This year on February 23rd – March 2nd, 5 specialists from Panevezys county G. Petkevicaite-Bite public library cultural heritage research and digitization department had a work trip to Latvia. The purpose of this trip was to explore how specialists from Latvian National library and other memory institutions in Latvia are organizing work on digitization and dissemination of cultural heritage, planning exhibition and exposition work, and how they work with different audiences to form a stronger civic society. During this trip the group acknowledged:
– The ways different departments are planning and working together to create long-lasting exhibitions in the library.
– The ways different activities in a library, such as conferences, educations, exhibitions are made interconnective under one project theme-idea and workflow is organized as a project.
– The way the reach of digitized cultural heritage objects is organized.
– The ways collaboration between different cultural institutions and private individuals work, inviting them into national programs/actions and creation of the Digital Library of Latvia.
Group visited National Library of Latvia, Jūrmala Central public library, Aspazija house-museum, Museum of Writers and Music (Exhibition “SongSpace” and Community Room (Dziesmusvētku telpa)), House of the Blackheads museum, Art museum „Rigas Birza“.
We were surprised by the good skills of organizing and planning their activities, high quality of exhibitions, work interconnectivity and collaboration.
We would like to say thank you to Viktorija Piščikova, Karina Bandere, Marika Selga, Maija Treile and other colleagues from the National library of Latvia for the warm welcoming and knowledge exchange which we plan to integrate into our work. Especially thank you to Viktorija for wonderful coordination and we hope to sustain warm relations in the future as well. We say thank you to director of Jurmala Central public library Māra Jēkabsone and other employees for presentations of local history and showing their unique connection with locals, for our discussions and time together. We are grateful to Kristians Krievans, employee of the museum of Writers and Music, for wonderful storytelling about preservation of folk songs and dances, and its influence on Latvian culture.
We are grateful and glad for the program „Culture Moves Europe“ Individual mobility call for the opportunity to explore Latvian cultural tendencies from our professional perspective, learn from Latvian professional cultural specialists and we are excited to apply those ideas in our work.
The visit ir organised by program “Culture Moves Europe“, Individual mobility call for art and cultural heritage professionals funded by the European Commission program “Creative Europe 2021–2027“.
This work was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union and Goethe-Institut.
The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
