National Library of Lithuania Gave a Presentation of Virtual Libraries to the European Parliament

On October 18–19, the European Parliament in Brussels hosted an international library exhibition Generation Code: Born at the Library. The interactive exhibition was held during the EU Code Week and demonstrated how public libraries are meeting the digital age challenges by improving digital skills of younger and older generations in Europe. At the exhibition, a virtual library presentation Time Portal developed as part of the National Library’s project Libraries for Innovation 2 was demonstrated for the first time.

Time Portal is a virtual reality presentation which allows people visiting the library to travel in time and see various historical events as well as meet historical personalities using specially designed glasses and other modern technology. The portal will help people to travel back to the famous fresco of the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael The School of Athens, meet and talk to the Ancient Greek sages Aristotle, Pythagoras, and Plato. The purpose of the exposition was to demonstrate how in the modern library people can acquire new knowledge not only in the traditional way, but also by experiencing the information themselves with the help of advanced technology. This is one of many ways in which the library helps to encourage the public to use technological innovations. Participants of the exhibition were also introduced to the Libraries for Innovation 2 project which contributes to the improvement of digital literacy of Lithuanians and modernization of public libraries.

At the Generation Code exhibition, all participating libraries and organizations opened the door to the exciting world of coding and robotics for the members and staff of the European Parliament using fun interactive activities, and demonstrated the possibilities of contemporary library services introducing people to new technologies. One of the ideas was to demonstrate to the European Union policy-makers what an important part of the infrastructure public libraries are, when implementing The New Skills Agenda for Europe and creating a common digital market: without the help of public libraries, the changes would not reach a great number of people. It was also emphasized how, by offering such innovative services as coding, public libraries are increasing their role in local communities, since libraries offer the opportunity for people to improve their digital skills that are increasingly in demand.

Visitors were also able to participate in workshops: interactive activities included coding, robotics, 3D printing, virtual reality experiences, and training on the use of smart devices.

The Generation Code exhibition was attended by more than 10 public libraries from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Romania, Poland, Estonia, France, and representatives of international organizations. Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania was represented by the Libraries for Innovation 2 Project Manager Eugenijus Stratilatovas and some of the project staff.

More about the exhibition:
http://www.publiclibraries2020.eu/content/generation-code