“New” as Characteristics of Library and Information Activities

There is presented interpretation of the concept of “New” in relation to library and information activities. “New” is considered in correlation with similar concepts: “Innovation”, “Novation” and “Novelty”. It is shown that the emergence of New is caused by changes that occur under the influence of affecting the library and its activities (as system and subsystem) factors of the external environment and logic of the internal development of these socio-cultural objects. There are specified the types of changes. There are given the examples of different variants of New in the main types of library and information activities: formation of library-information collection, reference system, analytical-synthetic processing of information, library and information services and management. New is significant for the included in these types of activities objects, processes and results, as well as for the organization of structure of library and library-information environment. New is manifested in the library and information activities as emergent; potentially inherent; coincidence of the result with the hidden pattern; regeneration of old meanings, return to the lost, forgotten; already been in other forms. There are considered contradiction and interrelation between the concepts of “New” and “Tradition”. Through the idea of the present and the future there is shown the relationship of the concepts of “New” and “Time”. Selection of characteristics of “New” in the library and information activities allows to draw attention to the necessity of a deeper study within the framework of library and information science and practice.