Solemn Opening of a Diplomacy Shelf in the National Library

On 28 November, in the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, Mr. Linas Linkevičius, Minister of Foreign Affairs at interim, and Prof. Dr. Renaldas Gudauskas, Director General of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, signed a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania and the National Library. The signing of the agreement coincided with the solemn opening of a Diplomacy Shelf: a shelf dedicated to publications and books in the field of diplomacy and international relations from the library funds delivered to the National Library by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

The cooperation agreement signed by the two institutions includes both the sharing of analytical information and the overall public diplomacy activities: promotion of the history of Lithuania and its diplomacy, dissemination of information about Lithuania and its foreign policy, and joint effort in accumulating the National Archival Fund of Published Documents: literature and publications related to Lithuania published abroad. In the words of the Minister Linkevičius, the signing of the agreement has turned a new page; however, both institutions have cooperated and completed several significant projects, for example, extensive and valuable collection of books of Lozoraitis family was handed over to the National Library of Lithuania.

Joint events, exhibitions and educational projects are to take place in the future.

According to Mr. Gudauskas, Director General of the National Library, in its activities the Library focuses on such values as culture, science, education, business and the state. In this context, cooperation of the Library and the Ministry becomes increasingly important in the changing information environment.

“We hope that the Diplomacy Shelf opened today will attract many visitors of the Library. I am pleased that the collection also includes works by numerous talented employees of the MFA: historians, scientists and poets,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.

Mr. Linkevičius donated new publications to the Diplomacy Shelf. You are welcome to visit the Social Sciences Reading Room of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.

For more pictures, please visit: flickr.com/photos/mfa_lithuania/