The National Encyclopedia. Idea and Basic Principles of the First Steps

The National Encyclopedia. Idea and Basic Principles of the First Steps

Valters Ščerbinskis There have been several universal encyclopedias published in Latvian since the very first one published in the 19th century. Most prominent among them was the Konversācijas vārdnīca, which had articles of high quality produced by the universal approach However due to historical circumstances (occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union), in 1940 publication of these volumes was stopped. Under Soviet regime, there were several Latvian language encyclopedias, most popular of them being the Latvian Soviet encyclopedia published in the 80s. All of them suffered from the strict requirements of the communist ideology which significantly lowered. the quality of the publication. Encyclopedias in different countries have a rich history. Particularly influential in Latvia had been German Brockhaus editions. Britannica and Russian (Soviet) encyclopedias have also left their traces on Latvian encyclopedias. Developments in the late 20th and early 21st century radically changed the encyclopedic world.  Almost all printed publications, disappeared and many state-supported encyclopedias moved to online versions and continued to exist competing for audience with the product of social networking Wikipedia. For two decades after Latvia regained independence, there was a lack of funding for a new encyclopedia. In 2014 however the Ministry of Culture decided to support the creation of a new national encyclopedia. Although there have always been rich encyclopedic traditions in Latvia and elsewhere, the internet age of the 21st century created both new obstacles and opportunities for the new  creation of encyclopedias. The development of the current National encyclopedia (NE) project faces three major challenges: first – should one concentrate on either paper or on electronic versions, second – creation and management of an effective and rational decision making process regarding the content of the encyclopedia, third – key-word lists and choosing between differing approaches in creating universal content. Keeping current conditions in mind, the only solution was to create a universal encyclopedia using electronic environment. Rather limited financial and human resources available suggested the creation of an extensive but still manageable voluntary network of supervisors, consultants, and advisers who could provide solid quality in the content. Third problem – key-word lists and the creation of the content was related to the hierarchical structure of the sciences starting with more general issues and continuing further to more detailed topics. Although NE project definitely should be a long-term undertaking, the first step will be taken in 2018 when the electronic version of the NE will be made public. Plans for the publication of the printed version of NE so far have been postponed. One volume focusing entirely on Latvia however will be published in 2018.