Research Centres

Adolfas Damušis Democratic Studies Centre (ADDSC) is a specialized structural unit of the Documentary Heritage Research Department at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania involved in the research of the ideas of the democratic political thought of the 20-century Lithuania undergoing the process of modernization and its historical heritage.

The mission of the centre:

• pursue the research of the democratic political thought and the statehood development of Lithuania during its interwar-period of independence;
• discuss the ideological and cultural views of the Lithuanian society and expatriates of the occupation periods and the forms of civic and political expression;
• collect, organize and disseminate documentary and non-material historical heritage;
• popularize research findings, contribute to building civil society, to fostering public historical memory and the cultural identity;
• stimulate historical and political research along with academic partners;
• maintain contacts in the Lithuanian and international research scene.

The centre houses a gradually expanded fund of some 1000 publications including the collections donated by the following sponsors, among many others:

• Rožė Šomkaitė;
• Vincas and Aldona Šmulkščiai;
• Rasa Razgaitienė;
• Nijolė Bražėnaitė-Paronetto;
• The Lithuanian Research and Studies Centre (Chicago, USA)

A. Damušis Democratic Studies Centre provides open access to library visitors who are involved in the research of or are interested in this topic. For more detailed consultation, please register by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Judaica Research Centre is an open institution with a focus on cooperation in the field of education actively disseminating information about the Jewish documentary culture preserved in the collection of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania. The activities of the Centre include ensuring development of research of Jewish documentary heritage, organization and implementation of educational and information projects and dissemination of comprehensive information about their results.

The constantly growing open collection of printed documents includes publications on the following topics:

• cultural studies;
• religion, theology;
• classic and modern Jewish literature (in different languages);
• universal Jewish history;
• Jewish history in Lithuania;
• publications in Yiddish and Hebrew;
• biographies of famous Lithuanian Jews;
• Jewish cookbooks;
• reference books, encyclopaedias, dictionaries, bibliographic publications.

Publications available in the Judaica Research Centre:

• Mattityahu Strashun’s collection;
• documents published in Yiddish and Hebrew in Lithuania (1759–1940);
• documents published in Yiddish and Hebrew abroad (16th c.–1940);
• periodicals published in Yiddish and Hebrew until 1940.

Everyone interested in Judaica is welcome in the Judaica Research Centre.

Please order the documents in the Centre. Ordering via the Library's information system is not available.