Kasyanova Tatyana I.

Research relevance. The quality of various services, including social ones, is most often studied using marketing and legal approaches. Less often the study of the quality of this type of service is carried out in the context of the problems of the welfare state. Although it is one of the functions of the government bodies to provide the quality of social services and to create conditions for improvement of the quality of life of citizens. At the same time, an independent assessment of the quality of the services provision has been understudied.

The research goal is to study the state of quality assessment of social services for the elderly in the context of the transformation of the welfare state.

Methods. In addition to traditional methods (analysis of theoretical literature, regulatory legal acts, statistical data, reports based on the results of an independent assessment of the conditions for the provision of social services), a sociological method is used – a semi-structured in-depth interview, where interviewers are social service providers, heads of the Ministry of Social Policy of the Sverdlovsk Region.

Scientific novelty. The article reveals the correlation between the processes of transformation of the Russian Federation as a social welfare state and the changes taking place in the social services for the elderly. It classifies the causes that affect the quality of the social services provision.

Results. It was revealed that in recent years there have been large-scale changes in social services for the elderly: new norms governing the provision of social services, quality standards of social services, the list of providers, etc. These positive changes are a consequence of the processes of transformation of the Russian Federation as a social welfare state. These changes include the assessment of the quality of the social services provision for the elderly. This research reveals and classifies the reasons that prevent the achievement of a high level of quality of the services provision.

Purpose. To study social changes in the structure of human capital of Russian elderly citizens who continue working. Methods. The research methodology used by the authors of the article is based on the theory of social changes, the theoretical idea of the authors of the article about the human capital of older Russian citizens who continue working, the potential as an opportunity and readiness for change. We also used such a method as the analysis of laws and regulations of the labor activity of Russian senior citizens. To test the theoretical hypothesis, an empirical study was conducted using a survey (based on an opinion poll). 418 people aged 50 to 72 years living in the cities of the Sverdlovsk region were polled. Results. It is found out that the human capital of senior citizens is a system of components with specific characteristics that change and create conditions for the development of a new idea of retirement age, associated with a positive assessment of professional potential, readiness to continue working and learning new competencies. The positive assessment of professional potential is influenced by such factors as increasing the level of education of many senior citizens, increasing the number of representatives of such professional statuses as “individual entrepreneur” and “working pensioner”. The new concept of retirement age is also influenced by job status and skill level. Managers, experts and the semi-skilled, and craftsmen give a higher professional self-esteem than representatives of other official statuses. Changing perceptions of retirement age is influenced not only by material motives, but also by social ones: the need and importance in the family and work team, professional communication, and the ability to share own experience with employees of other age groups. Social changes include the development of a behavioral strategy for some older citizens as a set of conscious actions and subsequent changes based on professional mobility. Participants in changes in the components of human capital are not only senior citizens, but also government agencies, employers, and educational organizations. Scientific novelty. The components of the human capital of senior citizens are disclosed. It is proved that social changes include the development of a new concept of retirement age by Russian senior citizens, as a result of changes in the characteristics of human capital components.

In the information society, the functions of libraries are changing. The main tasks of libraries today are: ensuring public access to information and knowledge, preservation of cultural heritage, availability of information and communication services and, most importantly, constant dialogue with users in various forms. The tasks of libraries are expanding and becoming more complex. The librarian must understand the interests of the reader, be able to conduct professional communication about the request for information search, modern librarians master the law, economics, taxes, bidding procedures, participate in sociological and marketing research, and they need knowledge and skills of research, development of analytical reviews. The competitiveness of libraries in modern society and the future of the national library industry depend on the availability of highly qualified personnel. The article presents the results of research on staffing in libraries in Ekaterinburg. The authors conducted a survey of employees of the library center, a questionnaire survey of young employees and content analysis of reports of library managers. The study revealed the trends that are typical for libraries in the country: the aging of staff, the decline in the prestige of library professions, the departure of highly qualified specialists from libraries, including young ones, the lack of prospects for professional and career growth, the increase in the number of employees without special training, the low level of remuneration, The main factors affecting the development and improvement of the library's personnel support, respondents consider a decent salary, attracting young employees, the availability of professional education, as well as the possibility to constant improvement of professional skills. Positive practices have been identified in the system of professional training, for example, conducting schools of a complete setter, a library blogger, a restorer, a cataloger. Library managers note the high information potential of creative trips. The “All-Russian competition “Librarian of the year”, “The best youth volunteer project in the library”, the award of Honorary diplomas of the RBA “For contribution to the development of library local history of Russia” are essential for increasing the importance of library professions in society. The paper notes the importance of expanding the implementation of programs of professional training and retraining by universities in the areas of library services and the need for professional career guidance work with students and schoolchildren.