The article presents new information capabilities of electronic bibliographic resources using the example of network union catalogs and products of popular recommendation bibliography posted on the websites of central regional libraries of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. During the transition to the digital environment, they undergo major changes, leading to an expansion of the information potential of their use in library practice. It is noted that despite the advantages of online bibliographic resources, there are a number of features that reduce the effectiveness of their use in information and bibliographic retrieval. There are differences between the proposed models for the development of digital bibliography and the real state of network resources of union catalogs and popular recommendatory bibliography. Ways to overcome existing problems are determined. The possibilities of integrating bibliographic resources in the digital environment are considered.

The authors provide the main statistical indicators of domestic book publishing for 2023. 13 tables with comments give a clear picture of the number of titles of books and brochures, their circulation, themes, types and kinds of publications, the main publishers, printing houses and the most popular authors in the field of fiction for adults and children. Special attention is paid to the problem of legislative support of the domestic book industry and its main subjects — authors and publishers. The decrease in the two main statistical indicators of 2023 compared to 2022 was 11.9 per cent in the number of titles of books and brochures and 14.64 per cent in their total circulation.

The concept of environment in reading activity is actively used in publications of various levels, but the question of its essence has not been considered. The aim of the article is to give scientific substantiation to the concepts of “reading environment” and “reading environment formation”. Their main characteristics and interrelations with such concepts as “reading activity”, “reading communication”, “practices of reading organization” are defined. The possibilities of their use in reading studies are outlined. The methodology of the research is based on the analysis of works devoted to psychological, sociological, culturological aspects of the phenomenon of environment and library, bibliology, pedagogical approaches to influence its formation. The main results consist in defining the reading environment as a set of elements: books as a resource of reading communication, socio–pedagogical conditions of reading activity (family reading, book publishing, library, school and university). The reader’s environment formation is defined as a purposeful meaning–generating subjective activity of the reader, leading to the formation of the reading environment. Examples of reading environment formation in the Linguistic Gymnasium of Kirov city are given. Prospects of using environment–forming reading activity in library and pedagogical practice are indicated.

The article presents the results of a sociological study of reading preferences of schoolchildren in Kirov region, which was held in April — May 2022 on the basis of the Kirov State Universal Regional Scientific Library named after A.I. Herzen. The purpose of the survey was to analyze the reading preferences of respondents and empirical confirmation of the hypothesis that book illustration is an effective means of attracting children and adolescents to reading. The results of the study showed that in choosing their favourite works, schoolchildren give priority to foreign literature, graphic novels or works from the school curriculum, but the distribution of their interests is different. Teenagers prefer to choose literature independently, randomly or following fashion, bloggers’ and peers’ advice, and they also prefer illustrated books. It is concluded that teenagers’ reading should be “gently” managed by parents, teachers and librarians. The mechanism of such management should be built on the basis of trends in the development of the information environment, taking into account the preferences of teenagers, and without any pressure. Library lessons devoted to book illustration and visual literature can be an effective tool.

The relevance of the analyzed problem is conditioned by the phenomenon of subcultures formed around one or another successful publishing project. The paper considers the functioning of W. Scott’s popular novels in the socio-cultural space, the role of literary novelty in the formation of certain cognitive “meanings”, the axiological aspect of intercultural relations. The novelty of solving the research problem lies in the interdisciplinary approach, shifting the emphasis from the traditional literary studies to bibliology, which allows us to evaluate the empirical material from different perspectives. The “non-boring” reading characteristic of the final Romantic era, which brought the author and the reader closer together, is the result of the writer’s skill and the improvement of the publishing industry, as well as related processes (translation activities, book trade, the formation of public libraries and private collections). The influence of rapidly changing historical circumstances on the tastes of the reading audience is shown.

The article analyzes the handwritten “Catalog of New Library Acquisitions” by the famous bibliographer and bibliophile D.V. Ulyaninsky (1861—1918), stored in the department of Rare books (the Book Museum) of the Russian State Library. It is considered as an ego-text that directly reflects the bibliophile life of the author and his experiences related to it. In the text, the bibliophile not only recorded all receipts to his personal library, but also left diary entries. From them, you can learn about the folding of the library structure, changes in the accounting system, and the exclusion of publications from its composition. In his diary entries, which became acts of self-communication and self-reflection, the bibliophile described his relationship with booksellers, difficulties in collecting, justified for himself the high costs of books, rejoiced at successful acquisitions, noted some events of public and personal life, etc. It is concluded that the “Catalog of New Library Acquisitions” acted as a draft, a pre-text for a detailed bibliographic description of the library of D.V. Ulyaninsky, which received a printed embodiment. Many of his notes remain only in manuscript. This fact makes them a unique source both for studying the biography of D.V. Ulyaninsky and for the history of the world of antique book trade and bibliophilia of the late 19th — early 20th century.

The review of the second, corrected and supplemented edition of the textbook “Bibliography Science”, published by the publishing house “Profession” in St. Petersburg in 2023 (authors — O.P. Korshunov, N.K. Lelikova, T.F. Likhovid) is presented. Compared to the previous edition (2014), this edition is supplemented with new information on the theory and practice of bibliographic activity in our country and abroad. The basic concepts, concepts, structure, goals and objectives of bibliography in the system of documentary communications are considered. Special attention is paid to the characterization of the main types, types and forms of existence of bibliographic information, as well as to the actual normative documents for the sphere of bibliography. The review reveals the main content and importance of this textbook not only for the training of bachelors, but also for a wider range of specialists in different branches of book business. It is concluded that the reviewed book is necessary for the development of bibliography knowledge, which in modern Russia should be based on the rich national cultural traditions.

The article analyses new publications in the field of general theory of reading, the release of which is timed to the 80th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Education — the collection of scientific articles “Russian Teachers and Psychologists About Reading” and the twentieth anniversary issue of “Reports of the Scientific Council on Reading Problems of the Russian Academy of Education”. The first collection contains long–unreleased scientific articles by well–known Russian pedagogues and psychologists, including members of the Russian Academy of Education, devoted to various aspects of reading. The authors bring their works back into scientific circulation and emphasize the importance of academic study of reading.

The 20th issue of the papers of the Scientific Council on Reading Problems of the Russian Academy of Education presents the materials of the permanent round table “Pedagogical Approach to the Formation of Culture”. The publications are considered in terms of their contribution to modern science and practice, as well as in terms of the development of the general theory of reading and its individual sections.

The review of the monograph of the Doctor of Historical Sciences A.Yu. Samarin “Academic Translator Sergey Savvich Volchkov and the Book Business in Russia of the 18th Century” (Moscow: Yanus–K, 2022), devoted to the history of book business of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences in the 18th century and various aspects of the formation of private book publishing in Russia, is presented. The author of this work reconstructs the biography of the translator, publisher and printer S.S. Volchkov (1707— 1773/1774) on the basis of archival materials. In addition, the book contains information about the life and activities of the translator Ivan Odintsov, about the printed editions of the works of academicians M.V. Lomonosov and G.F. Miller, about the readership of N.M. Karamzin’s Moscow Journal. Information about the work of the printing houses of the Army Cadet Corps and the Mining School is introduced into the scientific turnover.

The article presents information about the scientific conference “V.V. Stasov and Russian Culture” (St. Petersburg, 11 January 2024), organized by the Russian National Library and dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of V.V. Stasov (1824—1906), an outstanding figure of Russian book culture and art, who contributed to the development of Russian bibliography. There is an overview of the reports, which reveal various aspects of his multifaceted activity (second half of 19th — beginning of 20th century). Also briefly told about the exhibition “Ardent Interpreter of Russian Art”, dedicated to V.V. Stasov.