The Impact of Digitalization on the Work of University Libraries

Abstract

The article deals with the digitalization of libraries. The activity of university libraries is analyzed and the influence of the digitalization process on it is outlined. Universities libraries are now turning into information centers. This is caused by the needs of modern users. The process of digitalization of university libraries makes it possible to improve the quality of the educational process. Quite often, university libraries are considered mainly as a center called to work with students, although now the audience of users has increased significantly. To determine the implementation of digitalization, the criteria by which the work of libraries was evaluated, were identified. The criteria for analysis were: modern visual design of the site, publication of library news and announcements, representation of electronic resources and publications, as well as the availability of their use, active communication with users and pages in social networks. For the study the library of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, the library of Odesa I. Mechnikov National University, the library of Sumy State University were chosen. The choice of the libraries is justified by the fact that all selected universities are among the top 10 universities in Ukraine. The methods of analysis, synthesis and generalization were used in the study. The analysis of the libraries’ activities showed that all the selected libraries are actively implementing digitalization in their work. The desire of the universities to expand the scope of activities and to actively communicate with users is also important. Positive changes in libraries are outlined. Prospects for further research are empirical studies of the effectiveness of libraries.

Keywords

• digitalization, libraries of higher education institutions, website, electronic publications.