The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania together with the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport and the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania is seeking ways how to assist Lithuania‘s teachers and schoolchildren during the quarantine. Timely investments into the modernization of libraries during this complicated period allow helping those who are in need for computers.

Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in cooperation with the country’s public libraries are actively involved in the Robotics School’s initiative to help produce 3D printed face shields for healthcare workers. Over 50 public libraries of Lithuania have joined this initiative.

Is your library open for public during the quarantine period?

The services of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania are currently only available via remote access.

We would like to remind library users that they can use foreign online resources subscribed by the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania from the comfort of their home.

During the current extended quarantine period, library users are welcome to read books at home. 

You can remotely access Naxos Music Library, an online music database subscribed by the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania. It offers an extensive catalogue of high-quality audio recordings including classical music and other genres as well as audio books, film scores and lectures on the history of classical music and opera. The library also contains synopses and librettos of over 700 operas, glossaries, descriptions of various pieces of music and other information resources.

We remind you that from 13 March until 13 April, the National Library is temporarily providing only remote services and has cancelled all events.

In 2019, the company of market and media research Kantar carried out a representative research of Lithuania’s public libraries commissioned by the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania. The research showed significant contribution by public libraries to the development of digital literacy and changes in this direction during recent decades.

Dear visitors, on the 11th of February National Library is closing at 5 p.m.

The global market and media research company Kantar has conducted a survey of Lithuanian libraries to find out how library visitors rate the quality of the services provided by these institutions, their opinion about the libraries’ internet service as well as to gain insights on the habits, motives and benefits of the usage of the public internet access in libraries. The survey which took place from 28 May 2019 to 3 October 2019 involved a sample of 4,668 visitors aged 15 or older. In summarising results from the survey, Renata Sadunišvili, Insight and Marketing Research Director at Kantar, said that Lithuanian libraries have earned a very high level of trust among visitors, they are making real efforts to change and improve the quality of life of visitors and that they meet their expectations and have established themselves as strong centres of community life. “There is one challenge that the extensive, unified and strong network of Lithuanian libraries and its professional staff is tackling. That challenge is to develop strategies, implement them and uphold the high levels of service,” said the insight and research specialist.

On 23 January, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Lithuania to the United Nations opened the exhibition titled “Reflections in the Shattered Mirror” at the United Nation’s headquarters in New York. The exhibition is dedicated to the history of the Jews of Lithuania and is held to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the Year of the Vilna Gaon and the History of the Jews of Lithuania.

Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania invites you to attend an International Exhibition of Children’s Book Illustrators. “Running with the Wolves” is an exhibition of illustrations which features the works of 38 illustrators from Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. It is a smaller version of the namesake exhibition dedicated to the centenary of the of independence of all three Baltic states and displayed in the London Book Fair 2018. The exhibition is curated by Estonian illustrator Viive Noor.

The Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania has declared 2020 as the Year of the Vilna Gaon and the History of the Jews of Lithuania. The government-approved event programme will see an active participation of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania which will significantly contribute to raising public awareness of the legacy of the Jewish culture and history in Lithuania and which is set to hold an international academic conference titled “Literature and Intelligence of the Jews of Lithuania in the 17th–20th Centuries”, open a documentary exhibition “Shenot Eliyahu: Vilna Gaon’s Influence on the Culture of the Jews of Lithuania”, and organise a series of educational events titled “Fundamentals of the Worldview of the Jews of Lithuania”. The library will also partner with Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum in developing the travelling documentary exhibition titled “Books Don’t Grow on Trees (Z. Kalmanovičius): Preserving and Passing on Memory”. Besides those already mentioned, the National Library has scheduled other events dedicated to the year 2020 in cooperation with Lithuania’s representative offices in foreign countries.

In 2019, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania conducted a quantitative Net Promoter Score (NPS®) survey to find out what proportion of the library users are satisfied with the National Library’s services and tend to recommend them to others. To summarize the data on the library’s services, different aspects and means of customer service as well as the overall ranking of the library’s services, it can be concluded that the library’s Net Promoter Score was 88.5 out of 100 percent in 2019.

Visit the Martynas Mavydas National Library of Lithuania to observe the installation “Awakened from books” by Jolita Vaitkutė, a younger generation artist.

Dear All,

The finishing year has been interesting, creative and full of events. When parting with it, we are sharing our reminiscences about the journey that we embarked upon this year when celebrating the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the National Library.

When celebrating its centenary, the National Library had a particular interest in the efficiency and development of partnerships. A successful example is the signing of a cooperation agreement with the market investigation company “Kantar”. This agreement resulted in a representative impact assessment study of Lithuanian libraries.

Libraries have always been institutions that bring people together and allow them to use the information preserved there. The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania is not only a custodian of the treasury of information but also provides innovative services to the users. Up to the present day, the Library has been inviting junior visitors to Make, Discover, Preserve, Be Inquisitive, Recognize and Capture at the PATS SAU (“Do-It-Yourself”) Makerspace, and on 18 December, it is presenting a creative space for adults, the Media Workshop.

An international project “Digital Approaches in Cultural Heritage: Towards a Pan-Baltic Cooperation Network” carried out in 2018-2019 has come to a close. It was organized by the National Library of Latvia in cooperation with the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuanian, the University of Rostock, the National Library of Estonia, and the National Library of Sweden.