Digital Communications as Means of Innovative Activity of Public Libraries in Ukraine

Abstract

The aim of the article is to represent modern digital communication as an innovative mean of public libraries in Ukraine, and the importance of its development in crisis phenomena conditions. The research methodology founds on the application of a set of general scientific methods (generalisation, analysis, synthesis, prognostication), and special librarian ones. The organic combination of systemic, sociocommunicative, structural and functional research ways has contributed to the achievement of the set goal. The scientific novelty of the study consists in substantiating the value approach to the individualisation of public libraries service activity, when providing a friendly, comfortable communication environment for the user in conditions of digitalisation of social processes becomes the leading aim. Library innovations have been singled out. They are based on innovative information technologies, but have different social and technological grounds, in particular: organisational, service, product, technical, business. Conclusions. In current conditions, public libraries play the role of information hubs, where information streams flow for their further processing and redistribution according to users’ needs. The main goal of individualising the service activity is to provide a user-friendly and comfortable communication environment. The variety of innovations that have rapidly met library activities have different social and technological grounds. We have highlighted the following: organisational, service, product, technical, business ones. Nowadays, the activity of blighty public libraries is developing in innovative directions using various channels of communication with users, in particular, their own sites, blogs, social networks, messengers, online platforms, media formats, channels in Tik- Tok and YouTube. Libraries of Ukraine fill the information space with their own products (databases, electronic catalogues, collections of digitised publications, etc.), provide virtual services, organise access to external resources, etc. The implementation of modern information technologies into library processes has brought library and information users’ services to a new level. The library digital model of today makes it possible to conduct a full-fledged dialogue with distant users, and allow them to access library services at the same level as those readers who work with information directly in book collections.