From books to digital opportunities: what the KSU library is like

- Ms. Allo, please tell our readers about yourself.

– I am the director of the Scientific Library of Kherson State University. Since 2022, I have been acting as the library director, and since 2024, I have been the director of the Scientific Library. I have come a long way from being a librarian in the first reading room of our university in Kherson, then being responsible for all digital issues in the scientific library, and now I am using this experience in the situation of the full-scale invasion.

– I would like to start with how the full-scale war has affected the work of the library and its employees, and what you had to change in your usual work format?

– You know, I would say that today the Scientific Library actually works in two dimensions, but the main one, of course, due to the security situation, – is online. A student does not necessarily need to come physically to the library to obtain much of the necessary information. Through the scientific library's website, one can access the electronic library catalog, databases, the institutional repository, and obtain information about academic integrity, scientific resources, and rules for formatting works. In other words, we also consult students and our researchers and teachers online.

The library has changed its format, but it has not changed its main function – to be near the user when they need it. As for how the lives of our employees have changed, of course, our lives have changed very significantly, and we have changed our approaches to our work. We have moved as much as possible into the digital field, preserved everything, and continue to work.

– What remote services does the library currently provide to students, teachers, or researchers? Which of them are used most frequently?

– Of course, these include consultations, searching for information and scientific sources, access to electronic resources, assistance with using databases, and working with the repository. A separate area is assistance with academic integrity: this includes issues of citation, formatting the list of references, and checking academic texts. For teachers and researchers, they most often contact us regarding Web of Science and Scopus databases, as well as issues with author profiles, publication activity, and open science. For students, the most important thing now is that they can contact us remotely and not be left alone with the phrase “I don't know where to find this”. In other words, we help find useful information and explain how to use it correctly.

– And what opportunities for further digitalization of the library do you see? Are there any services or technologies that you would like to implement in the near future?

– I think that the next stage is not just to accumulate more electronic resources, but to make it as easy as possible for students to use them. That is, I would like to form a single digital environment for the library, where a person can quickly find the required information, which includes articles, dissertations, and qualification works. But there are other issues that can be resolved, answers and consultations obtained. Also, the automation of individual library processes is promising – modern search technologies and, of course, elements of artificial intelligence. So, for me, digitalization is not just technology for the sake of technology. If our technology does not make the user's life easier, then the question arises: why is it needed?

– Is there any striking example of when the library was very helpful to either a teacher or a student?

– I will not mention any specific names right now, but, for example, a student might approach with a very simple-looking question: “I need to write a qualification work. But I don't know where to look for sources”. And here, the librarian's job is not just to provide a few links. We can show how to correctly formulate a search query, where to look for publications, how to work with the repository and databases, and how to evaluate a source. For me, these situations are very valuable because, as a result, the student receives not just an answer, but a skill that stays with them in the future.

– What difficulties do you most often encounter in the library's work now, and how do you manage to overcome them?

– The greatest difficulty is, of course, the security situation and the impossibility of working fully with the physical collection. Another problem is digital overload. Today, there is so much information that sometimes it is harder for a student not to find information, but to understand which information can be trusted. Therefore, we try not just to provide resources, but also to teach how to use them. This is precisely where the difficulty lies now – information overload and the need to provide the understanding and skill of how to correctly find the most reliable information among this huge pile of information – the one that can be worked with.

– As far as I know, before the full-scale invasion, a transformer hall was opened. How did the idea of creating a transformer hall arise, and what made this space special?

– The transformer hall was part of the general library renovation. It was opened on December 15, 2020. The idea was for the library to stop being perceived only as a place where bookshelves stand and people sit quietly studying. We wanted to create such a lively university space that could change depending on needs. There, one could hold a lecture, a meeting, a presentation, a discussion, a training, or a modern event. It was the possibility of space transformation that made it special. And that is how this idea arose. We wanted to provide students with more than just a space where they could take a book and sit quietly.

– What exactly was the students' reaction to the appearance of such a modern space?

– It was very positive. Students really liked that such a modern place appeared at the university, where they could not just come for a book, but also meet, chat, listen to a lecture, or work together. We even set up a separate area with pillows where students could sit and gather. And that is exactly what they did. Even in their free time, when they had no classes and no official events were taking place in our halls, they would simply gather there and socialize. It was a special place. It seems to me that this is a very important indicator of a modern library: when a student comes not because they were sent, but because they truly want to come and be there.

– Please tell us, which library resources or services, in your opinion, are underutilized by students, even though they could significantly help them in their studies?

– I would particularly draw attention to our institutional repository and scientific databases. Students sometimes think that a repository is just a place where diploma works are uploaded. In reality, it is much broader: it contains scientific articles, teaching and methodological recommendations, and publications by faculty. As of now, we have more than 21,000 documents. Therefore, I always advise students that before searching for something random on Google, they should see what your teachers and university researchers have already written and published. In other words, I would like our students to pay more attention to our repository.

– You mentioned the repository. How actively do students use it in general? And for what purposes and needs is it used most frequently?

– I have already mentioned that I would like students to use our repository more often. We have a lot of useful information in our repository. For example, we have student research in culturology, psychology, social work, economics, and tourism. We even have works on mythology and religious beliefs in Ukraine, on psychological well's being, procrastination, and stress management. We have a great deal of information about our Kherson region, and even about the Program for Professional Orientation of the Residents of De-occupied Kherson Region for 2025–2030. There are studies on the use of artificial intelligence even in the restaurant business. Therefore, I would like it to be used more often. In general, I would advise anyone interested in a particular topic not to perceive the repository only as an academic storage. There are many materials there that can be read out of pure interest, to better understand a certain phenomenon, profession, history, or the problems of our society.

– How have the needs of students and teachers in the library changed over the last 4–5 years? What do they need most specifically in the digital environment?

– Requests have become more digital. Previously, a request sounded simple: “Give me a book”. Today, it more often sounds like: “Where can I find reliable information on this topic? Where can I find a scientific article? How do I verify a source? How do I correctly format a reference? How can I find the works of other researchers?”. In other words, a librarian today is not just a person who knows where a book is located, but also a specialist who helps navigate the information space. Now these are digital queries – where to find? how to use correctly?.

– Tell us, does the library currently conduct consultations for students regarding the search for reliable information and working with scientific sources?

– Of course, we conduct such consultations. In fact, we always meet first-year students with an online meeting where we show our website, our page, and how exactly to search for information and which databases we have. We also support students in every year of study. Other teachers also invite specialists from the Scientific Library to their classes. And we are happy to join, showing how to use things correctly, consulting on how to properly search for information that might be most useful. So, yes, we conduct such meetings and consultations – not only group ones, but also individual ones, upon separate request.

– What do you love most about your work, and what inspires you during these difficult times?

– I love the moments when I realize that my work, the work of our Scientific Library, has truly helped someone. Perhaps for someone, it is just a found article or a correctly formatted citation. For a student, we can resolve an issue that might have troubled them for several hours or an entire day, and we simply stepped in and helped, and it was resolved. I am inspired precisely when people approach us – and we can help. Our meetings with students inspire me. Even from the first year, our meetings, when I receive additional questions. This truly inspires me. We continue to be needed, and perhaps that is the best motivation for a library.

– What specific role, in your opinion, will the university library play in the future? Can it become not just a place for access to literature and information, but also a modern educational space?

– I am convinced that the university library of the future is not just a storage for books. It will be a digital educational, communicative, and scientific space. Books, of course, will remain; they will be there, but alongside them will be electronic resources, open data, scientific databases, repositories, digital resources, and, of course, artificial intelligence. And the role of the library will also change. We will not only help find information but also teach how to find quality information, how to evaluate it, how to use it correctly, and how not to violate academic integrity. Our role will change, but we will always be there for our students and teachers.

Kristina Khvedorko, 3rd-year student of the «Journalism» educational program
Mykyta Sharapov, 3rd-year student of the «Journalism» educational program