Official website: https://amb.lt/lt
Vilnius County Adomas Mickevičius Public Library is the center of methodology, bibliography and regional studies for 5 public libraries of Alytus Municipality and 8 public libraries of Vilnius Municipality. The library provides informational and cultural services for the inhabitants of Vilnius and Vilnius region. The library was founded in 1950’s and is very popular amongst the people of Vilnius and the temporary residents of the city. Every year around 200,000 visitors come to the library.
The library prepares the programs for the development of culture in the region of Vilnius, provides methodical support to the libraries of Vilnius and Alytus municipalities. The most important mission of the library’s work in regional studies is to provide comprehensive information about the regions – its locations and the people related to them. For this goal, gathering of various forms of resources related to the region, their preservation, searching for published materials, their description and dissemination, is of utmost importance to the library. The Library provides information about regional studies, gathers a versatile foundation of documents related to it and to the regions of Vilnius and Alytus in Lithuanian and in the languages of local minorities. Also it organizes exhibitions on regional studies, publishes regional study-related publications; bibliographies; organizes cultural events, quizzes and contests on the topics of regional studies ad even prepares educational programs based on regional studies.
The staff of regional libraries, under the supervision of the Vilnius County Adomas Mickevičius Public Library, prepare full-text regional study databases following a unified methodology.
In 1955, upon the 100th anniversary of the death of a well-known Lithuanian and Polish poet of the romantic epoch Adomas Mickevičius, his name was given to the library. Since then the library’s activities are interconnected with the personality of this poet, the remembrance of his creations and life – its commemoration and dissemination. In the collection of Mickevičius there are over 1000 publications in Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, French and German. The bigger part of the publications are the poet’s creative works. The foundation also gathers literature about A. Mickecičius: memoirs, biographies, critical literature on his works. The Library also gathers a collection of art pieces related to A. Mickevičius.
Cultural Heritage in Lithuania
Cultural heritage of Lithuania is a set of cultural values collected over the generations, important to us from an ethnic, esthetical and scientific points of view. The main mission of the Lithuanian Republic is to preserve the nations’ cultural heritage and to transfer it to future generations as a guarantee of the survival of the nation, an integral part of the landscape and a tool for the formation of Lithuanian image. Thus, conditions would be set for the society to get acquainted and start using their cultural heritage. Properly protected and fostered cultural heritage contributes to the betterment of the country, the expansion of its cultural and educational tourism.
The national policies of cultural heritage protection are formed by Seimas, the Government, the ministry of Culture and the municipalities.
The biggest part of immovable heritage protected by the Lithuanian government is comprised of archeological, urban and architectural objects. A unique and exceptional phenomena in Lithuania and the European cultural sphere – the cultural heritage of wooden manors and ethnographic villages of the country.
Another exceptional Lithuanian quality was national and religious tolerance – next to Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Unit religious communities the Tartar and Karait national communities formed and up until the Second World War very numerous Jewish communities prospered. The numerity of the afford mentioned religious minorities is marked by the amount of sacred objects of cultural heritage – their houses of prayer: Orthodox churches, incredible and rare wooden Jewish synagogues, Tartar mosques, churches of evangelist Lutherans and the reformed, the Karait kenesa in Trakai.
In 1991, October 7th, upon Lithuania’s entry into the United Nation’s organization for education, science and culture (UNESCO), these objects of Lithuanian cultural and natural heritage were added to the list of exceptionally and universally valuable: the historical city center of Vilnius (the biggest Old Town in Central and East Europe); The Curonian Spit; archeological site of Kernavė, acknowledge to be an exceptional cultural landscape, echoing the early middle ages; the geodesic arc of Struvė – a testament to international advances of science.
The UNESCO representative list of humanities cultural heritage was enriched by three Lithuanian values: a spiritual phenomenon – the art of Cross making and the symbolism of Lithuanian crosses; the Dance and Song festival tradition in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and what is considered a European musical phenomenon – the polyphonic songs of Lithuania “Sutartinės”.
The written cultural heritage of Lithuania in the libraries
The public libraries of Lithuania gather, safeguard and disseminate the written cultural heritage of the country. It is made up of the printed literature and its manuscripts, audio, video, digital documents about the region (a location, village, city, district), that represent the region’s history, nature, material culture, heritage, industry, economy, the lives and works of famous inhabitants. Also, the library provides the users with information on regional research documents that it does not have in its archives.
For the dissemination of regional research information, databases and online regional encyclopedias are being created and improved by using modern informational technologies. Their main subject is the accessibility of digital documents and documents held in traditional medias remotely. In addition to that, online vaults of digital regional research information are created in the libraries that can be used by the members of the community, who care about the fostering of their identity, the protection and dissemination of the heritage of their region and from all around the world. They can upload stories, memories, visual materials (texts, videos, audio recordings).
National websites
Lithuanian Ministry of Culture: https://lrkm.lrv.lt/lt/.
Department of Cultural Heritage Under the Ministry of Culture: http://www.kpd.lt/.
Center of Cultural Heritage: http://www.kpc.lt/.
Registry of Cultural Heritage: https://kvr.kpd.lt/#/. This database is a legally binding list of movable and immovable cultural heritage objects. According to the data of 2019, over 25000 single and group immovable cultural heritage objects and their parts, in addition to over 7000 movable cultural heritage objects were added to the Registry.
E-heritage: https://www.epaveldas.lt/home. E-heritage – a library of digital bank of cultural heritage from archives and museums, which holds valuable historical books, newspapers, art pieces, manuscripts, church metrics, audio recordings and pieces from the collection of Lithuanian literary classics.
Databases of regional research:
Gates of Vilnija: http://www.vilnijosvartai.lt/.
The website Gates of Vilnija is dedicated to the dissemination of the regional research information put out by the libraries of Vilnius district online. Its purpose is to reveal to the society and to distant readers (i.e. Lithuanians abroad, students, anyone else interested in Vilnius region) concentrated, highly valuable, systemized, selected information, supported by bibliographical lists on the district of Vilnius, its dramatic stories, rich material and spiritual culture, distinctive traditions.
The database is comprised of three parts: Locations, Personalities, Works of regional research.
In the section of Locations information and reviews on literature and resources concerning the district of Vilnius and the territories belonging to it are provided.
The section of Personalities talks about the famous local people, rewarded with various nominations. Also, about famous locals whose memory is immortalized in locations around the district of Vilnius. Lastly, people in whose name memorial museums are established, monuments or memorial plaques are set up, are also described in this section.
The last section of Works of regional research provides the lists of works written by regional researchers of Vilnius district alongside other more valuable writings (in the forms of manuscripts or published in small numbers) in digital form.
Region of Dainava: http://www.dainavoskrastas.lt/.
The website Region of Dainava is dedicated to the dissemination of the regional research information put online by the libraries of Alytus district.
In the section of Locations information and reviews on literature and resources concerning the district of Alytus and territories belonging to it are provided. The section of Personalities talks about the famous local people, rewarded with various nominations. Also, about famous locals whose memory is immortalized in locations around the district of Alytus. Lastly, people in whose name memorial museums are established, monuments or memorial plaques are set up, are also described in this section.
The map of cultural heritage of Elektrėnai municipality: https://paveldas.elektrenai.mvb.lt/.
The map of cultural heritage of Elektrėnai municipality and an educational game were created to teach and promote the cultural heritage of Elektrėnai region. The map provides information about the objects of cultural heritage in the municipality of Elektrėnai. By using it one can learn about the archeological, architectural, historical, memorial, mythological, sacred and urban heritage and greenery.
