Abstract:

Books and libraries are two unique human creations that, on the one hand, provoke and, on the other, reflect the historical, cultural, and spiritual evolution of humanity. During the long years of rise, people have not only learned to seal their knowledge on a variety of materials, but also to store and pass it on from hand to hand, from generation to generation. Throughout their millennial history, libraries have undergone various transformations influenced by socio-political, economic, and cultural factors, but they have always been one of the most important public institutions preserving the written memory of the world.

Today we continue the responsible mission of preserving the world cultural heritage and one of the most active organizations dedicated to this cause is UNESCO. A specific feature of UNESCO’s efforts to preserve the world’s documentary heritage is the Memory of the World program, established in 1992 to draw the world’s attention to the preservation of the written memory of mankind. The need to identify and register the most valuable and significant literary monuments led to the creation in 1997 of the World Register “Memory of the World”, which records those priceless documents created over the centuries, but retained their significance today.

In order to effectively implement its mission to preserve the world’s spiritual monuments, UNESCO seeks cooperation with innovative educational institutions providing high quality education and research in the field of cultural and historical heritage.

The main goal of the research presented in this paper is to present and analyse the activities of the Interfaculty chair “Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Library Studies, Education and Cultural Heritage” officially approved by UNESCO in 2012 at the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies, Sofia, Bulgaria.

The main priorities in the activity of the department are:
- development of research activities related to the use of information and communication technologies in library studies, education, and cultural heritage, as well as proposing innovative methods and policies in this theoretical and applied research field.
- creation of teaching materials related to information and communication technologies in library studies, education and cultural heritage, and implementation of curricula for different levels of university education (bachelors, masters, and PhD students).
- stimulating the interaction and establishing cooperation with related national and international institutions for exchange of students and teachers, leading experts, and researchers.

The methodology applied for the realisation of the study includes instruments for observation, search, systematisation, summary, and analysis of traditional as well as electronic information sources.

In summary, this paper aims to emphasize the key importance of the active involvement of modern information technologies in the preservation, socialization and promotion of world cultural and historical heritage, the high quality, innovative and internationally recognized training of professionals working in institutions preserving the memory of mankind – libraries, archives, museums and galleries, of cooperation, both nationally and internationally, in fulfilment of our common mission to preserve the memory of the world for future generations.

Keywords:

Higher education, cultural and historical heritage, information and communication technologies, library studies, ULSIT, UNESCO.