Libraries as social institutions in the knowledge society

The author offers a new paradigm of the library as a social institution in the period of the civilization transition from the information society to the knowledge society. The library functions and goals are defined, in particular encouraging and administering of free exchange of opinions and ideas between social strata and groups to solve their vital problems; providing space and tools (including acess to chargeable information content) to implement creative initiatives and to solve user everyday problems; designing training (educational) programs to adapt residents to continuously emerging innovations. Taking into account these new functions and tasks, the author defines the library as a social institution supporting cognitive and creative activities of the community being served through intellectual collaboration, educational and recreational programs, providing space, equipment hard- and software for public use and access to information sources. The author specifies the measures that would facilitate the RF libraries' transition. He emphasizes that, to ensure success, the transformations are needed to be made both at the local (libraries) and at the federal level.