Clarin in Latvia: From the preparatory phase to the construction phase and operation

Qualitative and reliable language resources and natural language processing tools are key elements for research in digital humanities (DH). Several research infrastructures, e.g., CLARIN, DARIAH, provide access to the digital research objects around Europe and beyond. Although these are pan-European research infrastructures, availability of content and the readiness of the particular node varies from country to country. This paper aims to present the current status of the CLARIN research infrastructure in Latvia – key language resources and tools identified, readiness of the technical infrastructure, first steps to collaboration with DH researchers and initiatives on user involvement and education. Being an active participant of the CLARIN initiative during its preparation phase, Latvia joined CLARIN ERIC only four years after its establishment. This four-year gap puts Latvia’s CLARIN node in a construction phase, while in many countries CLARIN is already operational. Although CLARIN Latvia is in a construction phase, researchers of Latvia already now can benefit from the language resources and tools from different members of CLARIN ERIC through single sign-on.