements of Schools of Science in Pushchino Scientific Center”, “Scientific dynasties in Pushchino”, a database of the former research scientists who worked in PSC continuing their research activities abroad”. Of special interest is the website section created after the study of the information needs of the PCL users which present the results of a bibliometric analysis. Mature researchers may find information on number of times their individual articles have been cited by others, track the impact of their scientific theme, communicate with potential research partners; postgraduate and graduate students may gain insight into a variety of research activity carried out in the scientific Center, enabling them to see the magnitude of the Center’s scientific developments; the administration of institutes may assess the published research of their employees, compare the position in the institutes ranking with respect to other ones in the scientific world, evaluate international activity.

Rare Publications of the Library for Natural Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the Service of Culture and Historical Science

The article aims to demonstrate the results of research and bringing to the technological implementation, in the Library for Natural Scien­ces of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LNS RAS), of a full cycle of works, from identification of rare books in the collections, their description and scanning, to their registration in the Union Catalog and Electronic Library. The author gives a brief description of the software package developed at LNS RAS for creating the Electronic Catalog and full-text Electronic Library of Rare Publications, as well as the scheme of automated interaction of all technological departments involved in the process. The information on practical implementation and directions of the technology development is given. The article presents a brief review of the research, with the identified part of the collection of rare publications of the LNS RAS. For the first time, the Central Library of the LNS RAS implements the Union Catalog and Electronic Library of Rare Publications, reflecting not only the bibliographic information on the publications, but also the data on their specific features (author’s inscriptions, bookplates, stamps, etc.). Rare publications previously inaccessible to researchers, though already used by scientists of the RAS institutes, are introduced into scientific circulation. The article identifies and describes materials about geographical expeditions of the 18th—19th centuries and samples of Russian and foreign book printing of the 18th century. For the first time, the LNS RAS conducts research related to the history of Russian science and printing, and identifies bookplates and proprietary marks of Russian scientists, which have not previously been reflected in ca­talogs. This opens a new cultural layer of historical data, now available to researchers.

Automated Information Library System “Bibliobus”: Modern Version

The article is devoted to the work of the automated information library system (AILS) “Bibliobus”, developed by specialists of the Library for Natural Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LNS RAS). The purpose of this article is to acquaint readers of the journal with the specific features of the modern AILS “Bibliobus” that provides complex automation of the main technological processes on the “way of book” of non-periodicals received in the centralized library system (CLS) holdings of LNS RAS. The authors describe capability features and functions of the system, the rules of work with it, the user interface for performing work related to centralized acquisition, book registration and distribution of the incoming books between the CLS libraries, cataloguing, classifying, etc. The system has a number of features that distinguish it from most automated library systems. It is focused on the centralized library network; part of the information is entered in the Centre, part — interactively in the libraries of the network; all the accounting and financial documents required by the centralized system are generated automatically. The AILS “Bibliobus” widely uses the bar coding, it applies to all stages of publication processing on the “way of book”; the bar codes appear on all supporting documents and printed cards. When cataloguing the publications, bibliographer introduces in the main “window” of system the bibliographic description in the format of State Standard GOST 7.1—2003 with some mark-ups, and in additional “windows” — the maximum possible metadata, providing multi-aspect search of the publication in the catalogue; the search fields for e-catalogue are generated automatically. The AILS “Bibliobus” provides for the formation of multi-level records. Its database stores the images of scanned text pages displayed in the electronic catalogue; all operations are logged with the start and end time, which allowed building on its basis a powerful reference and statistical system. The system has a modern user interface that allows the operator to obtain multiple information on various aspects of technological operations.

Technological Features of the Renewed System of Selective Dissemination of Information in the Library for Natural Sciences of the RAS

The wide spectrum of full text and bibliographic information resources (e. g. Web of Science, Scopus), which Library for Natural Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LNS RAS) had in its subscription for the last few years, was a ground for the autors' efforts in developing of the modern system of selective dissemination of information (SDI system). At the same time, acquisition of information sources on traditional media has been steadily decreasing in recent years.Sources of bibliographic information in this SDI system are bibliographic databases Web of Science and Scopus, and full-text platforms of foreign scientific publishers (currently — several dozen, including John Wiley & Sons, Springer Nature and ScienceDirect).The users of the SDI system have opportunity to get two kinds of service: the first one is informing on the current issues of the scientific journals which are preselected by user himself; the second one is the thematic informing based on the keywords of user thematic requests. This SDI system has the important feature that distinguishes it from traditional definition of SDI systems: we do not restrict either lists of journals reported by users nor the bibliographic sources in thematic sets by the list of full text sources available via library’s subscription. The only condition for including specific journal in the SDI system for the first kind of service or including the bibliographic source in thematic sets for the second kind of service is existing of the source as electronic web entity. If user has made order for full text material from contents/thematic information set, the library retrieves such full text material via all available ways beginning with library’s subscription and finishing with interlibrary loan.We have selected e-mail sending of personalized information sets for our users, as it was the mode selected as preferable mode by our users themselves. Personalized information sets include ordinary fields of bibliographic record (incl. abstracts if available in protosource) and some fields for increasing navigation options of records: link to full text via DOI, link for article record in Scopus and PubMed, information about library’s subscription for source where specific record is published.

Some estimates of the book collection accession dynamics in the Library on Natural Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The paper analyzes data on the flow of non-periodical publications entering the collections of the Centralized Library System headed by the Library for Natural Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LNS RAS). The analysis is carried on for a five-year interval (2013-2017). It gives the general annual quantitative characteristics of domestic and foreign publications acquisition. The author shows a sharp drop in the number of incoming foreign, as well as translated publications, on natural sciences. The article presents the efficiency analysis of receipting publications on a legal copy (LC), which shows that the efficiency (a share of publications for the current year in LC flows), although slightly increasing over the past year, remains rather low. Publications of 2017 not received by LNS RAS in the LC flow have been identified, and their reconciliation with the Russian State Library catalog has been carried out.

The Ex-Libris of Pastor Gottlieb Beratz: From the History of Book Heritage of the Germans in the Volga Region

The article considers the ex-libris of Gottlieb Beratz, the priest of the German settlement in the Volga region (late 19th — early 20th century), presented in the rare small-format edition of Marco Polo’s book “Travels” published in the first third of the 19th century. The study of bookplates in rare editions is important as an additional source for the analysis of history of a book, the author’s biography and the history of bibliophilic collections or a specific copy of a book. Presented for the first time detailed description of the ex-libris of G. Beratz, being a contribution of the study of Russian bookplates, may help in the search for the book collection of scientific interest, based on the presented edition available in the LNS RAS and considering the personality of the owner. In this regard, the author examined the stamps on the Marco Polo’s book, which indicated the movement of the book from G. Beratz’s library to Saratov institutions, and then to Moscow. The author describes in general terms the technique of ex-libris of G. Beratz, technological process of phototype and zincography. The article suggests that ex-libris was made in the typolithographic printing of G.Kh. Shelgorn, where G. Beratz published his works. The owner of the book collection, which included Marco Polo’s “Travels”, was not only a priest of the German parish in the Volga region, but also a writer, playwright and scientist, well known in the circles of historians. He was the author of scientific work about the migration of Germans to the Volga region, published not only in Russia but also in Germany. The article briefly describes the history of creation of the book by Marco Polo with reference to the biographical details of the traveller, as well as the main periods of the biography of the Pastor G. Beratz, owner of a large bibliophilic collection.

Технология формирования и поддержки проблемно-ориентированных информационных систем

The typical problem-oriented information system (POIS) is being developed by Library for Natural Sciences of the RAS (LNS RAS) as a kernel of automated complex providing information support of scientic re-search activities is considered in the article. The POIS in-cludes a number of objects: subscriber, operator, search requests, information sources, bibliographic records, journals etc. The System is being lled with current in-formation imported from dierent information sources. For the presented model realization, which is located in the Internet (http://scirus.benran.ru/pois), such infor-mation sources are Web of Science, Scopus and OPAC of Library for Natural Sciences of the RAS (LNS RAS). The POIS software is based on the SciRus software plat-form worked out by the LNS RAS specialists. The POIS software provides automated import of bibliographic records from mentioned information sources and has exible search engine using all database elds and Boolean operators. The feed-back as the estimations, given by a subscriber to the documents he have re-ceived, is included in the POIS

Scientific publications: from a library card index to bibliographic profiles

Information on scientific publications of Pushchino Research Center staff is originally seen as an important component of implementing the library information function of the Centralized Library System of the Central Library in Pushchino, which is a department of the Library on Natural Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LNS RAS). During the library activity, since 1968, it could distinguish three main periods in creating and developing the information-bibliographic support of users’ publication activity in all research institutes of the Center. The first stage is starting creation of the employees card files, based on which the bibliographical indices of scientists’ publications have been published. The accuracy and completeness of accumulated information has laid an excellent foundation for transition to electronic databases reflecting the researchers’ works of all institutions of the Center. The second stage has shown that in some cases a scientist’s bibliography is incomplete, but ease of information entry about publications and well-chosen software allows revealing all the information about the publication to the reader in a convenient form. The third stage is characterized by emerging new forms of information provision about scientific publications. The copyrights profiles have appeared for identifying standards of the scientific works authorship that allow creating a tool to search and analyze both publication activity of organizations and researchers. But at this stage the problem of creating a complete and reliable scientific bibliography list in scientometric databases has not solved yet.

The New Challenges in the LibraryInformation Space: Contemporary Staff is the Responsibility of Library Itself

The main objective of the publication is to show the approach to addressing the issue of increasing the professional level of librarians in the context of implementation of new information and communication technologies (ICT) and development of the market of electronic products and services. It is noted that basic education does not fully meet the challenges of the emerging electronic library-information environment. Therefore, libraries are looking for their own approaches to improving professional level of employees and service environment. There is considered the experience of the Library for Natural Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LNS RAS), concentrated on seminars/workshops and practical training classes. The main attention is paid to the following areas: mastering of rules and development of skills in the work with bibliometric and specialized databases, work with the resources of Open Access, condition of the market of electronic products and services, and the terms of access to them. It is shown that this approach is topical not only to library professionals, but also to the scientists of research institutes who are interested in the development of information literacy. There are presented the topics of particular trainings.

The information needs of users of scientific libraries

This paper reflects the results of the analysis of user information needs that was carried out by the Library of Natural Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LNS RAS) for the purpose of gathering information on the quality of a reference-bibliographic and information service for specialists of the RAS in the subject of their studies.

Features of LNS RAS Electronic Union Catalog

Organization concepts and search capabilities of the union online catalog of books and serials from the collections of more than 100 libraries of the centralized library system, headed by the Library for Natural Sciences, RAS are described. Catalog allows you to process almost unlimited range of requests, which include both any elements of bibliographic descriptions and subject headings, which are a “superstructure” over the UDC. Bibliographic records, which make the basis of the catalog, are small degree modified standard bibliographic descriptions formed under the integrated library system BIBLIOBUS.

The alphabetical-subject index to the systematic catalogue: its structure, properties, and functions

This paper continues and develops the ideas of the target theme of the Department of Scientific Processing of Literature (DSPL) of the LNS RAS, The Perfection of Classification Systems. It simultaneously finishes forming under modern conditions our ideas about the prospects for centralizing the main library process in the network libraries that have developed since 1946.

Using expert evaluations to complete centralized library systems

An interactive system of expert evaluations of offers made by the Russian and foreign information market of scientific literature issued in both printed and electronic form is described. The system supports the database of experts and the periodically updated database of offers of the information market. An expert evaluation is carried out over the internet from a special division of the LNS RAS site, access to which is available only to authorized users, i.e., experts. Expert selectors make decisions about ordering various editions for funding from the centralized library system by analyzing tables formed based on processed results from expert evaluations with the help of specially created software tools.