“These decades are primarily a story about the people who created, nurtured, and firmly believed in the mission of a library open to everyone. At the same time, it is the story of our country’s maturity, demonstrating a consistent effort to make culture accessible to everyone, creating a society where we all have equal opportunities to learn and grow. Today is not only a celebration for all of us but also a responsibility-based commitment to constantly seek the best solutions for openness and accessibility,” says LAB director Inga Davidonienė, inviting everyone to celebrate the library’s birthday together on September 3.
From small libraries to a network connecting all of Lithuania
Although the history of LAB began to be counted from 1966, its origins are linked to the Kaunas Institute for the Blind established in 1927 and the first Braille books. After World War II, a network of libraries for the blind began to be created in Lithuania: libraries were established in Vilnius, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Šiauliai, and Klaipėda near centers for the blind.
On February 1, 1966, these libraries were merged: the Central Library of the Lithuanian Society of the Blind (LAD) began operating in five of the country’s largest cities and Švėkšna. This date is considered the official beginning of the current Lithuanian audio-sensory library. Since 1992, the management of this library network was taken over by the state, specifically the Ministry of Culture and Education of the Republic of Lithuania, and in 1995 LAB was established as a library of national significance in the Lithuanian Library Law.
Transitioning from separate community libraries to a unified system was a significant step. Even today, the library network and its development remain LAB’s strength: besides the center in Vilnius and five territorial branches in major Lithuanian cities and Ukmergė, publications reach readers through about 350 service points across Lithuania, including public libraries.
Over 60 years, LAB’s mission has also changed. Previously, the library’s activities were focused only on the blind and visually impaired, but today its services are intended for all people who cannot read regular printed text. Whether it is dyslexia, developmental disorders, the library’s mission is to ensure that everyone can read.
Special attention to sound
Although the library started from the dot – the first Braille books were transcribed dot by dot by hand – LAB’s history is inseparable from sound. It is sound, more precisely audio readings, that for a long time were one of the most important, and often the only, ways to access literature.
Therefore, special attention is given to sound in preparing the festive library birthday program. Two different projects are being created for the anniversary – audio stories and a sound wall. Both tell the story of the library through sound, but each in its own way: audio stories invite you to get closer to the people creating audio books, while the sound wall allows you to hear voices and literature that have accompanied the library’s history over six decades.
Readers rarely get the chance to see what happens in sound studios. And there, according to LAB announcer and scriptwriter of these audio stories Monika Baranauskaitė, life simply boils.
“Before starting to record a book, a lot of preparatory work takes place – from the simplest voice warm-up to attempts to figure out how to stress a rare word or how to correctly pronounce an unknown phrase in a foreign language. Each announcer has their own small recording rituals, and each of them is unique. I was curious about which books announcers like the most, which ones they sigh over when they get them, what is the hardest part of this work, and what is the greatest motivation? I tried to convey the everyday life of the sound studios based on the stories of two LAB announcers from different generations – Algimantas Butvilas and Gustė Pupkevičienė. Do you know how many times Algimantas reads a book before recording it and why Gustė brings three water bottles to the studio?” – Monika Baranauskaitė presents the audio stories prepared for the September 3 celebration.
These audio stories will allow you to look at the audio book from another perspective – to hear not only the text being read but also the people whose voices and work have accompanied LAB readers for decades.
A completely different relationship with the library’s history will be offered by the sound wall created for the anniversary. It will become a kind of audio archive where, through the voices of announcers from different periods and excerpts from literary works, one can feel the library’s history over six decades.
“Over 60 years, many different voices have accumulated in the library’s collections. In the sound wall, it will be possible to hear more than 40 announcers who have recorded and are still recording in the library. Also – artificial, synthesized voices. Each excerpt is unique: some reflect the reader’s style, others reveal announcers in unexpected roles. At one time, voices come from nine speakers, creating a kind of buzz of voices. Approaching the sound console, you can find the voice you are interested in, mute the other eight speakers, and listen to one selected excerpt. Among them is the first audio book in Lithuania: “Žmogus” by Eduardo Mieželaitis, voiced by actor Eduardas Kunavičius,” says LAB’s chief curator of publishing activities and the sound wall’s creator Audrius Meška.
From tapes and cassettes to books on the phone or how to respond to changing user needs
Six decades of LAB’s activity also reflect technological changes.
The first Lithuanian audio book appeared in 1962. For a long time, audio books were recorded and listened to on physical media, and today they can be accessed digitally – through the virtual ELVIS library and mobile apps.
Today, LAB offers readers books in multiple accessible formats: printed books in Braille, tactile books for children, audio books (there are more than 10,000 in the virtual ELVIS library), as well as EPUB, DAISY, BRF, and other digital formats. It also invites you to watch films and performances with audio description. And from 2024, LAB will certify accessible EPUB and PDF publications prepared by publishers, thus contributing to accessibility starting at the book publishing stage, allowing people who read differently not only to read in the library but also to purchase directly from the publisher.
“Looking back, we understand that there is simply no final point on our library’s path – accessibility is a living process. But more clearly than ever, we see: by opening books, films, or performances to every person, regardless of their disabilities or challenges, we are together nurturing a resilient and bright society,” says LAB director Inga Davidonienė.
People create the library’s history
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary, LAB looks not only at books and technologies but also at the people and places that have created the library’s history.
Together with the NGO “Gatvės gyvos” and guide Albertas Kazlauskas, the library presented a series of historical tours this year called “There is another part of the city: tours in Lithuania’s blind districts.” The tours took place in cities where LAB branches are located and invited both locals and city visitors to look anew at places where communities of people with visual impairments were forming in the mid-20th century.
In such districts around the Lithuanian Society of the Blind’s production complexes, apartment buildings, kindergartens, schools, shops, and libraries were established. The beginning of audio books in Lithuania is also connected to these places – audio readings took place in the complexes.
This history is important today as well – it helps to understand how the lives of people with disabilities have changed. Previously, the community often gathered in specific districts, also called “ghettos,” near adapted workplaces, services, and cultural spaces. Today, people have many more opportunities to choose where to live, study, work, and spend leisure time, and accessibility is increasingly ensured by technology and universal design solutions.
“I keep thinking about a saying from Vytautas from Kaunas that in the past the Lithuanian Society of the Blind was like ‘Rockefeller’ (meaning a very wealthy organization) and memories from Arvydas from Panevėžys from the early days of the blind company. He mentioned that upon learning about his incurable visual impairment, he hoped that blind brothers and sisters would be sensitive and accept him into their circle like family, but soon it became clear that everyone here are ‘normal people’ and, like everywhere else, they make friends, quarrel, and live an emotionally rich life just like all sighted people,” shares guide Albertas Kazlauskas about impressions from meetings with community members while preparing the tours.
The tours in the five largest cities took place in spring, but on September 3 in Vilnius – there is an opportunity to revisit the history of Vilnius’s “skroblyne” district.
“If in Klaipėda the location of the blind district smelled of a resort spirit, Šiauliai greeted with preserved fragments of the production complex’s interior and unique tactile solutions in the district’s inner streets. Kaunas surprised with the monumentality of buildings and especially busy location (the company was located at a highway intersection), and Panevėžys, from an urbanistic point of view, with its elongated form. Comparing all these cities, in Vilnius you feel that it is an integral part of a big city, the capital, organically merging into what was once one of the most important industrial zones of the capital – Naujamiestis. I suspect that few Lithuanians even know what kind of districts these are, what parts of the city they are. I am sure that listeners will be surprised and interested. It is important not to be afraid of the specific nature of the topic – believe me, it will be interesting to any curious person!” adds A. Kazlauskas.
The library invites you to celebrate the 60th anniversary together
LAB will mark the anniversary year with a birthday celebration on September 3 at the library located at Skroblų St. 10 in Vilnius.
At 1 p.m., visitors will be welcomed to the tour “There is another part of the city” with guide Albertas Kazlauskas
At 3:30 p.m., there will be a congratulatory concert with long-time LAB announcer Regina Jokubauskaitė. During the celebration, greetings and wishes sent in advance by guests will be heard, as well as performances by the international men’s choir “Unia.”
At 5 p.m., different activities will take place in the library: a meeting with announcers Algimantas Butvilas and Gustė Pupkevičienė, and a simultaneous chess game with Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen. The simultaneous will be commented on by sports commentator Romanas Buršteinas and actor Marius Repšys, and the game can be watched on the library’s YouTube channel.
At 6 p.m., the celebration will continue with birthday buzz with DJ AurRam (Aurimas Ramonas).
All day, from 12 to 8 p.m., visitors will be able to hear a sound installation specially created for the library’s anniversary, visit the exhibition “From Need to Change,” Milda Palivonaitė’s tactile jewelry exhibition, and get acquainted with EPUB – today’s most accessible book format.
“We invite everyone – those living nearby, passing by, using the library’s services, and those who may have never heard of us. After all, the library has always been created by people. We want to celebrate the 60th anniversary the same way – together,” invites the Lithuanian Audio-Sensory Library.
