Libraries from the viewpoint of digital humanities: The case of the National Library of Latvia

Anda Baklāne
National Library of Latvia

In the last 20 years, in order to keep up with the developments in technology and society, world’s libraries have changed remarkably. Particularly national libraries have played a significant role in this process by digitizing their heritage collections and developing new tools for researchers. However, in many cases, the products that have been produced provide comparatively limited functionality. Among general problems that impede the development of digital products, such as insufficient funding or copyright restrictions, there is also a more specific problem, namely the lack of sufficient communication between developers and researchers. Based on the case of the National Library of Latvia and some other examples, the presentation provides an overview or various digital resources and tools that national libraries offer and discusses their strengths and limitations from the viewpoint of digital humanities.