Vilnius University Library
3 Universiteto, 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 Services Department – Dr Marija Prokopčik
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 4.7 million items; there are 343 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 167 thousand ancient and rare volumes released between the 15th and 20th centuries.
A collection of over 95 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 three international organizations: Bibliotheca Baltica, Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) and Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER), as well as that of Academic Libraries Association of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Research Library Consortium and Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR).
Since 2017, VU Library is participating in the international incunabula research project Material Evidence in Incunabula (MEI), under the auspices of CERL. In 2020, VU Library continued participating in the national initiative providing digital content to National Virtual Heritage System and Europeana as a partner. The Library is involved in an exchange of publications with 70 foreign libraries and academic institutions in various countries.
In 2020, the Library users could search for information in 96 subscribed databases (such as Web of Science, Science Direct (SciVerse), AccessMedicine, ACS publications, EBSCO eBook Academic Collection, Academic Complete, Springer LINK, Wiley Online Library, JSTOR, Emerald Management eJournals Collection, 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 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.
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 (MIDAS archive, open data, preparation of RDM plan, etc.), creating and developing 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 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 66 996 publications of VU scientists and over 16.3 thousand graduation papers were registered since the creation of the eLABa system.
In 2020, VU Library provided services to more than 39 thousand users. They visited the Library more than 360 thousand times. Printed materials were borrowed more than 155 thousand times, and information resources from the Library subscribed databases were downloaded 1.76 million times.
VU Library has 31 reading room: 13 reading rooms are situated in the Central Library, 8 reading rooms in the SCIC, and 10 reading rooms in the premises of faculties and centres.
In 2020, the open stacks in the Library reading rooms include more than 473 thousand publications. Reading rooms have 1,698 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. All these places were almost permanently booked.
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.
Since 2009, users of VU Library can develop their information literacy skills using Information Literacy Website. The campaign to generate a united and systematic information literacy skills development programme at the University was continued in 2020.
Image development is an important part of each institution’s activity. 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 2020, the staff of VU Library organized 116 guided tours in four languages, which were attended by 1,145 persons from 17 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 2020, the Centre was attended by 72 visitors of numerous official delegations and groups both from Lithuania’s and foreign from academic institutions, as well as representatives of businesses.
In 2019, Vilnius University Library became a part of the cultural heritage platform Google Arts & Culture. In 2020, in honour of its memorable 450th anniversary, the Library has launched its second exhibition Books and Non-Books. 450 Years among the Treasures of Vilnius University Library, which invites a viewer to see the most interesting and spectacular documents kept in the library and discover an unforgettable story, which, as we anticipate, will shake your perception of the wold, at the same time keeping it quite incomprehensible. Even more unique documents that are kept at Vilnius University Library are made available through this virtual exhibition to the world – 2,670 viewers from different countries of the world saw the exhibition in the last months of 2020. In December 2020, the Library made a decision to grant Public domain status to thousands of digitised objects on its digital collections platform, thus making them freely accessible to the public and free from any copyright restrictions.
In 2020, 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 20 publications (1 bibliographic index, 2 virtual exhibitions, 5 scientific articles, 12 conference proceedings and theses).
All plans of VU Library for 2020 were changed due to the pandemic; the library staff was forced to change its way of work and switch from direct contact with users to remote work and to remote provision of services. Despite of restrictions, VU Library organized traditional borrowing of items in a non-contact way; the use of e-resources was being promoted, information literacy trainings were carried out remotely, necessary documents were being scanned. Statistics shows that the quarantine and VU Library’s efforts in promoting e-resources resulted in the increase of their popularity. It should be noted that due to the pandemic, it makes no sense to compare all statistical indicators for the year 2020 with the indicators of the previous years; nevertheless, they still show some general trends.