THE LINKED DATA COLLECTION “ RAINIS UN ASPAZIJA ” ( RunA ): NEW RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES ( EXAMPLE – CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN RAINIS AND ASPAZIJA DURING HIS TIME IN PANEVĖŽYS PRISON )

Abstract

The research aims at examining the epistolary exchange between Latvian writers Rainis and Aspazija available in the Rainis un Aspazija (RunA) linked open data collection and dating back to the period Rainis was in Panevėžys Prison (1897); and at exploring the opportunities the collection offers in revealing links between objects, persons, events, and thus, at gaining a broader perspective on the historical context of the time. The collection, as a visual and content resource, thanks to the linked data environment created therein, reveals a wide range of cultural and historical material about both writers, and marks out the context of the time, the most important events, people, places, etc. The collection, with the help of linked data, publishes open, structured data regarding its objects, entities and respective links between the same. The article also analyses the issue of how important a role the interpretation of this type of structured data has in literary research and how it helps contemporary researchers in analysing a literary work or any literary research material (letters, working notes, documents, etc.).