29 November 2022

Visit by the Director of the National Library of Israel

On 28–29 November, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (NLL) organised a training programme devoted to the historical Jewish press in Lithuania-. Reports were delivered and workshops conducted by the professor at the University of Portsmouth, UK, Susanne Marten-Finnis and the manager of the historical Jewish press project ‘JPress’ implemented by the National Library of Israel. The collection of the historical Jewish press preserved at NLL was introduced by the Head of this Library’s Judaica Research Centre Dr Larisa Lempertienė. The seminars were organised by the National Library of Israel together with NLL.

On this occasion, NLL’s Director-General Prof. Dr Renaldas Gudauskas met the Director of the National Library of Israel Oren Weinberg. They were joined by the Sub-Director-General for the Development of Information Resources and Services Sandra Leknickienė, the Adviser of the Director-General Janina Marcinkevičienė and the Director of the Communication and Marketing Department Viktorija Pukėnaitė-Pigagienė.

The meeting’s participants shared information about activities of national libraries of Lithuania and Israel and services provided by them, accomplished and undergoing projects as well as welcomed the ongoing successful cooperation. Both the chief executives of the national libraries shared their experience in building and reconstructing their institutions. Oren Weinberg said that the next year’s March will see the opening of the new modern building of the National Library of Israel.

Sandra Leknickienė told about new information systems used at NLL and their modernisation as well as a sustainable infrastructure of the cultural content and digital services providing more innovative services and possibilities for users.

Viktorija Pukėnaitė-Pigagienė introduced events and activities enhancing cultural diplomacy. She highlighted initiatives and support campaigns devoted to the fighting Ukraine and the series of events devoted to the centenary of the diplomatic relations between Japan and Lithuania.

Oren Weinberg thanked for the opportunity to cooperate with Lithuania’s national library and its Judaica Research Centre. He welcomed the fact that 51 digitised Judaica periodicals published in Lithuania have been put onto the Website of the historical Jewish press ‘JPress’.

The Head of the National Library of Israel got acquainted with NLL’s spaces and exhibitions there as well as visited the Judaica Research Centre, where he got acquainted with the history of the Judaica Collection and some of the items and with publications by NLL prepared by drawing upon original Judaica items.