The National theatre of Northern Greece inaugurates the opening of its Electronic Library at the foyer of the Royal Theatre, a venue of sophisticated aesthetics, where the guests can have electronic access to the Performance Archive of NTNG and its rich collection of documents and artworks.
Access to cultural theatre items is now possible on the computers installed in the venue by use of the Interactive Application of the NTNG Cultural Reserve Demonstration set up for this reason. The Interactive Application can provide findings to any search concerning the history of the National Theatre of Northern Greece. In particular, it allows access to 776 productions and co-productions of the NTNG from 1961 to date and 67,985 relevant electronic data. The items included are given in detail below:
- 2,153 video archives (extracts from videotaping of performances and events, trailers, promo spots)
- 4,852 sound archives (extracts from performance music of sound taping of performances and events)
- 789 posters
- 3,122 photographs of set models and costume sketches
- 424 photographs of props
- 4,407 press publications
- 5,881 pages from 1,789 play texts with hand notes by directors, stage managers, technicians, prompters)
- 6,951 photographs from 2,283 theatrical costumes
- 219 musical scores of multiple pages (pdf files)
- 14,870 pages from 1,208 programmes of performances and events
- 1,021 portrait photographs and 668 biographical notes of artists
- 18,283 photographs from performances, rehearsals and other activities
- 5,881 pages from 1,789 performance texts
- 4,475 pages from 2,028 books from the Theatre Library of the NTNG Drama School
A large part of the aforementioned electronic collections was put together three years ago with the digitalization of the Artistic Archive of the NTNG. With the set up of the Interactive Application these collections have been corrected, enriched and transferred to a new data bank so that they can be displayed today in the Electronic Library.
Finally, it should be stressed out that the 67,985 electronic files displayed today through the Interactive Application of the Electronic Library are constantly enriched. as the Interactive Application is updated on a daily basis together with the theatre website.
The electronis collections created wholly in this framework originated from the digitalization of the Drama School Library and the Theatre Archive Library.
The Drama School Library:
The Drama School Library has digitized, classified and kept in archive 2,028 books (Theatre plays, Performance programmes, Publications on Theatre, Art and History). These books have been analytically documented so that both the Drama School students as well as the visitors of the Electronic Library can start any kind of bibliographical search tracing easily the books they wish.
After the completion of its digitisation, the Drama School Library has been organised and resumed its operation with electronic means. Two computers with access to the Internet and the Interactive Application have been installed and the students can surf the Net from Moni Lazariston both looking into the books saved there as well as into the entire Performance Archive of the NTNG Electronic Library.
The Archive Library
The Archive Library consists of 1,789 performance texts with notes from the artists working in them. In each one of these books the play text is accompanied by rehearsal photographs, sketches and directions concerning the movement of actors on stage, speech deliverance, stage set, performance music, lighting etc. With full awareness of the value of such texts we have chosen to photograph every single page of such texts from every theatre production of the NTNG thus exceeding the amount of work initially set by the project in question. Today, the Interactive Application features 5,881 pages of such texts, while 90.000 pages more have been photographed and remain to be processed.
The Archive Library also includes the NTNG publications, i.e. performance programmes which had partly been digitized (cover photo) and have now been photographed from cover to cover (14,870 pages) once again surpassing the initial goals set.
wifi hotspot – free access wireless network
Moreover, the Electronic Library features the operation of a wifi hotspot – free access wireless network for theatre audiences. For security reasons and due to its wide range, access to the network will be available with the use of a password provided to those interested at the theatre box offices.
Finally, it is worth pointing out that the NTNG Electronic Library is set in operation together with the NTNG Archive, so that every guest
- can start searching electronic databases and then study the archives in hard copy or the entire file of a certain production as well
- can have access to the theatre video library so as to watch full length videotaped performances
- can fill in an application at the theatre office in case s/he needs to be granted certain electronic data they have chosen
The Electronic Library opens from Monday to Friday 9:00 am. – 3:00 pp.