Digital Herodotus is a pioneering project aiming to preserve and highlight a historical archive from Cyprus and the North Aegean. The project was implemented within the framework of a European Cross-border Cooperation between Greece and Cyprus(2007 -2013) and covers the entire territory of Cyprus, Crete and the islands of the North and South Aegean. The partnership of the cross – border cooperation Digital Herodotus consists of the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (RIK), which is the coordinator, the Central Public Library of Mytilene, the Historical Public Library of Mithymna Argyris Eftaliotis and the University of the Aegean.
The primary objective of the project Digital Herodotus is the digitization and rescue of the historical, social and cultural archive of RIK and of the Libraries of Mytilene and Mithymna. These archives include modern and contemporary historical events and developments which have taken place in Cyprus and the area of North Aegean and which are of great importance from a historical point of view. The partners involved aim at developing modern technological infrastructures for information and communication, in order to achieve two goals:
- a) enhance territorial cooperation and development in the two areas, and
- b) promote both areas as innovation poles for documentation, highlighting, comparing and projecting historical events in the wider Southeast Mediterranean.
In the context ”Digital Herodotus”, the Historical Public Library of Mithymna, has digitized 5.000 pages of items about Lesvos and the Greeks of Asia Minor, covering the period from 1845 to 1945. The digitized items more specifically include manuscripts and minutes of the Council of Elders (Dimogerontia) of Molyvos, newspaper issues from 1897 to 1945, Operating Regulations of Greek Schools and Associations of Lesvos and Asia Minor, educational material, etc.
The documentation and digitization of the Archive of Argyris Eftaliotis also including his handwritten notes, is of great significance for the Library.
Parallel to the digitization, and to make access to digital reproductions easier, there has been an analytical documentation of newspaper articles. Particular importance was given to articles relating to the Greeks of Asia Minor, the tragic events of 1922, to refugees and their settlement in Lesvos. Also, a significant part of the documentation is related to the island of Lesvos, its history, culture and everyday life.
Researchers now have easy, swift and most importantly free access to any item they are interested in.
Τhe Library aims at enriching Digital Herodotus with new digital copies, which are fully documented both with material from the Library collections and also from private collections and libraries.
