Vilnius University Library

Sukurta: 14 December 2023

mkic 3 Universiteto str., Vilnius, LT-01122
5 Saulėtekio Ave, Vilnius, LT- 10222
E-mail:
https://biblioteka.vu.lt/en

Director General – Irena Krivienė
Phone: 268 7102
E-mail:

Director of Information Servicpartment – Dr Marija Prokopčikes De
Phone: 268 7101
E-mail:

Director of Heritage Collections and Research Department – Nijolė Klingaitė-Dasevičienė
Phone: 268 7111
E-mail:

Director of Scholarly Communication and Technologies Department – Dr Žibutė Petrauskienė
Phone: 219 5090
E-mail:

Vilnius University (VU) Library 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 its library were founded. The Jesuit College was transformed into a university in 1579, and its library became the University’s Library.
After the opening of a new building – Vilnius University Library Scholarly Communication and Information Centre (SCIC) in February 2013 – the Library managed to evenly actualize its tasks for two integral information centres. The Library collection contains 4.9 million items; there are 348 thousand manuscripts and documents in various languages, dating from the 13th century up to the present. VU Library is also famous for its collection of rare manuscripts and prints, which consists of more than 168 thousand ancient and rare volumes released between the 15th and 20th centuries.
A collection of over 98 thousand original graphic prints is the oldest collection of this kind in Lithuania. It includes collections of old (17th through the first half of the 20th century, around 10 thousand items) and modern graphic prints.
VU Library is a member of four international organizations: Bibliotheca Baltica, Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL), Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER), and Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR) as well as that of Academic Libraries Association of Lithuania, and the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium.
Since 2017, VU Library is participating in the international incunabula research project Material Evidence in Incunabula (MEI), under the auspices of CERL. In 2022, VU Library continued participating in the national initiative providing digital content to National Virtual Heritage System and Europeana as a partner.
In 2022, the Library users could search for information in 66 subscribed databases (such as Web of Science, Science Direct (SciVerse), AccessMedicine, ACS publications, Academic Complete, Springer LINK, Wiley Online Library, JSTOR, etc.). Since 2015, Vilnius University Library provides an opportunity for its users to access electronic publications of the best world publishing houses through Evidence Based Acquisitions model and since 2019 electronic books borrowing and acquisition service, based on ProQuest Ebook Central platform. This service allows users to get immediate access to individually requested electronic book titles, for short-term loan or perpetual access.
The Library invests into evidence-based decisions in developing information services. The Library staff applies analysis of information resources used by students and researchers in studies and research activities. Results of analysis allow monitoring if the resources are relevant to students and researchers and improving both printed and electronic collections.
With rising popularity of interactive teaching and learning methods, modern scientific workflow each year the Library provides access to more new interactive tools and platforms such as chemistry information tool Reaxys, 3D medical database Complete Anatomy (3D4Medical), and video journal of experimental methods JoVE.
The Library provides scientific communication services to the University’s research community. Those include ensuring access to scientific publications and final theses (dissertations and their summaries) and disseminating them through the eLABa system; disseminating Open Science/Open Access ideas (promoting OA through publications in various OA journals, OA Week’s events, consultations for researchers, etc.); managing research data (coordination of Research Data Management (RDM) services, promoting, training, assistance and consultancy for researchers (: National Open Access Research Data Archive (MIDAS), open data, preparation of RDM plan, etc.), maintaining a tool for preparing the RDM plan, training for doctoral students, etc.); consulting and training researchers and employees; editing and entering publications and the metadata into the eLABa system; performing scientometric analysis and dissemination of information (bibliometric analyses of VU and its subdivisions, individual scientists’ training, dissemination of information, consulting on the issues of scientometrics); assisting in preparation of statistical reports. A total of 88 368 publications of VU scientists and over 25.3 thousand graduation papers have been registered since the creation of the eLABa system, and over 90 datasets have been published through the MIDAS archive since its launch in 2015.
Aiming to become a leader in promoting the policy and ideas of open science at the University, the Library has actively engaged in the implementation of the Vilnius University Strategic Plan for 2021-2025 long-term objective 1.3 “Increasing Influence on the Society and the State” and the indicator 1.3.2 of this long-term objective “A Significant Enhancement of Scholarly Communication. A working group headed by Director General of the Library Irena Krivienė has been set up with five representatives of the Library. It prepared "The Guidelines of Vilnius University’s Open Science Policy” and presented it to the VU community. At the beginning of 2022, the VU Senate approved the Guidelines. Currently, an implementation plan that will put the Guidelines into practice is being drafted with active participation of the Library.
In 2022, VU Library provided services to more than 39 thousand users. They visited the Library more than 641 thousand times. Printed materials were borrowed more than 180 thousand times.
VU Library has 31 reading rooms: 13 reading rooms are situated in the Central Library, 8 reading rooms in the SCIC, and 8 reading rooms in the premises of faculties and centres.
In 2022, the open stacks in the Library reading rooms include nearly half a million publications. Reading rooms have 1,800 work and study spaces. Vilnius University community members may use three group-work rooms in the Central Library and five in the SCIC.
The SCIC has 34 individual workrooms; the Main Library has 62 individual study spaces, which could be booked in advance for free.
Opening of the SCIC revolutionised the information landscape at the University, while another stage of integration of the faculty libraries formed two information centres, both supported by one management, administration, and maintenance system. For the first time in the University’s history, information sources and the Library’s infrastructure is open for users 24/7.
Reconstruction in the Central Library enabled unrestricted access to all the Library’s facilities for the disabled visitors: a wheelchair lift was constructed on the staircase of the Library. In the Central Library and the SCIC one can find adjustable study spaces; SCIC and Central Library also purchased software and hardware for the blind and visually impaired visitors, as well as persons with reduced mobility.
The Library pays special attention to the formation and strengthening of internal and external communication, as well as quick and convenient provision of information to its clients using the Library’s website and social networking. In pursuance of this aim, the number of VU Library social network users has been considerably increased, while Facebook and Instagram continue to be the most successful tools of communication.
In 2022, the staff of VU Library organized 290 guided tours in five languages, which were attended by 4,100 persons from 29 countries. The SCIC has captured the attention of the public both as a symbol of modern architecture and as an organisation providing innovative services. In 2022, the Centre was attended by 182 visitors of numerous official delegations and groups both from Lithuania’s and foreign from academic institutions, as well as representatives of businesses.
In 2022, Vilnius University Library hosted 87 public events and exhibitions. Exhibitions presenting cultural heritage are usually based on the findings of current research and combine data from both manuscript and rare prints collections. The example of research-based exhibition in 2022 was exhibition Inspired by Skaryna: 500 Years of Vilnius Printings. The first printing houses of Vilnius and the books printed in them, thus showing the trajectory of Vilnius printing from Skaryna until the end of the 18th century were presented in this exhibition.
In 2022, the publishing activities of the Library included research of printed heritage, publications about Vilnius University academic community as well as those dealing with the Library services and activities. Members of the Library staff prepared and published 13 publications (one monography, 9 scientific articles, 2 conference proceedings and theses) and 11 reports for international or national scientific conferences. Publications and reports are related to research in manuscript heritage of Vilnius university scientists and rare prints collections, representing print culture in Lithuania in the 15th-18th centuries.
In 2022, VU Library proceeded with research project Research of the Old Vilnius University's (1579–1773) Dissertations and Creation of the Database, financed by Research Council of Lithuania.
Main Publications
Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius. Impavidus pro patria mori – Bebaimis mirti už tėvynę (Jan Karol Chodkiewicz. Impavidus pro patria mori – Fearless to die for the homeland) : Documens from the Vilnius University Library; prepared by Sondra Rankelienė, Aušra Rinkūnaitė, Mindaugas Marazas, Brigita Zorkienė, Paulius Bagočiūnas. Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2022, 324 p.
Lietuva Vilniaus universiteto bibliotekoje (Lithuania in Vilnius University Library); prepared by Paulius Bagočiūnas, Virginija Galvanauskaitė, Valentina Karpova-Čelkienė, Inga Liepaitė. Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2021, 582 p.