The article is devoted to the study of the national libraries work in the conditions of the new coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic. The author describes the ways national libraries choose different methods of working with users, develop innovative services, expand the repertoire of information resources / products, and take measures to ensure the safe work of employees, including the remote work. The analysis of both general and specific decisions on the organization of work, made by various libraries around the world in the context of the pandemic-induced constraints is given. Topical issues of library activities during this period are discussed. The dates of the recurring closure of a number of national libraries of the world and the basic rules of work in them as of November 15, 2021 are given, as well as data from 2 surveys among 55 national libraries of the world about how they were affected by the situation with COVID-19. It is shown that these surveys provided an understanding of how the world's national libraries have responded to the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact the pandemic has had on these organizations. The article outlines the most frequently cited pandemic issues for national libraries at the moment and in the near future. It is emphasized that the reopening of libraries may be temporary and the risk of new sanitary restrictions should always be borne in mind.

The article describes the discourse features of abstracts of scientific papers on agriculture: logicality, abstractness, performativity, terminology, specific sentence length, structural categories and components. It was found that the logicality was achieved due to contrastive, elaborative, inferential and temporal discourse markers in the abstracts of the scientific publications on agriculture in the English language. The abstractness was expressed by the predominance of indefinite or zero articles and the use of words describing processes and phenomena. The terminology of the abstracts of the scientific articles on agricultural topics was described in accordance with the following classification: 1) well-known terms; 2) special professional terms; 3) abbreviations. The performativity was manifested in the first person material presentation using general science clichés. The predominance of sentences the length of which ranges from 16 to 25 words was observed in the abstracts of the scientific articles on the agricultural topics. It was found that most of these abstracts were characterized by the following structural components: background (72%), aims (73%), research methods and materials (62%), results (80%), conclusions (58%).

The article presents the system for the development of information literacy for different groups of users of the scientific library and librarians (using the example of training activities held in Belarus Agricultural Library). The main informational skills and abilities that students, graduate students, scientists and specialists should possess are listed. The characteristics of seminars and presentations on the development of information literacy are given, with a description of the practical and theoretical parts. The influence of the level of information competence of users on the quality of scientific research is emphasized. The role of information literacy in the formation of professional consciousness of library specialists is shown. The advantages of the remote form of holding events in modern conditions are revealed. The necessity of constantly increasing the level of information skills in scientific libraries is substantiated.

The article is devoted to the implementation of the "Software complex for multithreaded processing of scientific information for user services of Belarus Agricultural Library ". The new system allows to keep records of users, store and correct their requests, send selected information in the form of a bibliographic list, send completed full texts of documents, monitor the required information in some resources in a semi-automatic mode, etc. The software package consists of user and administrative blocks. The administrative block includes several main modules: accounts (users, specialists, organizations), requests (thematic, for delivery, deliveries), monitoring (sources of bibliographic descriptions, monitoring of bibliographic descriptions) and statistics (organization / users, quantitative, specialist / requests, organization / inquiries, supplies). The introduction of this system will be the largest update of the remote user services of Belarus Agricultural Library over the past ten years.

The article deals with the results of the work of Belarus Agricultural Library in the field of acquisition of traditional sources for its collection. Printed publications have formed the basis for the development of the library collection throughout its existence with publications on agriculture, forestry, food, and related industries. At present, more and more publications are being transferred into electronic format, which undoubtedly enables users to receive the necessary information promptly, at a convenient time for them and from anywhere in the country. At the same time, access to the majority of electronic resources for libraries is provided for a certain period and on a paid basis. Therefore, there is still a need for printed publications that are kept in the library collections permanently and do not lose their relevance for a significant period. Besides, they are not only a source of unique information, but also a cultural heritage. Unfortunately, over the past years, the number of printed editions acquired the library collection has been gradually decreasing for a variety of economic, organizational and even political reasons. In this regard, the library is carrying out a purposeful and active work to develop its collection with specialized printed publications.

The article discusses various criteria for evaluation the efficiency of library activities. Foreign experts have developed various methods for measuring the efficiency of libraries: ServQUAL, LibQUAL, method of Data Enveloped Analysis, method of Total Quality Management, Best Value. Particular attention is paid to documents prepared with the assistance of IFLA. R. Poll and P. Bockhorst made a significant contribution to the development of indicators that allow a multidimensional assessment of the activities of libraries. The Balanced scorecard was used to develop indicators for assessing the efficiency of libraries in the Republic of Belarus. The use of benchmarking based on a comparative analysis of results of library activities for certain parameters or of the same type of libraries is of interest. It is important to assess the activities of libraries by the population. The decisive role is played by the «social effect» – the satisfaction of cultural, social, educational, information needs of the population with the assistance of libraries. Russian specialists I. Pilko and S. Mukhamedieva proposed a composite index of the efficiency of library activities – a set of indicators of social, economic, organizational, technological efficiency. The experience of foreign specialists in the field of librarianship was useful in conducting the scientific research «To develop qualitative indicators of the efficiency of the activities of cultural organizations of the Republic of Belarus, taking into account international experience».

The article focuses on the use of RFID technologies in the library, standard operating procedures of work with RFID tags in the Department of Organisation of the Basic Collection and assessment of the results of the RFID system implementation. The author describes hands-on experience of labeling a large book collection (723 799 books) with RFID tags as part of RFID technology introduction into the practice of the Department of Organisation of the Basic Collection of the Central Scientific Library named after Yakub Kolas of the NAS of Belarus (the CSL of the NAS of Belarus). The relevance of the issue is explained by the fact that this is an innovative activity for Belarus. This information may be used by other libraries in the process of decision making about the implementation of RFID technologies and evaluation of such project. The article reveals essential conditions that have an impact on the convenience of working with the RFID system, and describes step-by-step process of work with RFID tags of a librarian — an employee of the Department of Organisation of the Basic Collection. The author’s aim is to share practical experience, to describe the discovered advantages and disadvantages of RFID tags and their impact on daily work. The research results show that in the course of RFID technology implementation the library received a number of positive results related not only to automation, but also standard library process procedures. Full-featured use of the RFID systems capabilities in the long-term allows developing library services making use of existing experience and the latest achievements, as well as facilitates integration into the modern environment.

The article presents the main stages of the A.M. Bochever’s biography, a known specialist in special bibliography and library science, who worked in the Central Scientific Agricultural Library (CSAL) for 27 years and 19 years of that period he held the position of the director. A.M. Bochever acted as an author and editor of different bibliographic textbooks. He published above 100 works; in particular he was a co-author of a textbook on agricultural bibliography “Literature on Agriculture”. He made a substantial contribution to the theory of library science and bibliography, as well as the establishment and development of the CSAL. The A.M. Bochever’s views are presented with respect to bibliography and its place in the society, the problems of a library, the separation of functions of a library and scientific and technical information bodies, the role of coordination and cooperation in the activity of agricultural libraries. He regarded bibliography as a basis for all types of scientific and technical information, emphasized its social and cultural role. He proposed to consider the bibliography of agricultural literature as an independent branch of general bibliography. He promoted creating in the CSAL of a bibliographical information system comprising alert (an initiator of creation), recommendatory, retrospective and current bibliography. In the 1960s he organized in the CSAL the Centralized Bibliographical Information (CBI): the distribution of a ready catalog card which was both the centralized catalogization of publications on agriculture, as well as the current bibliographical information. He advocated for coordination of the work of libraries and their cooperation in library service. The A.M. Bochever’s ideas were reflected in series of industry-wide methodical documents, including “Regulation on the Unified System of Scientific Technical Information of the USSR State Agriculture Committee”.

The article examines the influence of an individual on the development of library science, on the example of Demyan Romanovich Novikov , the director of the library of the Belarusian Agricultural Academy in Gorki from 1920 to 1975. His biography is described, his contribution to the development and formation of the library during 55 years of his work as the director is traced. The article contains the memoirs of eyewitnesses, as well as historical facts testifying to the importance and significance of D. R. Novikov’s work. Special attention is paid to the activities of subsequent generations of librarians of the library of the Belarusian Agricultural Academy, which have been aimed at promoting the contribution of D.R. Novikov for the development of the library and the academy as a whole, for the bibliographic study of his publication heritage, for the preservation and memorialization of memory of him. It is proposed to use his activities as an example for training specialists in library science.