The idea for Telling the City came from Vilnius celebrating its 700^th anniversary this year. It got us thinking about how the city is reflected in children’s literature. A retrospective look revealed that it is not a common subject in Lithuanian children’s literature, even less so in illustration. Historically, nature was considered a safer environment for children to grow up in. It was seen as more welcoming, able to provide shelter, peace and knowledge. Cities, in contrast, were mostly portrayed as hectic, even dangerous places. So with this exhibition we wanted to bring the city to the fore and highlight its importance in children’s book illustration. We were also keen to look at urban spaces from various angles. What does the city represent to artists from different countries? How does a communal city becomes one’s own? What makes it a beautiful and safe space for a child to live in?

Dear visitors, please be reminded that the National Library is closed during public holidays so it will not be open to the public on the 1st and 2nd of November, i. e. on the All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.

Monday 30 October, 6 pm Vilnius Jewish Public Library of  Lithuanian National Martynas Mažvydas Library invites you to a lecture by Prof. Shulamit Ramon “Social Work in War Torn Contexts and Resilience".

The Kražiai Organist’s Notebook (1618), preserved in the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, has been recognised as a documentary heritage object of national importance.

On October 19-20, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania hosted an international conference dedicated to the 700th anniversary of Vilnius, “Europe. Capital. Transformations: Vilnius in the 19th and 21st Centuries.” The event was part of the “Vilnius 700th Anniversary Events at the National Library” funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.

On October 5–6, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuanian hosted an international conference “Printing Centers and Peripheries in the Early Modern Period“, dedicated to the 700th anniversary of Vilnius. The conference brought together researchers to present papers and share insights on the culture, history, and application of digital humanities to the old book, to analyze the circumstances of the formation of printing centers and peripheries and the relationship between them across continents and cultures, and to explore the roles of authors, publishers, distributors, readers, and preservers in the creation and distribution of the printed book.

On October 19-20, 2023 The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania kindly invites you to the international conference “ Europe. Capital. Transformations: Vilnius in the 19th and 21st Centuries“ which will be held at the National Library of Lithuania in Vilnius.

On 2023 October 12-13 The Max Weber Foundation and the Branch office Vilnius of the German Historical Institute Warsaw, in cooperation with the Lithuanian Institute of History, invites you to the international scientific conference “The Politics and Poetics of Evidence. The Soviet Documentation of Nazi Crimes, the Myth of the Great Patriotic War, and their Legacies“. The conference will take place at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.

This year marks the 80th year of the liquidation of the Vilna ghetto, which once again reminds us of the painful stages of history from which we must learn and which we must not forget.

On October 5-6, 2023 The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania kindly invites you to the international conference “Printing Centers and Peripheries in the Early Modern Period,” which will be held at the National Library of Lithuania in Vilnius in a hybrid format with both in-person and virtual participation.

The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania kindly invites you to the exhibition “URBS: People and Books”, a journey through the history of Vilnius press. In this exhibition, Vilnius is seen as the most important center of book printing and dissemination in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which shaped the city’s cultural, religious and economic life. It reveals the most important printing events in Vilnius in the early modern period, highlighting the more interesting and significant cases and providing a glimpse behind the scenes of printing in different times.

On 10–11 October 2023, the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities are holding the international scholarly conference ‘The Intellectual Heritage of the Jews of Vilnius’.

The visitors of Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania now have access to a special American Reading Room database package elibraryUSA.

This September marks the 80th year of the liquidation of the Vilnius Ghetto (the ghetto was destroyed on 23-24 September 1943). On 21 September at 6 pm, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania invites you to a presentation of the Fortunoff Holocaust Testimonies Video Archive podcast “Remembering Vilna: Voices from the Holocaust”. The event will be held in English in the Event Space of the National Library (3rd floor).

The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania and the Association of Jews from Vilna and vicinity in Israel invite you to the discussion “80 Years Later: The Holocaust, Antisemitism and Memory for the Future”. The discussion is dedicated to the 80th year of the liquidation of the Vilna ghetto. Discussion participants: Dr. Christopher Dieckman, historian and researcher of the Holocaust in Lithuania; Saulius Beržinis, documentary film maker, founder and director of the Independent Lithuanian Holocaust Archive; Dr. Darius Staliūnas and Dr. Tomas Balkelis, senior researchers at the Lithuanian Institute of History.

In commemoration of the 80th year of the liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto we invite you to the discussion “Refuged, but not helpless. Polish Jewish refugees in Vilnius, 1939–1944”.

On September 6th, at 6 p.m., the exhibition "Born in (In)dependence" by Benas Liandzbergis will be presented at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.

Dear visitors! Please be informed that from the 28th of August National Library’s opening hours will be as usual.

On the occasion of the European Days of Jewish Culture we kindly invite you to the events organised by the Judaica Research Centre at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in partnership with the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History. This year the theme for the European Days of Jewish Culture is Memory. Visiting from Italy Professor Adachiara Zevi will speak on the relationship between memory and art, architecture and monuments.

On the occasion of the European Days of Jewish Culture we kindly invite you to the events organised by the Judaica Research Centre at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in partnership with the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History. This year the theme for the European Days of Jewish Culture is Memory. Visiting from Italy Professor Adachiara Zevi will speak on the relationship between memory and art, architecture and monuments.