New horizons of science popularization in libraries

Abstract

In the recent decade, the interest in popular science seminars, lectures and master classes has been growing, which is evidenced by the specialists of libraries, museums and educational organizations. The authors argue that the dialogue between science and society should be enhanced, and it is important to attract public attention to the achievements in science and technology and to cultivate learning interest. The authors review the process of science popularization in Russia and the world, as science popularization is seen as the essential part of educating information literacy and engaging wider community in the world of scientific knowledge. The authors discuss various methods and instruments of science and technology popularization. The focus is made on the role of specialized and academic libraries being the hubs of knowledge dissemination and scientific communication, and supporting different user groups. The authors provide several recommendations for the libraries, in particular, on how to organize popular science events and to develop specialized programs for different age user groups. New options for preserving scientific knowledge digital collections, their processing and further utilization, are also proposed.