The article discusses the position of modern libraries in the world. How the environment in which functioning of libraries has changed radically. The question of what the library should become and whether it should continue to exist in general remains open to this day. The author of the article analyzes how modern information technologies determine the strategy and tactics of library development. The author acknowledges that today for traditional libraries, gaining access to electronic resources significantly changes the approache to information work in general. This emphasizes that it allows readers to access information without having to resort to printed originals and often relieves users of the need to physically visit libraries.