Article by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kalina Ivanova in. Vezni about the project activity of the librar

The Regional Library "Petko Rachev Slaveykov" is one of the leading cultural institutions in Veliko Tarnovo and the country, whose main goal is to become a factor supporting the development of civil society. At the beginning of the 21st century, the team of the library directed its activities in several directions, through which it acquired the image of a modern educational centre and cultural institute offering useful and diverse initiatives.

Historically, the library is the successor of the first public library in the town, founded in 1889. It has its own statutes and regulations based on the "Statutes of the Development Society" and its Regulations, which regulate the maintenance, election of management, purchase, use and maintenance of the book collection. The books of the Veliko Tarnovo Municipality and the St. St. Cyril". On 15 August 1922, the third National Library in Veliko Tarnovo was opened in the building of the Angel Popov Ephoria. Mosko Moskov was appointed director - archaeologist, literary critic, historian, linguist, realized himself professionally as a teacher, librarian, tourist and public figure.

Today the People's Library "P. Р. Slaveykov" is a methodological centre for 150 public libraries on the territory of Veliko Tarnovo region. It has a universal collection of 610,000 volumes of literature on paper and digital media, with which it annually serves nearly 10,000 readers, participates in international cultural and educational programs and projects, cooperates with public organizations and associations and corresponds with leading public libraries.

 In the European programmes for the preservation of and access to cultural heritage and a number of other EU documents, it is libraries that have the responsibility for the preservation and protection of written cultural heritage, its promotion and use through digitisation and other modern approaches. In today's globalised world, Bulgaria's literary cultural heritage is synonymous with uniqueness and a vivid proof of the preservation of national identity. National Library "P. Р. Slavejkov" together with the libraries of the Veliko Tarnovo region own and make efforts to preserve collections of manuscripts and old printed books, rare and valuable editions, Renaissance periodicals rich in their content, archival documents, postcards, chronicle books and other library items. On the basis of negative findings that we allow their storage in libraries in unsuitable conditions, which leads to risks associated with the destruction of written monuments, carriers of national pride and a source of self-consciousness, we set ourselves the goal of being a focal point for the problems of preservation and conservation of literary heritage in libraries in North Central Bulgaria. An indicator of our policy in this respect are the projects we have implemented in the period 2006 - 2018: "For the Spiritual Values of Veliko Tarnovo Region", through which an electronic catalogue "Old, rare and valuable editions" and "United Catalogue of Bulgarian Periodicals. Digital collection up to 1944" (Retina - PI) and through the project "Europe - ana - photographs" - our library has access to the European Digital Library, which has provided digitized copies of our collection of photographs and postcards.

 The latest proof that the Regional Library in Veliko Tarnovo is the guardian of the literary cultural heritage not only for the region, but also for Central and Northern Bulgaria is the project "Digital Cultural Treasury "North +": documenting, preserving and providing broad public access to cultural heritage in libraries, museums, archives and galleries in North and Central Bulgaria", which is funded by the European Economic Area under the Financial Mechanism 2009 - 2014. It is implemented under Measure 2 "Documentation of cultural history" of the Programme BG08 "Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Arts". The project is implemented in partnership with 10 public and regional libraries and local government structures, as well as the District Library of George Baritiou from the town of Gozo. Brasov, Romania2. The aim of the project was to document and preserve cultural heritage, to create a Digital Centre "Culture and History" and a network to provide intellectual access to it in cultural institutions and organizations: libraries, museums, galleries and local archive collections of partners from North and Central Bulgaria. The project enables the unification of digitisation processes and the creation of full-text databases.

 In addition to taking care of the preservation of the literary heritage in the libraries of the region, the regional library also makes great efforts for the continuous qualification of the staff in Veliko Tarnovo region and the improvement of the information literacy of the citizens through the implementation of a number of projects under the Lifelong Learning Programme. The link between the Lifelong Learning Programme and public libraries lies in their key role to support human development in the core areas of education, information and culture. Libraries actively contribute to non-formal education and, above all, to the individual educational needs of citizens by promoting various learning opportunities and assisting in the education of children through a variety of forms and methods, cooperating with schools in educating and enriching children's experiences.

 Although the Regional Library "Petko R. Slaveykov" has built a digital center and created an electronic catalog with full-text databases[3] in the period 2017 - 2019, activities have been implemented and educational products related to mobile digitization have been created in order to cover libraries that do not have the necessary resource capacity for digital conversion.

 For the period 2017 - 2024, the Library is working on three projects related to the creation of mobile digitisation products, prioritisation methodologies and improving further learning opportunities in the field of low-budget film/tape digitisation by offering content structured as modules with learning outcomes using the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). These are the Mobile Digitisation (Mobi Dig) project, the DigiPrior: Priorities in the digitisation of books, documents, photographs and modern approaches to promotion.

 of digitized materials and the Mobireel project - Mobile low-budget digitization of vintage films. The projects are funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, sub-programme KA220-VET - Partnerships for cooperation in Vocational Education and Training, which creates learning products for VET. The first two projects were coordinated by RB P. Р. RR Slaveykov. The MobiDig project aims to create open and innovative training for librarians, archivists, small organisation managers and trainers in the library field, how to build low-cost digitisation facilities for their purposes and how to maintain the accumulated data. The application of these innovative approaches to professional education and training and library work is recognised and accepted globally as an emerging requirement for the digital age. One of the main objectives of this project was to systematize, integrate and disseminate current practices not only among small libraries but also among Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutions as a means to innovate working methods and resources for teachers and learners. The project was in the "Collaboration for innovation and exchange of good practices" strand and was implemented from 1 September 2017 to 31 August 2019.

 For the successful implementation of the project activities some basic principles have been followed in the selection of the partners:

• Combining large and small scale libraries;
• Involving an organisation with experience in vocational education and training;
• Partners to have the necessary qualified staff and research capacity to implement the project activities.

The partnership combines organisations that have experience in the implementation of EU projects, experience in digitisation and the development of innovative educational resources, and those that are typical representatives of the target group (a small library in Portugal, a foundation for small regional archives in the Netherlands, a museum and a school for vocational education and training). It is a mixture of cultures, languages and national perspectives that influence the final products and facilitate their wider acceptance outside the partner countries.

 Small and inexpensive systems have one big advantage, they can be easily transported near books, in small libraries, archives, community centers, monasteries and other collections. They are mobile! The aim of the project was to train the leaders of small organizations on how to set up facilities for digitizing written documents and how to store and maintain their data.

 Training materials from the project show not only each step of the digitization process, but also how to standardize data to make it easier to access and share with other similar organizations.

 In the process of the project, 7 training modules were created related to new trends in digitizing documents, books, and archival materials. The modules are accompanied by seven short digital training films to illustrate the activities. Each consortium partner developed one training module and prepared a training film to accompany it.

 The MobiDig project has developed innovative tools and e-learning resources contributing to open distance learning and skills development for librarians, library managers, teachers and educators. The materials are suitable for further training or qualification of librarians, archivists and others. The learning content has been implemented in a Learning Management System (LMS) and the digital films have been integrated into each of the relevant modules in the LMS. The idea is to use the full potential of modern media and to provide the target group with as much visual and practical materials for professional training as possible.

 The content in the LMS is structured according to modern standards for open and flexible learning - modular content, flexible learning paths, modular assessment, update features, etc.

 The developed system allows both on-the-job and distance learning. The resources are available online for free use and are designed in a way that is also suitable for self-learning [4].

 The extensive experience of the library and most of its partners in the field of information technology and digitization of written documents is a guarantee for the professional development of the materials of the project "DigiPrior: Priorities in the digitization of books, documents, photos and modern approaches to the promotion of digitized materials"[5]. The partnership is a combination of representatives of different cultures, languages and national perspectives, which contributes to the cross-cultural characteristics of the final products and facilitates their wider dissemination beyond the project partner countries. The main objective of the project was to increase the capacity (knowledge and skills) of librarians, archivists, collectors and library managers in the field of prioritizing artefacts for digitization and attractive presentation of digitized artefacts by creating appropriate training materials such as the Priority Methodology, Competency Framework, Online Knowledge Management System (LMS), creation of training films and other training tools for target groups as well as for training future trainers to ensure sustainability and replication of results. The project develops products and collaborates with partners in the field of continuing vocational education and training (CVET). One of the main objectives of this project is to systematize, integrate and disseminate contemporary practices not only among small libraries, archives and collections, but also among VET institutions as a means to renew working methods and resources for learners and trainees. The project also provides online resources for VET with training materials on how to prioritise artefacts for digitisation. The materials developed can also be used in the field of so-called continuing education and training (C-VET).

 One of the innovative elements of the project are developed indicators for the priority of the digitization of a certain object, as well as the formula for calculating the degree of priority. The formula is also adapted to the type of document - manuscripts, archival materials, books, periodicals and others. Another innovative element is the development of learning materials (modules) based on an established competence framework defining the unit learning outcomes (can be seen in the "Resources" section of the portal https://digiDrior.eu/).

The third Erasmus+ project, Mobile low-cost digitizing of vintage films (Mobireel), aims to address the significant challenges faced by libraries, archives and other institutions in the field of cultural and historical heritage in the digitization, preservation and promotion of already digitized film collections with a focus on the so-called home (amateur) film and video formats (8 mm, Super 8, VHS, SVHS, etc.). The project is an initiative of the Student Society for Computer Art (SOKI) - Sofia, in partnership with the Regional Library "P. R. Slaveykov" - Veliko Tarnovo, Stichting De Domijnen - Sittard, Netherlands, Kinoteka pa Republika Severna Makedonija - Skopje, North Macedonia, and Zeutschel GmbH - Tübingen, Germany.

Amateur films often preserve immediate footage of events, holidays, customs, old streets and buildings, sporting events, clothing, and more. They are the memory of towns and villages that have captured curious and sometimes important moments of the past. Some of them, capturing unique customs and events, can also be counted among our cultural and historical heritage. Often, however, these film or video materials are not subject to collection by professional film archives and funds. Digitization technologies are also evolving and their accessibility is increasing. Therefore, it is important to know the possibilities for low-budget digitization and for small and medium-sized organizations to have the capacity (knowledge) to build low-budget digitization centers and even sometimes just digitization rooms equipped with affordable hardware and software.

 The results of the project can be summarized as follows:

•   Methodology for selection and low-budget digitization of amateur film format;
•   Framework of competences defining the units of learning outcomes and relevant knowledge and skills and training modules/units on certain topics;
• A knowledge management system with training modules structured as units of learning outcomes and additional multimedia resources related to low-budget film digitization with a focus on so-called amateur/consumer film formats (8mm, Super 8mm, 16mm) and videocassettes on consumer level (VHS, S-VHS, Betamax);
• Training videos on focus topics related to low-budget digitization (in consumer-level film and video formats);
• Training and multiplier events in the field of low-budget digitization of films-amateur formats and video tapes.;

 Some of the innovative aspects of the training materials are related to the content design such as modular learning outcomes and achievement assessment using ECVET (European credit system for vocational education and training). This contributes to the flexibility of learning, the individual modules can be studied individually and at different times, the possibility of accumulating the results and their transferability. The developed and applied approach to allocating ECVET points can also be used in the design of other VET materials.