Relevant Tomorrow

Author Guidelines

2023-03-13T08:55:00+00:00

Authors Guidelines prepared by the Editorial Board

Expert Educational Institutions in Lithuania: Contribution of the Government Strategic Analysis Centre (STRATA) to Developing the National Education Policy

2022-10-20T08:55:51+00:00

The article elaborates on the relationship between the target-oriented education system of Lithuania and one of the Lithuanian expert educational institutions, Government Strategic Analysis Centre (STRATA). STRATA is an organisation which has long been offering expert conclusions (recommendations) in the field of education policy. Up to date, there has been no investigation of the impact of institutions in Lithuania which present research-based information to decision makers. The authors compares changes within educational policy implemented in 2018– 2020 with undertakings of STRATA with the purpose to evaluate the following aspects: first, to what extent, which decision makers, and for what purposes were using STRATA products; and second, what impact the STRATA products have had on the actual policy-making process. The research results showed that STRATA’s contribution to the genesis of education policy decisions is insignificant. It is the initial data gathered by STRATA rather than its conclusions or recommendations that are generally used. The analysis that has been done could be considered a starting point for further discussion regarding the contribution of expert analytical centres financed from public funds to the process of Lithuania’s public political life.

Museums of the Jewish Culture and History in Europe and the USA in the 20th–21st Centuries: Discourse Analysis of Role Change

2022-10-20T09:09:30+00:00

Museums of the Jewish culture and history are undergoing numerous transformations in the 21st century. Among them, one can observe the emergence of the dualism of their mission. On the one hand, they purport to preserve and represent the history and identity of Jewish communities; on the other hand, the Jewish culture in museums is becoming a universal means for learning from this nation’s experience. The purpose of the article is, by drawing on discourse analysis, to find out trends in exploring the roles of museums of the Jewish culture and history in Europe and the USA in the 20th and 21st centuries. The results of the study showed a wide range of missions and educational activities of museums of the Jewish culture and history: from warning of the dangers of the stigmatization, discrimination and persecution to a hopeful message about tolerance, democracy, equality and peace which is to come.

Library Activities in the Context of Sustainable Development: Qualitative Analysis of the 2012–2021 Annual Reports of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

2023-01-17T11:02:42+00:00

This exploratory research, based on the concept of sustainable development (SD), presents qualitative analysis of the 2012–2021 activities of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (NLL). Its principal research goals are the following: (1) by drawing on the analysis of subject literature, to reconstruction to light trends in the developments of the measurement of library activity processes and library resources related to attaining SD goals (the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda of the United Nations sets 17 SD goals); (2) by drawing on the publicly available 2012–2021 annual reports of NLL, to identify semantic links between the activity of this Library and the set SD goals. The reconstruction of trends in the measurement of library activities and resources showed causal relationship, when the aggregation of data for internal library needs is followed by pointing out the economic and social value of the library activity as well as the actual use of these data in advocating libraries and attaining the SD goals. During 2012–2021, NLL was best involved in the SD strategy when it provided quality education for its community (SD Goal 4); ensured access to information for all and thus contributed to ensuring peace and justice (SD Goal 16); and cooperated with Lithuanian and international partners and thus built partnerships for the achievement of common goals (SD Goal 17). NLL also contributed to the reducing of inequality (SD Goal 10) and realizing of initiatives for the mobilization of sustainable cities and communities (SD Goal 11). At the end of the investigated time period, NLL contributed to the establishment of good health and well-being (SD Goal 3) by, in the first place, providing its staff and users emotional support and preventive tools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concept of the Exhibition at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania ‘The Chameleon Colours’: Lithuanian Soviet Photography as a Construct of Ideological Reality in 1978–1982

2023-02-03T12:18:47+00:00

The article presents an explication of the concept of the exhibition ‘The Chameleon Colours’ held at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania from 7 July to 26 August 2022. The exhibition is treated as a response to severe issues related to the political, cultural and even mental legacy of the Soviet era emerging against the background of today’s geopolitical upheavals, one them being the war in Ukraine. The exhibition, the title of which replicates that of the novel by the Lithuanian Soviet author Jonas Avyžius, compared the 1979–1982 propaganda photo reportages by the news agency Elta and samples of visual underground avant-garde works. The factor bridging these works are (social) realities of that time period, but these two categories of works demonstrate diametrically opposite conceptions. The analysis of photo essays by Elta revealed the official Soviet ideological ‘filter’, which was being ‘put’ onto the reality. The samples of the so-called artistic underground, on the one hand, stem from the contemporary situation within the social peripheral or even the out-of-the-margin zones (feelings, conditions and impulsive reflections). On the other hand, the ‘chaos’ and eclecticism of these art objects, photographs and collages are characterized by an internal logic typical for the Western neo avant-garde of the 50s and 60s of the 20th century as well as for the informal conceptualism of Central and East Europe (including the Soviet Union). These works represent the effort to deidealize, disclose and depoliticize and, in a particular way, re-politicize the per se (social) reality.

Populism and Conspiracy Theories: The Case of the Lithuanian Family Movement

2023-02-28T11:59:12+00:00

Populism and conspiracy theories usually gain their momentum during the societal crises. The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the biggest crises in Lithuania and the rest of the world in recent years, during which the new populist movement – the Lithuanian Family Movement – reached its peak of popularity, using a number of various conspiracy theories in its populist discourse. The aim of this article is to reveal the specific role of conspiracy theories in the populist discourse and to show its dynamic nature. Ernesto Laclau’s discursive conceptualization of populism is used for theorization of populism and conspiracy theories; discourse analysis method is used in the research itself. The research has showed that conspiracy theories played a specific role in the discourse of Lithuanian Family Movement, especially important for the gradual construction of the identity of the populist enemy, moving from the concrete to the abstract.

Authentic Reminiscences About Jonas Jablonskis (A Manuscript)

2023-03-13T08:37:16+00:00

Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, when recalling his meetings with the most famous Lithuanian linguist of the 20th century Jonas Jablonskis, tells about how he, under his encouragement, obtained the selection of sermons prepared (translated) by Mykolas Daukša Postilė (‘Postil’) (1599) and bestowed it to the Rector of the Lithuanian University in Kaunas. After World War II, this copy was handed over to the Vilnius University Library. The reminiscences include details of J. Jablonskis’s life, his communication style and allude to other cultural figures of the interwar period of the 20th century. (Preparation of the manuscript, Foreword and Endnotes by Andrius Vaišnys.)

About the First Edition of ‘Handbook of Lithuanian Information and Documentation Standards’

2023-01-17T11:23:40+00:00

The rapidly increasing diversity of digital content formats and the possibility to preserve such content heightens the necessity of the interoperability of its identification, ascertaining its location and ensuring its access. All this can be realized only by applying standards, i.e., a specific type of documents, which create added value within the intellectual knowledge economy. The Lithuanian library community is not merely a passive consumer of standardization products and services but has a possibility set by law to be their active developer. In 2022, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania published ‘Handbook of Lithuanian Information and Documentation Standards’ prepared by Dalia Jaskonienė, an aid for better understanding of the standardization of information science and documentation fields important for libraries. This publication must be seen as another important professional information source prepared by the Library’s standardization expert.

Editorial Board and Table of Contents

2023-03-13T08:30:01+00:00