History

The Vilnius County Adomas Mickevičius Public Library seeks to become the leader in cultural communication in the Vilnius region.

The library is located in the very heart of the capital, in the former Joseph and Sophia  Tyszkiewicz (Sofija ir Juozapas Tiškevičiai) palace dating back to the 15th-16th centuries. The library established in 1950 is much loved by residents of Vilnius as well as visitors. Almost 450,000 items in more than 20 languages, including books and periodicals in a variety of fields as well as works of fiction, musical works, sheet music, films and maps, have been collected at the library. Each year, the library receives about 200,000 visitors, who borrow about 360,000 items.

In 1955, commemorating the centennial of the death of the Romantic poet Adomas Mickevičius (Adam Mickiewicz), the library was named in his honour. Since then, the libraryʼs activity has been associated with honouring the memory of the poetʼs personality, creative work and life. In the Mickevičius collection, there are more than 1,000 publications in Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, French and German. The bulk of these publications consist of the poetʼs creative works. In addition, the collection includes literature about Mickevičius: memoirs, biographies, literary criticism. There is also a collection of works of art associated with Adomas Mickevičius. These include paintings, sculptures and works of graphic art.

In 1994, an Austrian literature reading room was established at the library, in which visitors find information about Austria, Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. This is the only collection of Austrian publications in Lithuania, consisting of about 8,000 meticulously selected items, offering a unique opportunity to become acquainted with the history, present reality, modernity, and essence of these countriesʼ aristocratic culture and literature. The constantly-updated collection is an excellent resource for those improving their German language skills and writing academic papers.