The Judaica Research Centre was established in the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (NLL) on 3 May 2017; its official opening will take place on 22 May.

On Friday, 12 May, 4 p.m., Ralph Salinger, a famous Israeli researcher of Vilkaviškis Jewish community will visit the Hub of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (Gedimino 51). Mr. Salinger will speak about his research of Vilkaviškis Jewish community and his colleague Antanas Žilinskas will present his book Traces of a Lost Nation (Lit. “Dingusios tautos pėdsakais”). “These historical narratives recall the traditions and customs of Jewish people, and the way they were regarded by their Lithuanian neighbours. The tone of the book is very respectful towards the Jews who had created Vilkaviškis. It is the book’s greatest advantage,” said Mr. Salinger.

The 17th National Week of Lithuanian Libraries was opened on 24 April. On that occasion, Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania held the opening ceremony of the National Week of Lithuanian Libraries, where the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania Liana Ruokytė-Jonsson awarded the best country’s librarians of 2016.

Cinema has an extraordinary power to draw a person into the created world. Spending a few hours in a good movie allows us to rest and forget the daily cares as well as get some creative inspiration and wisdom. The Cinema of the National Library provides all conditions for this hobby to take root and become a space for your meaningful leisure or work.

In the run-up to the hundredth anniversary of the reinstating independence of Lithuania, we received some wonderful news: on 29 March, in the Political Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany (Berlin), Liudas Mažylis, Professor of Vytautas Magnus University, found the original of the Act of Independence of Lithuania in the Lithuanian language. On this occasion, the official facsimile of this Act and originals of the supporting documents were presented in the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania on 6 April.

The reconstructed National Library invites its visitors to benefit not only from the usual library services and functions, but also a variety of multifunctional spaces which allow enjoying creative as well as educational activities that promote communication. We are happy to introduce yet another space – the Art Lab, where the users can choose from a wide selection of creative activities.

We are taking another step forward and leave behind the traditional image of a mute and rather austere library. No looking back: the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania invites you to enjoy our newly equipped Music Lab open to those who play, write or wish to learn more about music.

From now on, our visitors have even more opportunities for their creative expression: would you like to record a song, present to a friend an audio book recorded with your own voice, record your own texts, poetry or other creative work? Do you play any instrument? Do you play alone or in a band? Would you like to make a professional record of an album or a song? The National Library makes it all possible.

Now, Music and Visual Arts Reading Room of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania makes it possible to find literature on art and music, play a synthesizer with headphones or choose and listen a vinyl as well as use new Apple computers, image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and other Adobe programs together with interactive drawing boards. Here you will also find Sibelius notation software with MIDI keyboards.

On 22–24 February, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania hosted a meeting of the Standing Management and Marketing Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the International Library Marketing Evaluation Commission.

On 21 February, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania hosted a meeting of the members of the group monitoring the implementation of the Libraries for Innovation 2 Project, where the most significant results, financial indicators and the final report of the project completed on 31 December 2016 were presented.

Today, Georgian Ambassador to Lithuania Khatuna Salukvadze and Counsellor Irakli Gigauri visited the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.

On 7–8 February, Prof. Dr. Renaldas Gudauskas, Director General of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, visited the British Library in London to attend a meeting of the International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI) Method Application Managers, where global operating strategy of the standard was presented. Operating model, management and interoperability of ISNI with information systems of other countries were also presented. The meeting offered consultations on possibilities to introduce integrated information management systems in public and academic libraries in Lithuania. The head of the National Library met with representatives of the British Library and discussed the prospects of Big Data and further cooperation of national libraries of the two countries. It was agreed to draft an interinstitutional cooperation agreement to be signed by the National Library of Lithuania and the British Library.

Cannot find a quiet place to finish an important school project? Or maybe you are into building things or handicrafts? As of 16 February, visitors are welcome to visit PATS SAU workshop of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania; here, you will find space for the realisation of your ideas and a box to hold the resulting creations.

Keeping its promises given to library visitors in September, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania continues opening new spaces. From now on, the visitors are welcome to use five meeting rooms located on the 2nd and 3rd floor of the library. The meeting rooms are available to students preparing their projects, businesspeople organizing business meetings, and various hobby clubs – everyone looking for a comfortable and modern space for productive meetings

On 20–22 January, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania became a venue for the global event LT Game Jam 2017, organised for the first time in four Lithuanian cities: Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Šiauliai. The event held in the National Library attracted more than 500 enthusiasts interested in computer game development. The initiators of LT Game Jam 2017 – the Lithuanian Game Developers Association and Blaster cluster.

We are happy to announce that open collection of the Humanities Reading Room has been expanded: now, readers have free access to the Lithuanian fiction section as well. It is comprised of the most famous works by Lithuanian authors: from old documents to modern literature. The collection is not complete and new books will be gradually added in time.

On 19 December, Documentary Heritage Research Department launched its activities at the National Library. The department comprises three divisions:

On 15 December, prizes for journalistic works were awarded in the White Hall of the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania. Liana Ruokytė-Jansson, the Minister of Culture, presented the prizes to a journalist Margarita Alper, a historian and publicist Aurimas Švedas, and an artist and art critic Dr. Kęstutis Šapoka, who works at the Music and Visual Arts Division of the Services Department of the National Library of Lithuania.

On 15 December, nearly twenty Ministry of Culture Prizes were awarded to creators and cultural figures for merits in the fields of cultural education, national language and literature, librarianship, cultural, academic and project activities, dissemination of tradition, photography, restoration of art, etc.