Kovtaniuk Yurii, Harahulia Serhii

National Electronic Library of Ukraine: results of October discussions by the expert community on its development

Section: Libraries in the digital environment

Abstract: The purpose of the article is to determine the state of development of the National Electronic Library of Ukraine (hereinafter NELU), the problems that hinder its creation and the prospects for its further development, based on the information obtained in the interindustry, interdepartmental and interdisciplinary professional dialogue of librarians, archivists and information technology specialists and scientists at the level of heads of central executive bodies of Ukraine, national and state libraries, archival institutions, based on the information obtained in the inter-industry, interdepartmental and interdisciplinary professional dialogue. The methodology involves the use of observation methods, systemic and comparative analysis, synthesis of facts and forecasting of development trends in electronic information systems at the national level. The scientific novelty. The article explores the current realities of developing a national-level interdisciplinary information system in Ukraine to ensure the preservation of documentary historical and cultural heritage and provide access to relevant documentary information in digital form. Conclusions. The current state of development of NELU demonstrates the futility of discussing this problem with a narrow composition of the initiative group of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine (hereinafter MCSC), which currently includes only representatives of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine / Ukrainian Library Association, without representatives of the professional library and archive community, two national libraries of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, whose collections together number more than 28 million units of storage of cultural heritage, the State Archival Service of Ukraine (hereinafter Ukrderzarchiv), academic libraries of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, which contain a large number and significance of units of storage of cultural heritage of Ukraine, successfully use various hardware and software solutions and have more than 20 years of experience in the formation of information resources at the national level. A significant risk of unprofessional solutions and irrational use of financial resources is the initiative group’s approach to the professional community. It proposes a singleminded approach to the basic methodological (including goals, objectives, and terminology) and practical foundations of NELU’s creation. This approach lacks professional consolidation, collegiality, and consideration of the experience of other institutions, including information technology specialists who have already built such resources, taking into account international standards and information exchange, and cultural heritage bibliologists who must develop a conceptual framework for cultural and documentary heritage, ensure the reliability of data, and prioritize its cataloging, digitalization, and open access presentation. Regulatory, personnel, and scientific support for NELU’s activities are not discussed. Concern is heightened by the fact that dissenting positions from other specialists are rejected with little or no discussion. This leads to conceptual uncertainty at the MCSC leadership level. Overall, despite the controversial nature of many aspects of the NELU development, the clarity of the discussion positions objectively facilitates the establishment of a constructive dialogue between the MCSC, national libraries belonging to other spheres of governance, academic libraries, and the Ukrderzarchiv regarding cooperation in the development of NELU.

Keywords: National Electronic Library of Ukraine, digitization of documentary and cultural heritage, digital preservation of the cultural heritage of Ukraine.

  Full-text PDF    https://doi.org/10.15407/bv2025.04.087     Citation

• Kovtaniuk Yurii (V. I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, Ukraine, Kyiv, [email protected]) ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4120-1875
• Harahulia Serhii (V. I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, Ukraine, Kyiv, [email protected]) ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5564-9494

Cite:
Kovtaniuk Yurii (2025). National Electronic Library of Ukraine: results of October discussions by the expert community on its development. Bibliotechnyi visnyk, (4) 87-111. (In Ukrainan). doi: https://doi.org/10.15407/bv2025.04.087

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