Lithuania

[LT] Resolution on Audiovisual Heritage Digitisation Adopted

IRIS 2009-10:1/21

Jurgita Iešmantaitė

Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania

The Government adopted a resolution for a plan for the period 2009-2013 on the digitisation of Lithuanian cultural heritage, a strategy of digital content preservation and accessibility, and strategy implementation tools thereof.

The strategy was prepared following the publication of three main documents, i.e., the EU Commission Recommendation of 24 August 2006 on the digitisation and online accessibility of cultural material and digital preservation, which encourages EU Member States to accelerate access to European cultural heritage via the digital library EUROPEANA; the EU Council conclusions on the digitisation and online accessibility of cultural material and digital preservation and the EU Council conclusions on EUROPEANA.

The strategy is of great importance to the Lithuanian audiovisual sector as an integral part of cultural heritage, because previously a clear and unanimous position on audiovisual heritage digitisation and accessibility was lacking. A number of institutions responsible for the preservation of cultural heritage, e.g., the Lithuanian Archives Department and the National Library, will play a significant part in the implementation of the strategy. The Ministry of Culture as a co-ordinator of the implementation process is designated to endorse the common content digitisation, preservation and access standards.

The LRT (Lithuanian National Radio and TV) is responsible for the implementation of the strategy regarding the audiovisual heritage. The public service broadcaster was chosen as it is the one whose archives accumulates the greatest amount of audio and video tapes, films and photos on Lithuanian history and cultural heritage (the pre-war and post-war situations, Soviet period, and the present Lithuania’s peculiarities), which have to be digitised and made accessible for future generations. LRT started the digitisation of its archives in 2007 with support from EU structural funds before the strategy was approved, and has already established digital archives, which are now being constantly supplemented by new productions.

The above-mentioned plan on the strategy implementation tools determines the essential tasks to be accomplished in the 2009-2013 period, e.g., the documentary film archive and its Internet access are to be developed; the virtual radio archive library has to be established. The plan also specifies the means for the mentioned tasks to be achieved. The strategy implementation will most likely not end in 2013. It envisages that after 2013 the Ministry of Culture will be obliged to submit to the Government a follow-up plan on the strategy implementation tools.