The lag of Russia in the development of the fifth technological order has had a dramatic impact on research and technological libraries. Until the early 1990s, they were rightfully considered unique access points to relevant scientific knowledge, and now they are experiencing an acute crisis, looking for their place in the radically changed landscape of scholarly communications The article identifies the main challenges that led to the crisis. The aim of the study is to find answers to these challenges, namely: new tasks that libraries can take on and that will be in demand by the scientific community. However, their solution is possible only after mastering new competencies and providing necessary resources. To systematize this picture, a matrix of tasks, resources and competencies is constructed.