The virtual exhibition “No, My Friends, We Won’t Go Slow”

2165_3762_regular_min-jimo-enklas-enklo-autorius-giedrius-reimeris-_The exhibition is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Lithuania’s independence. The title was inspired by the essay “No, my friends, we won’t go slow” written by émigré artist Jonas Mekas, published at the end of March 1990 in the New York Times, one of the largest circulation newspapers in the US.

The exhibition offers various articles by famous journalists and authors, as well as editorials in the regional press of 14 countries. The clippings were carefully collected and sent to the Library by Lithuanian émigrés and friends of Lithuania living abroad.

The project’s partner – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. We kindly thank prof. Dr. Nijolė Kašelionienė, Assoc. Dr. Carmen Caro Dugo, Rimantas Morkvėnas, Danutė Janutienė, Vitalija Gylikienė, Jonas Rimka, Vaclava Filipovič, Žana Tarasevič, Laura Tupe, Gabrielė Klimaitė-Želvienė, Vaidas Radavičius ir Gytis Marcinkevičius for their assistance in translating.

The virtual exhibition “No, My Friends, We Won’t Go Slow” >>> http://parodos.lnb.lt/en/exhibits/show/paroda-kovo-11

The exhibition was prepared by the Lituanica Department of the National Library of Lithuania. Authors: Dr. Dalia Cidzikaitė and Valdonė Budreckaitė. Visuals and design by Eglė Karalienė.

The Joint Project by Memory Institutions of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia

2010_3302_zoomed_paroda_This year marks 70 years of one of the greatest Baltic emigration waves in the twentieth century, when at the end of the WW II, more than 280 000 Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian citizens avoiding Soviet repressions were forced to leave their homeland. The first temporary place to live became German DP camps, where the Balts very soon revived active social, cultural and social life.

To commemorate this anniversary, the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian memory institutions for more than two years worked together on an international project Refugees from the Baltic Countries in German Camps 1944-1951, which resulted in a virtual exhibition. In this project, our country was represented by the Lituanica Department of the National Library of Lithuania.

The exhibition presents the archives housed at the Lithuanian National Library, the Lithuanian Cultural Institute, the American Lithuanian Cultural Archives, the Lithuanian Research and Studies Center in the US, Chicago and personal collection of an Australian Lithuanian Pranas Nagys. The exhibition can be visited at >>>

Senior Researcher of the National Library of Lithuania Became the Lithuanian-American Community, Inc. Representative in Lithuania

Cidzikaite-Giedriaus Sulniaus photoOn December 2014, the Lithuanian-American Community, Inc. appointed dr. Dalia Cidzikaitė, a senior researcher at Lituanica Department of the National Library of Lithuania, as its new representative in Lithuania. 

Among other things, Ms. Cidzikaitės’ activities will include representing LAC at various events, meeting with the LAC members visiting Lithuania, and communicating with the Lithuanian media. Continue reading “Senior Researcher of the National Library of Lithuania Became the Lithuanian-American Community, Inc. Representative in Lithuania”

Florence Hosted 5th International HERITY Conference

Head of Lituanica Department of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Jolanta Budriūnienė
Head of Lituanica Department of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Jolanta Budriūnienė

5th International HERITY Cultural Heritage Conference “Services for Culture: a visit of quality” took place in Florence, Italy, on December 4-6. A three-day event, dedicated to cultural services and its quality brought together cultural heritage research, monitoring and management experts from more than ten countries who presented papers on cultural heritage policy sustainability, cultural, economic and physical accessibility, and cultural heritage management issues.

Prof. dr. Renaldas Gudauskas, HERITY board member and the director of the National Library of Lithuania, talked about digital cultural heritage in the context of data-driven economy. Another representative from the National Library of Lithuania, head of Lituanica Department, Jolanta Budriūnienė discussed the tools which the Library uses to collect documentary heritage, produce analytical data and manage archival content ensuring the changing needs of today’s society. On the last day of the conference, the HERITY board members talked about the future of the organization in order to more effectively analyze and evaluate the activities of memory institutions in the field of cultural heritage and the opportunities applying them to public needs.

HERITY is an international cultural heritage quality management organization, founded in 1994. Its main mission is to inform the public about the well managed heritage objects, highlighting their historical-cultural value, protection status, communication capabilities, and the wide range of services.

Meeting with the Editor-in-Chief of the Lithuanian Canadian Weekly

Sakalauskaite-JonaitieneOn November 14, 2014 Ramūnė Sakalauskaitė-Jonaitienė, the editor-in-chief of the Lithuanian Canadian weekly Tėviškės žiburiai (The Lights of the Homeland), visited the Lituanica Department at the National Library of Lithuania. The newspaper, established by the Lithuanian Catholic Canadian Cultural Association Žiburiai (The Lights) in Toronto, has been published since 1949.

In the meeting organised by the Lituanica Department, the guest talked about the origins of the newspaper, discussed the past and the present-day challenges. Since last year, the newspaper is also available on-line; nevertheless quite a number of readers still prefer to subscribe to a paper format. Most of Tėviškės žiburiai readers are older, not everyone is able or willing to use the computer, and Ms Sakalauskaitė-Jonaitienė predicts that the newspaper will be printed on paper for another five years or so. However, she is convinced that the time will come when the only Lithuanian newspaper in Canada will be available only on the Internet.Meeting

Those who are interested in Tėviškės žiburiai can find it in the reading room of the Lituanica Department. And those who are unable to visit the library, can access it on-line through www.epaveldas.lt website. This became possible a few years ago when the National Library of Lithuania signed a cooperation agreement with Tėviškės žiburiai.