Honoured participants of the LFK Centenary Transcription Campaign
On 18 February, the closing event of the LFK Centenary Transcription Campaign took place in the Reading Room of the Archives of Latvian Folklore (LFK) at the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art, University of Latvia, located on the 5th floor of the National Library of Latvia. The event brought together the most active contributors and volunteer manuscript transcribers.
The participants were addressed by Kaspars Zalāns, Senior Expert at the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Ministry of Education and Science; Eva Eglāja-Kristsone, Director of the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art, University of Latvia; and Digne Ūdre-Lielbārde, Head of the Archives of Latvian Folklore. The speakers highlighted the importance of volunteer contributions in preserving Latvian folkloric heritage and enhancing its accessibility in the digital environment.
During the event, the winners of the LFK Centenary Campaign were announced and received special prizes. The TOP5 most active transcribers were Emis, Magdalina, JanisB58, Anna09, and LigaB, while the most active “centenary file hunters” were Magdalina, JanisB58, and SigitaZ. Anna09 also received a special award from the Latgalian cultural movement “Volūda” for her active involvement in transcribing Latgalian folklore manuscripts.
In total, 61,264 manuscript pages were transcribed during the Centenary Campaign, with volunteers dedicating more than 19,000 hours to deciphering the materials. These impressive results will significantly enrich the collections of the LFK digital repository garamantas.lv and further promote folklore research in the future. This year also marks ten years since the Institute began engaging the public in the transcription of manuscripts in the digital archive. As a result of this long-term collaboration, approximately one third of the archive – around 300,000 manuscript pages – has now been transcribed.
Sandis Laime, Head of the Digital Archive at the Institute, spoke about the further use of transcriptions in research and other activities. Ilze Ļaksa-Timinska introduced the Autobiographies Collection, while Ginta Pērle-Sīle presented current research on folk songs.
The event also honoured this year’s centenary anniversaries. Māra Vīksna spoke about folklorist Ojārs Ambainis (1926–1995), while Ieva Vīvere presented the life and legacy of folkloric informant and singer Margarita Šakina (1926–2014). A warm and engaging atmosphere was created by storyteller Inita Šalkovska, who shared legends and riddles.
In an informal setting, the event strengthened ties between researchers and the volunteer transcription community, allowing both sides to discuss opportunities, needs, and future directions for cooperation. The event stands as a vivid example of the successful implementation of open science and public participation.
Sincere thanks to everyone involved, and especially to our wonderful volunteers!
Supporters of the LFK Centenary Campaign:
The State Research Programme project “Towards Development of Open and FAIR Digital Humanities Ecosystem in Latvia (DHELI)” (VPP-IZM-DH-2022/1-0002) and the Ministry of Education and Science budget subprogramme 05.04.00 “Krišjānis Barons’ Cabinet of Dainas”. The event was organised within the framework of the project “University of Latvia and Institutes in the European Research Area – Excellence in Research and Collaboration” (Project No. 1.1.1.5/3/25/I/011).