Library scientists have been actively considering the ways to improve various aspects of library activities recent decades. The most studied problems are the following: libraries innovative development in general, information systems updating, e-resources and services modernization, etc. The paper analyzes the history of creating the most significant complex information resources generated by the Branch of the State Public Scientific Technological Library of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It shows that both internal (human, technological) and external (reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences, emerging new software products or platforms) factors can evidently be reasons for upgrading some specific electronic products. Modernization of the library information resources can follow several areas: structure development, content updating, design improvement, changing generation technologies, hard- and software update, providing services based on resources, carrying out promotion activities. Using the e-resources property for continuous transformation, it’s possible to increase their life cycle significantly. At the same time, the main goal of modernizing library information resources is to improve their quality. The library information resources updating is a natural process in some extend permitting to improve content and service components of a resource for its providing in a modern form to a wide range of users. The choice of the resource improvement direction depends on its relevance, and developers’ competence level.