On the horizon

Our primary efforts are currently going toward initial organization and population of our web site in order to be able to point to a concrete presence and to completing incorporation and application for non-profit status later in the spring/summer of 2008.

Materials available on the Internet regarding the Baltics are still limited in scope, at least in English—or are available but at a cost at sites such as JSTOR®. We are constantly on the search for unique original English materials to bring to our readers, such as a contemporary newspaper account of Napoleon's invasion through the Baltics. Particularly with respect to the Baltic states' independence after WWI, however, many of the most interesting references are only in their native language. We shall also be working to bring those to our readers and to obtain resources to have them professionally translated.

Some of our more anticipated projects in the near term include:

• transcribing and translating the catalog of the First Latvian Arts and Crafts Exhibition into English, already on the site as page images; and
• completing scanning and transcription of, and translating, a large-format book on the 1905 Revolution in Latvia.

With a primary focus on seeing the Baltics through contemporary sources, and recognizing limits in their availability in English, we will be expanding our collection of Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, German, and Russian materials as we identify partners and supporters to work with to bring them to an English-speaking audience.