New platforms for the access to works of the Lithuanian literature and reading promotion: a case study

The main scientific problem of the article, which has never been addressed in Lithuania, is the analysis of changes in the accessibility of works of the Lithuanian literature after the implementation of the project “Presenting Works of the Lithuanian Classical Literature Online” in the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in 2011–2014, the creation of an e-library of works of the Lithuanian literature, and the impact of the established e-services on the access to works and the level of reading engagement. The investigation applied a constructive phenomenological methodology, the European Commission‘s 2-3-6 concept substantiating the added value of e-publishing and John W. Creswell‘s qualitative research methods. The use of these methodological tools for understanding the users’ subjective experience in utilizing the established e-services brings the methodological novelty to this investigation. Drawing on the 2-3-6 concept and the practices applied in Lithuania, the following concepts of the added value of the e-library and e-services are analyzed: 1. Content creation. It should be based on a targeted selection of documents and the optimum visualization of the aggregated digital information. 2. Content packaging. It includes presenting on the as broad scale as possible the reason for the origination of a digitized work and its content and accessibility. 3. Delivery support and services. It should permit the user to obtain the metadata and primary sources in a convenient way (via the Internet including mobile devices). 4. Market making. It should be built on implementing tools for copyright protection and their monitoring, service evaluation, promotion of the digital content and reading by using e-books, and permitting the users to read digitized works on various devices....