The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania is a parliamentary library: it has been performing this function since 1991 in accordance with the Regulation of the Presidium of the Supreme Council and the Law on Libraries. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the parliamentary library, the National Library is holding the international research conference ‘Political Leadership in a Parliamentary Democracy’ on 23–24 November 2021.

In the Middle Ages, between 820 and 830 AD, in Galicia, at the Western boundaries of Europe, a funeral structure was discovered. This was soon identified as the tomb of the Apostle St. James the Greater. This discovery changed the history of Europe: the news spread all over the continent and, from everywhere on it, thousands of pilgrims headed to Santiago de Compostela, since then and over the centuries, seeking to worship the Apostle.

Dear visitors, on the 4th of November the National Library is closing at 5 p.m.

“Voices of Violence” is a project that tells the stories and experiences of women living in Denmark, Iceland, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania who have been exposed to sexual violence, sexism and gendered harassment. The video exhibition is showcased as part of the Scanorama film festival.

In commemoration of the Year of the Vilna Gaon and the History of the Jews of Lithuania declared by the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania arranged an exhibition of publications of documents titled “Shenot Eliyahu/Elijah’s Years: The impact of Vilna Gaon on Lithuanian Jewish Culture” in 2020. The exhibition was dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Vilna Gaon Elijah ben Solomon Zalman. It provided an insight into the Vilna Gaon as a person, his intellectual and pedagogical activities as well as his impact on Vilnius Jews, their mentality and culture. The exhibition featured the documents that reflected the Gaon’s life, as well as his own works and those of his students. Prepared on the basis of the National Library’s Judaica Collection, the exposition conveyed the abundance and richness of this collection.

On 14 October, the National Library was visited by the staff members of the National Library of Latvia Renāte Berga, Deputy of the Lettonica and Baltic Centre (Special Collections Department) for bibliographic work, and Jana Dreimane, a researcher at the Lettonica and Baltic Centre (Special Collections Department). The guests met the National Library’s Director-General Renaldas Gudauskas and presented to him a recently published catalogue of the Riga Jesuit College (‘Catalogue of the Riga Jesuit College Book Collection (1583–1621). History and Reconstruction of the Collection’), which, among other information, contains that about copies of publications by the Riga Jesuit College preserved at the National Library. They also visited the exhibition Rari, rarissimi e piccole curiosità, which features rare, highly valuable, exceptional and very interesting documents: everything that is unique, unusual, and mysterious and that amazes us and stirs our curiosity (curiositas).

In a solemn meeting of the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO held on Friday, 8 October, at the Small Hall of Vilnius University, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library was awarded a certificate confirming that the book of songs by Kristijonas Endrikis Mertikaitis titled Wiſſokies Naujes Gieſmes arba Ewangelißki Pſalmai (1817) kept at the National Library was recognised as an item of documentary heritage of regional significance.

Exhibition opening: Friday 8 October 6-8pm, including Introductory Exhibition Tour with Jillian Edelstein and curator Dominik Czechowski. Please register via email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Director of the National Library of Armenia, Anna Chulyan, and the Director-General of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, Prof. Dr. Renaldas Gudauskas, with a view to strengthening the cultural and scientific ties between Armenia and Lithuania, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

The EXPO 2020 international exhibition which will take place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, will see the participation of 192 countries. During this exhibition event, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania will present an interactive story titled “Donelaitis – the Homer of Lithuania”. EXPO 2020 is expected to bring in 25 million visitors, like the previous EXPO shows. The exhibition will take place from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

The representatives of German business development and applied scientific research organisations, Dr. Marc von der Linden (CEO of MFB MusterFabrik Berlin) and Dr. Bertram Nickolay (representative of Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology) visited Lithuania from 6 to 8 September 2021. The technological solutions developed and implemented by these German organisations are used in the reconstruction of lost cultural heritage artefacts. Besides other types of cultural heritage objects, the specialists working for these companies reconstruct the lost content of the items of documentary heritage by connecting fragments into a single original virtual document image with the help of innovative visual information processing programs.

The event titled “Lithuanian Days 2021” dedicated to celebrating the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Lithuania and Switzerland and the 30th anniversary of their re-establishment provides an occasion for the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania to present the potential applications of the data on the topic of diplomacy contained in its collections as well as its archival and documentary materials in creating new content and form. The representation event taking place in Locarno, Switzerland, sees the participation of the delegation of the National Library led by Director General Prof. Renaldas Gudauskas.

Swiss photographer Arnold Odermatt’s (1925-2021) place in the history of art is inseparable from his biography. Having spent four decades working at the Nidwalden canton police, Odermatt is best known for his series of black-and-white photographs, Karambolage, capturing motor vehicle accidents. Photography was an integral part of Odermatt’s position at the police station: after learning to take pictures by himself, he used the camera to document traffic accidents, which until then had usually been documented by sketching.

Who was this Jewish sage born 301 years ago? What impact did he have on Lithuanian and world Jewry? What legacy did he leave behind?

The Martynas Mažvydas National Library informs about changes after the quarantine period, which ended on 1 July. Though the eight-month-long quarantine period has been ended, the emergency state set in the February of 2020 and part of the restrictions remains valid because of the risk of the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The First Lady of Lithuania, Diana Nausėdienė, and the First Lady of Poland, Agata Kornhauser-Duda, visited the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania on the 27^th of June. The guests were briefed on how Lithuanian libraries are adapted for people with different needs and were introduced to the National Library’s good practice in addressing the issues of accessibility especially in terms of infrastructure and information. The Polish First Lady, A. Kornhauser-Duda, was presented with the early reading promotion project “Book Start”, under the patronage of Mrs. D. Nausėdienė. The Director General of the National Library, Prof. Dr. Renaldas Gudauskas, showed the guests the new service space for the blind and partially sighted, talked about the non-traditional services of the National Library, the activities of the TV studio, and the achievements of the media and creative workshops “PATS SAU”.

From June 26 to July 25, the photo exhibition Cinemas in the Region arranged by the media education and research centre Meno Avilys will be housed in the Exhibition Hall of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (Gedimino pr. 51).

This Tuesday, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania held a ceremony to award the winners of the photography competition “Sakuras in Lithuania” organised by the Embassy of Japan. The event was attended by the First Lady of the Republic of Lithuania Diana Nausėdienė, Ambassador of Japan Shiro Yamasaki, Director General of the National Library Prof. Dr. Renaldas Gudauskas, and the Minister of Culture Simonas Kairys.

Prof. Dr. Renaldas Gudauskas, Director General of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, has become a member of the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO for the second successive term. The renewed National Commission for UNESCO will convene for the first meeting on 22 June 2021.

Dear visitors, please be reminded that the National Library is closed during public holidays so it will not be open to the public on the 6th of June (Father's Day).