Library today

The history of the Scientific and Technical Library is inextricably linked with the development and the establishment of the university and is covered in numerous publications.
The introduction of digital technologies has led to radical changes in all library's activities. Its resources are available to anyone and everyone, regardless of the place they work or study.
For the period from 2015 to 2020, the efforts of the library staff were aimed at: ensuring the quality of services and resources; enhancing digital content, library services and virtual library service; popularization of graduates' scientific heritage; improving readers’ information culture; ensuring the correctness and completeness of data on publications of NTU «KhPI» scientists in information and analytical systems.
Readers are served at 6 circulation departments, in 8 specialized reading rooms and offices of 38 academic chairs. By the electronic library account, authorized users get access to full-text resources of the electronic catalog and to remote ordering services.
Within the framework of the «Unified Library Card for Kharkiv Universities» project, all library users are entitled to free use of interlibrary loan and electronic document delivery services, and use resources of another 28 academic libraries of Kharkiv. About 20,000 readers visit the library annually, and the circulation is more than 1,200,000 items. Original space-planning solutions and modern design ensure the comfortable staying of users, and the lighting system takes into account the psychophysiological features of the simultaneous readers' work with paper and electronic documents.
The complex information system of the library coordinates the work of: data processing center; control and management systems for access into the library; video surveillance system; library automation based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology; alerting system; reliable power supply. This system also provides formation and reliable storage of resources, automation of all technological processes, staff and readers safety. Wi-Fi technology was implemented. Transformation of the library's information infrastructure with the simultaneous usage of local and cloud services raises the level of users’ mobility. Based on «Office 365 for Education», Cloud services were organized.
By the beginning of 2020, the library's holdings totaled 1,380,958 items, of which — 482,018 scientific publications. For the period from 2015 to 2019 the library received 23,639 items for a total amount of about 2,260,000 UAH, of which 6.412 items were donated by the authors and readers of the library for the amount over 573,000 UAH.
NTU «KhPI» scholars and students have the opportunity to get free access to the Web of Science platform, Scopus, to the resources of the Information and Legal System «LIGA: ZAKON». For 5 years, the library provided temporary access to 33 more world information resources.
Full-text resources, generated by NTU «KhPI» scholars, total over 54,000 documents, 36,000 of which were added for the period from 2015 to 2020. The library's website is available in Ukrainian, English and Russian and has a comfortable navigation. There is «Virtual Reference Service» to help users.
Such website sections as «Electronic resources», «Publications of NTU «KhPI» and «Gallery» are in great demand of readers. They include 226 virtual exhibitions, where 6,290 documents are presented. Most of them are devoted to the history of Kharkiv Technological Institute and the achievements of NTU «KhPI» scientists. Based on the results of the search for the HhTI history facts, previously unknown to the scientific community, virtual exhibitions «The History of HhTI in Faces», «History of HhTI in Documents», «HhTI in the Chronicle of the Most Important Facts and Events of Kharkiv (1885)», and «HhTI in the Chronicle of the Most Important Facts and Events of Kharkiv (1916)» are presented. Information and archival materials about over 5,000 people are presented in a form of a biographical dictionary «Students and Alumni of HhTI».
To familiarize the scientific community with the achievements of the NTU «KhPI» scientific schools, such biobibliographic projects were implemented: «The KhPI Scientific School of Electrical Engineering», «Rectors (directors) of NTU «KhPI» [KhPTI, KhTI, KhCTI, KhMMI, KhETI, KhPI]», «The KhPI Scientific Schools of Chemistry», «Scientists of NTU «KhPI» — Education, Science, Industry: best editions». These projects were created as a sign of gratitude to many generations of students and lecturers who had provided the scientific basis for successful development of NTU «KhPI» and its recognition in the world.
The electronic catalog with more than 660,000 records and more than 7,500 full-text documents is accessible to users (accession of the last 5 years is over 210,000), and the Institutional Repository «Electronic Archive of National Technical University «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute» (eNTUKhPIIR) (ISSN 2409–5982) contains about 4,000 records, of which the collection of dissertations include more than 600 records.

Library's resources are integrated into many world specialized scientific information search systems and international catalogs. Information about main library electronic resources is included into the informational portal «Science of Ukraine: Access to Knowledge» of the National Library of Ukraine named after V. I. Vernadsky (sigla of NTB NTU «KhPI» — NRLU0001163), and the NTB NTU «KhPI» electronic catalog is included into the distributed search of the NBUV.

Links are also included into the register of world libraries in Wikipedia: List of libraries, and links to the repository are included into the list of world repositories in Wikipedia: List of repositories and the list of Ukrainian repositories in Wikipedia: Ukrainian institutional repositories Open Archives Initiative. Adhering to the concept of openness, the library supports the Open access movement and e-education systems and continues to cooperate on interregional corporate projects.

The library joined the Academic Integrity Promotion Project. In May 2018, the Electronic Repository of qualifying graduation theses of applicants for higher education at National Technical University «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute» (eNTUKhPIIRG) was launched. It contains over 13,000 qualifying graduation theses.
A library website section «Academic Integrity» was created. The academic integrity issue was considered at pedagogical workshops, and at numerous classes on information culture. The excursions for school-leavers were accompanied by demonstration of videos on academic integrity. Anti-plagiarism systems were presented at webinars, and trainings on the technology for their application were held.
From 2015 to 2020, more than 1000 book exhibitions were organized, where more than 33,000 editions were exhibited. At the request of users, 486 bibliographic lists were compiled and more than 33,000 records were edited. The library staff organized: 30 «Information Days», 37 «University Chairs’ Days», 42 «Specialist’s Days», 190 excursions for university guests, 29 scientific and practical seminars and conferences for authors, publishers and the city's library community, among them: «Creating a scientist’s brand»; «The path of the article from the preparation to the recognition by the world scientific community»; «Modern scientific journals: basic requirements, site format, indexing in specialized databases and Web of Science, doi»; «The capabilities of the Web of Science platform (Thomson Reuters) for high-quality scientific research»; «Scientific publications: basic requirements, competitive models based on Web of Science data» and etc.
In order to accelerate the introduction of innovative technologies into pedagogical practice, within the framework of the International School-Seminar «Modern Pedagogical Technologies in Education» the library held pedagogical workshops: 2016 — «Modern Information Technologies to Help Education»»; 2017 — «Library Innovation»; 2018 — «Portfolio Forming Methodology of a Lecturer and a Scientist».
92 presentations at conferences and seminars of various levels were presented, and 45 articles and theses, and 4 bibliographic indexes were published.
From 2015 to 2017, distance courses «Curator of Content – 4», «Curator of Content – 5», and «Curator of Content – 6» for masters, post-graduate students, lecturers, and distance learning specialists were held, under the grant program «Civil Society Digital Capacity Building» of Press, Education and Culture Section of the US Embassy in Ukraine.
In order to improve students’ information culture, 446 hours of classroom activities were held for first-year students during 2018-2019. A distance course «Information Culture Fundamentals» was developed. For 10 years, librarians-curators have been helping freshmen to know about library's resources and find out more about its services. Curators hold more than 600 meetings with freshmen. Annually they make about 170 excursions around the library. Their work contributes to better freshmen's didactic adaptation. About 70 excursions around the library were organized for university applicants.
About 30.000 references and individual and group methodological consultations on self-archiving of scientific publications, the use of citation styles, the rules for bibliographic references, the registration and use of global identifiers (ORCID, DOI, ISSN), the method of registration on ResearcherID, Scopus and GoogleScholar platforms, determining the UDCs identifiers etc. are provided annually. To create the prerequisites for the inclusion of the NTU «KhPI» scientific publications to Web of Science and Scopus scientometric databases, since 2016, the library has been coordinating work in accordance with the PILA Membership Agreement of the Participant represented by the Association of Users of Ukrainian Research and Academic Telecommunication Network URAN. Coordination of the transmission and deposit of article metadata to CrossRef is ensured. Coordination of the transmission and deposit of works on the use of the Open Journal Systems publishing platform for automation of activities, publication of electronic versions of editions, integration of data to external systems is also ensured.
A set of actions was carried out to ensure the accuracy and completeness of data about publications of the NTU «KhPI» scientists in information and analytical systems, the indicators of which are used in the formal assessment of the university activity. The analysis of general publication indicators is carried out on the basis of Scopus and Web of Science CC databases.
In accordance with the «Books that Warm Hearts» project, information about literary and arts publications was supplemented with a list and references to other publications of the author from the collection of our library, interesting quotes from books that encourage readers to think. To inform users about cultural events, the website section «Events at The Library» was organized and the online directory «Kharkiv Playbills» was created.
A space for free communication was organized. Here readers can familiarize themselves with the principles of academic integrity, relax, meet friends, play chess, borrow books from Bookcrossing, which is available to all library visitors. Photo zones were actively created. These photo zones were very popular with the library visitors.
The area of library and information services is the intersection point of culture, science and education spheres and a component of the economic and political system of society. The book has always been a source of not only knowledge, but also moral values for the younger generation, and the library can have a significant impact on formation of social responsibility of student youth. 4.500 readers participated in 70 public events of the library. For the aesthetic and patriotic education of student youth, the library held social and cultural events («History is Made by Ordinary People», «The World Day of Peace at NTU «KhPI»», «The Revolution of Dignity Is Going On», etc.), literary soirees, cycles of creative meetings («Film Meetings», «Musical Meetings», «Artists born in KhPI», etc.). Opening of the painting exhibition «Struggle on — and will Overcome!» was dedicated to citizenship education. Meetings of the Polytechnic University staff, lecturers and students with the «Anti-Terrorist Operation» (ATO) participants, with Viktor Tsapko, a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine and with journalist Volodymyr Chystylin, who presented his documentary movie «Heroes Never Die» were also dedicated to patriotic education. Librarians took part in flash mobs dedicated to the World Vyshyvanka Day.
There are 72 highly educated, erudite specialists presently working at the library. The high level of corporate culture encourages them to develop creative initiative. According to the results of the «Librarian of the Year – 2015» competition, the library became the winner of the competition and was recognized as the «Leader of innovations in librarianship». Beyond that, Verkhova I. Yu., Librarian of the 1st category, Kulish V. I., Chief Bibliographer, Zhuravlova Iu. V., Kolisnykova I. O. and Chernykh D. I., Heads of Sectors, became winners in the category «For the Creation of Own Electronic Information Resources».
According to the results of the «Librarian of the Year – 2016» competition Kostromina S. V., Head of the Scientific and Methodological Department and Bykova V. I., Chief Librarian received diplomas of winners in the nomination «For the Creation of Own Electronic Information Resources». And Palyey T. L., Deputy Director and Bondarenko L. P., Head of the Department won the nomination) «For the Cultural and Aesthetic Education of Youth».
In 2016, according to the results of the Web ranking, the library took the 4th place among Ukrainian libraries and the 1st place among libraries of Ukrainian higher educational institutions. Our library also occupied the 4th position in the TOP-30 Bookcrossers of Ukraine ranking. Poberezhna O. O., Deputy Director of the Scientific and Technical library, received the Diploma of the Third Regional Competition of Scientific Works and Innovative Projects named after L. B. Khavkina «Libraries, Their Organization and Technology».
Poberezhna O. O., Deputy Director, became the winner of the «Librarian of the Year – 2018» competition in the nomination «For Promoting the Spreading of Academic Integrity». And Bykova V. I., Methodologist of the 1st category, won the nomination «For the Best Bibliographic Index» in 2018.
Certificates of appreciation and commendations from ministries, agencies, departments and organizations: Commendation from the Department of Culture of the Poltava Regional State Administration to Semenenko L. P., Director of the Scientific and Technical library (2015); Commendation from the Command of the military unit A1451 to the library staff members for their significant contribution to maintaining the combat readiness of sub-units of the military unit in the zone of the anti-terrorist operation on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (2016); Commendation from the National Mediation and Conciliation Service to Semenenko L. P. for a significant contribution to the development of legal culture among participants of social and labor relations (2018). Glavcheva Yu. M., Deputy Director of the Scientific and Technical library, awarded with a Diploma of the State Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine for winning the competition for the best scientific work on theoretical and practical aspects of comparative analysis of the activities of researchers, research groups and scientific institutions of Ukraine (2018).
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine awarded Semenenko L. P., Director of the Scientific and Technical library, with a badge «For scientific and educational achievements» in 2019. And the organizing committee of the International Historical and Cultural Project «Light and Liberty» (USA) noted her activities and awarded her with a commemorative medal «Peace and Friendship».
The library owes its achievements and modern state to attentive university administration, demanding readers and highly professional library staff.

The motto of the Library which sounds like «We are open for comers and goers, regardless of their place of work and study» helps to attract different categories of people to the readership.