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National Lithuanian Library Week invites you to talk about European values

National Lithuanian Library Week invites you to talk about European values

April 22, 2024

As every spring, the National Lithuanian Library Week organized by the Lithuanian Librarians' Association will be held on April 23-29. This is the most important week of the year for all libraries in the country, presenting the activities and initiatives of these cultural institutions to the community, inviting people to talk about the librarian profession and its prestige. During the week, many events will take place in all libraries, and it will be crowned by the walking tour of librarians, which has already become a tradition.

This year's theme of the week "In the European family" emphasizes unity, equality and values. It was not chosen by chance – this year marks the 20th anniversary of Lithuania's accession to the European Union. According to the chairwoman of the Lithuanian Librarians' Association, dr. Laura Juchnevič, all the activities of the library week will send a message that, being part of the EU, Lithuania connects to a wider cultural, informational and creative context, joins democratic processes of self-expression, contributes to the promotion of a more sustainable way of life, constant multifaceted cooperation between individuals, institutions, countries. Libraries are the places of knowledge that promotes freedom of public expression, fosters cultural diversity, global citizenship, democracy, and educates to protect heritage. This will also be discussed on April 25 in the "Libraries in the European Family" conference in Kaunas.

The opening event of the National Lithuanian Libraries Week will take place on April 23. In Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania. During it, the best librarians of the country will traditionally be awarded. The best library manager of the year, the best librarian and the best young librarian will be announced by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania. It will be possible to watch the event online.

All Lithuanian libraries on April 23-29 will organize events for the communities of their cities: book presentations, meetings, lectures, educations, concerts and other initiatives. It is planned that more than a hundred events dedicated to the National Lithuanian Library Week will take place in libraries.

During the National Lithuanian Libraries Week, in addition to the events offered to the public, there are also initiatives that invite librarians to celebrate their profession together and be proud of it. On April 27 there will be a walking tour of librarians in Plateliai, which will bring together about 400 representatives of this profession and show the activity, initiative and unity of the librarian community. Throughout the week, librarians will also compete in the intellectual game "What and why?" shown on LRT television.

National Lithuanian Libraries Week has been held every year since 2001. It traditionally begins on April 23, which UNESCO has declared World Book and Copyright Day. The purpose of Library Week is to draw attention to the achievements of the country's libraries, to promote public reading and creativity, to talk about current topics, to reduce cultural, social and informational divides, to involve communities in cultural and creative activities.