The image of the first Russian State libraries (the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Library of Russia) is examined in the context of their work with the mass media. The uniqueness of the image of national and similar in scale of activity state libraries is emphasized. The purpose of the article is to identify trends in the coverage of these libraries’ activities in press. Today, despite the demand for traditional journalistic means (press release, press conference, etc.), the socalled «new media» – SMM (Social Media Marketing), video content (including short vertical videos), etc. – are taking leading positions in promoting the image of organizations. The hypothesis previously put forward in the professional literature is confirmed that libraries will create not only individual services for working with the media, but also entire divisions that themselves produce media content. It is stated that corporate media, which experienced the peak of their popularity in Russia at the end of the 20 th – beginning of the 21 st centuries, are changing formats still remaining relevant for libraries. The conclusion of the study is that the image of the library profession at the present stage is associated with the paradox of bifurcation – media monitoring and auditing show that the image of libraries and librarians is conveyed as not very successful, but any mention has positive connotation.