Vilnius University Library
3 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Director General – Irena Krivienė
Tel. 268 71 02, fax 268 71 04
E-mail:
Director for Information, Research and Cultural Activities – Dr. Marija Prokopčik
Tel. 268 71 01, fax 268 71 04
E-mail:
Director for Innovation and Infrastructure Development – Dr. Jūratė Kuprienė
Tel. 219 50 90, fax 219 50 80
E-mail:
The Library of Vilnius University is the oldest institutional library in Lithuania and one of the oldest in Eastern Europe. It dates back to 1570, when the Jesuit College and the Library were founded. The College of Vilnius was transformed into the university in 1579, and its Library became the University’s Library.
After the opening of a new building - the Scholarly Communication and Information Centre (SCIC) in February 2013, the Library manages to evenly actualize its tasks for two integral information centres. The Library collection contains 5 336 million items. There are 314 298 manuscripts and documents in various languages, dating from the 13th century up to the present.
The Library is also famous for its collection of rare manuscripts and prints, which consists of 166 829 ancient and rare volumes of the 15th–20 th centuries.
A collection of 93 381 original graphic prints is the oldest collection of this kind in Lithuania. It includes collections of old (17th–the beginning of the 20th century, about 10 000 items) and modern graphic prints.
Since 1965, the Library has been a depository of the United Nations. We receive publications of the General Assembly of the UN and other subdivisions of the following organizations: UNESCO, WHO, IAEA, FAO, ILO, UNIDO, IMF, and ICJ.
The Library is a member of three international organizations: Bibliotheca Baltica, Consortium of European Research Library (CERL), and Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER), as well as Academic Libraries Association of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium and Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR).
In 1998, the Library started digitization of rare and unique documents from its stacks. Scholars, researchers and other people concerned can study manuscript court books of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, collection of parchments via the internet cartography collection (16th–20th c.) of the priest V. Mincevičius, portraits of Radziwill family produced by the portrait engraver Herszek Leibowicz, archives of Radziwill and Sapiega families, collection of autographs of various outstanding persons, kings and noblemen as well as the first Lithuanian book Katekizmas written by Martynas Mažvydas.
The Library participates in the international project of the digitized manuscript cultural heritage Manuscriptorium. The Library is a member of the international project World Digital Library since 2009. Digital content of the VUL cultural heritage is part of the National Virtual Heritage System. The Library leads several scientific research projects: since 2012 -Digitization of GDL Court Books, Held in Vilnius University Library, and Creation of Script DataBase, since 2014 - Virtual Reconstruction of the Oldest Academic Library in Lithuania funded by the Research Council of Lithuania. The New Library is involved in an exchange of publications with 114 foreign libraries and academic institutions in various countries.
In 2014, the Library users could search for information in 62 subscribed databases (e.g. Web of Science, Science Direct (SciVerse), Springer LINK, Wiley Online Library, JSTOR, Emerald Management eJournals Collection,EBSCO Publishing, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, Passport,American Institute of Physics (AIP) Journals, American Physical Society (APS) Journals, Sage Journals, Annual Reviews, etc.).
In 2014 the Library provided services to 34 236 users. Its users visited the Library more than 1 180 thousand times per year. Printed materials were borrowed more than 527 thousand times and information resources from the Library subscribed databases were downloaded more than 1 430 thousand times.
The Library has 28 reading rooms. 10 readings rooms are suited in the Central Library, 9 reading rooms in the SCIC, and 9 reading rooms in the premises of faculties and centres.
In 2014, the open stacks in the Library’s reading rooms expanded, currently including more than 408 thousand publications. Reading rooms have 1,688 work and study spaces, 285 of them are equipped with computers.
Vilnius University community members have an opportunity to use 3 group-work rooms in the Central Library and 5 in SCIC. In one year these rooms were booked for more than 14 thousand hours. 8 IT laboratories in SCIC were booked for almost 5 thousand hours.
SCIC has 34 individual work rooms, the Main Library – 60. All these study places were booked all the time.
Wireless network and Eduroam are freely available in both Library buildings. Spaces of Library have been created with regard to the wishes of readers: those who need quiet place can work in the reading room, the ones willing to discuss certain issues with colleagues can use a place designated for informal communication equipped with settees and tea-tables. SCIC organized a Leisure Reading Room with various literature and board games for the musing and cognitive leisure. SCIC also took care of the studying parents designing a special space, where they can study in the Library with their small children. In the Central Library you main find a Czeslaw Milosz Reading Room. Collection is based on awarded and classic literature in various languages divided in prose, poetry, children fiction, ancient literature and fiction of Lithuanian authors translated in foreign languages. In SCIC student may have a lunch-brake in cafeteria. Central library users may use lounge room for that purpose. In SCIC and in Central library students can use equipment for heating their home made food, to make tea or coffee.
Opening of SCIC conceptually changed the community character of University information surroundings: another stage of integration of the faculty libraries was finished forming two information centres, both linked by united management, administration, and maintenance systems. Information sources and the Library’s maintenance systems for the users of the Library are available 24/7 for the first time in the University’s history.
Reconstruction made in the Central Library allowed free access to all the Library’s facilities for the disabled visitors: a hoist was constructed on the staircase of the Library. In the Central Library and SCIC one can find adjustable study places. SCIC and Central library purchased soft- and hard ware for the blind and partially sighted visitors, persons with reduced mobility.
Users of Vilnius University Library can develop their information literacy skills using Information Literacy Website since 2009. Work to generate a united and systematic information literacy skills’ upbringing program at the University was continued in 2014. Academic course, which was taught for the Philosophy Faculty students, became an example on how productively and effectively students’ information skills could be cultivated.
In 2014, the publishing activities of the Library were developed in the following directions: research of printed heritage, publications about Vilnius university academic community and publications about the Library services and activities. Members of the Library staff published 4 books, 8 scientific publications and conference proceedings and 28 other articles.
Image development is an important part of the activity of each institution. The Library pays special attention to the formation and strengthening of internal and external communication, quick and comfortable provision of information to its clients. In pursuance of this aim, the main means are the Library 2.0 tools, Library’s website and social networking. The number of VU Library social network users has considerably increased. “Facebook” was the most successful tool of communication. In 2014 VU Library has launched a new resource – a virtual tour around the historic library of Vilnius University. The Library organized and promoted international seminars, exhibitions, its staff had a possibility to attend thematic seminars on the most relevant topics. The Library has paid special attention to both internal staff training and seminar organization to librarians from other Lithuanian academic libraries in the year 2014.
In 2014, the staff of VU Library organized 610 guided tours in 5 languages, which were attended by 9,452 persons from 34 countries. The Scholarly Communication and Information Centre of Vilnius University Library have captured the attention of the public both as a symbol of modern architecture and as an organisation providing innovative services. In 2014 the Centre was attended by 1.267 visitors including numerous official delegations and groups from academic institutions from Lithuania and abroad, as well as representatives of businesses.
Main publications:
Grigas, V. 2014. Evaluation of the librarian-educator's training conceptual model. Proceedings of the 6th international conference Qualitative and quantitative methods in libraries (QQML 2014), May 27–30, 2014, Istanbul, Turkey, p. 72, http://www.isast.org/images/FINAL_BOOK_OF_ABSTRACTS_e-book_version.pdf
Grigas, V. 2014. Lietuvių literatūros klasikos skaitmeninių knygų kokybė vartotojo požiūriu . Vincas Grigas, Simona Petraitytė, Eglė Akstinaitė-Veličkienė. Summary in English. Bibliogr.: 18 titles. Knygotyra, vol. 63, 216–234, http://www.vu.lt/leidyba//dokumentai/zurnalai/K%20N%20Y%20G%20O%20T%20Y%20RA/Knygotyra%202014%20-%2063/216-235.pdf
Petraitytė, S. 2014. Framing of academic libraries’ roles in the strategic documents of universities: a map of factors and agents. Bibliogr.: 41 titles. Advances in Library Administration and Organization, vol. 32, 107–146, http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/S0732-0671%282014%290000032002
Šalna, R. 2014. Priešingose barikadų pusėse: [about poet A. Mickiewicz]. Vilnius: Petro ofsetas, 108 p.
Šimtus jau metus saulelė tekėjo ir leidos : [K. Donelaičio 300-osioms gimimo metinėms skirtos] parodos katalogas, 2014–2015 / Vilniaus universitetas, Vilniaus universiteto biblioteka, Mokslinių tyrimų ir paveldo rinkinių centras ; [composed by Viktorija Vaitkevičiūtė, Aušra Rinkūnaitė ; translation by Kristina Gudavičienė, Aistė Skrebytė ; indexes by Viktorija Vaitkevičiūtė, Sondra Rankelienė ; photos by Raimondas Malaiška]. – Vilnius : Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2014, 265 p.: ill., facs., maps. – Parallel Lithuanian and English texts. – Bibliogr: p. 257–258. – Indexes: p. 259–265.