Educational Programme “Providing Access to Cultural Heritage for Blind and Visually Impaired People”
Aim of the project
Increase access to cultural heritage objects stored in Lithuanian libraries for people with visual impairments and ensure their integration into society.
Tasks of the project
1. Prepare a program for educational activities "Providing Access to Cultural Heritage for Blind and Visually Impaired People" which will involve presentation of documentary heritage objects for people with visual impairments at Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania and organize activities outlined in the program.
2. Prepare an information publication / methodical material for specialists of county public libraries, providing guidelines on the methods for presenting cultural heritage for people with visual impairments.
3. Hold seminars for specialists of county public libraries during which they would be made familiar with the specifics of presenting cultural heritage for people with visual impairments.
Project duration
May–June 2015
Project promoter
The Lithuanian Library for the Blind
Project partners
Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania
Project coordinator within the NLL (unit, department)
Centre of Formation and Development of Information Resources, Department of Rare Books and Manuscripts; Document Conservation and Restoration Centre
Project funding source, value (EUR)
The project is co-funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, EUR 3,500
Introduction of the project
Blind and visually impaired visitors were introduced to the documented cultural heritage of the 19th century and early 20th century by the document restoration and conservation specialists. The activity program offered to the visitors consisted of five parts: the visitors were introduced to the specifics of storage and use of old books; the lecture about the paper and its production process provided an overview of different types of paper and different kinds of tools used in its production; the participants were also asked to perform a practical task which involved making paper sheets; also an overview of the book structure was presented. The visitors were also introduced to the broad variety of ancient documents, different document formats and book decoration techniques.
Responsible person
Jolita Steponaitienė, Director of the Information Resources Department, tel. (+370 5) 239 8585, e-mail
