Vilnius University Library
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Vilnius University Library or VU Library (also ''VUL'') is the oldest and one of the largest academic libraries of
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
. It was founded in 1570 by the
Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
and as such is nine years older than
Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...
. VU Library holds 5.4 million documents on shelves measuring in length. The holdings, accessible to members of the university and wider public, include some of the oldest manuscripts,
incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...
and engravings in Lithuania and Eastern Europe. At present the library has 36 thousand users. Vilnius University Library consists of the Central Library which is situated near the Presidential Palace, the Scholarly Communication and Information Centre in Saulėtekis and libraries of faculties and centres that are scattered all around the city.


History


Jesuit Order

Invited by
Bishop of Vilnius Bishops of Vilnius (Vilna, Wilna, Wilno) diocese from 1388 and archdiocese (archdiocese of Vilnius) from 1925:
Walerian Protasewicz Walerian Protasewicz (also: Protaszewicz-Szuszkowski, lt, Valerijonas Protasevičius; – 31 December 1579 in Vilnius) was bishop of Lutsk (1549–1555) and Vilnius (1555–1579). Born to a family of petty Ruthenian nobles (''szlachta''), Prota ...
, the Jesuits came to Vilnius in 1569. On 17 July 1570, they established a college and a library. The core of the library consisted of the collections of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland
Sigismund Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...
and
suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...
of Vilnius Georg Albinius. The library of Sigismund Augustus contained the best of classical works, travelogues, historical books, chronicles, and literature on natural science, law, military, and medicine published in the 16th century. It included the Bible translated by
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
, works by
Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Wikt:Εὐκλείδης, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the ''Euclid's Elements, Elements'' trea ...
and
Claudius Ptolemaeus Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
, the first edition of ''De revolutionibus orbium coelestium'' by
Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...
, and many other works. Privileges issued by King
Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory ( hu, Báthory István; pl, Stefan Batory; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576), Prince of Transylvania (1576–1586), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) ...
on 1 April 1579, converted the Vilnius Jesuit College into a university, and the library into a university library. In 1580 Bishop Protasewicz bequeathed several thousand books to the library upon his death. Many of Lithuania's clergy and the nobility also donated books to the library. During the 200 years of Jesuit rule at the university, the library collection grew from 4,500 volumes (in 1570) to 11,000 volumes (in 1773). A series of wars, fires and plunders prevented the library from growing further and a great many of its books ended up in libraries in Russia, Poland, Sweden and elsewhere. After the suppression of the Jesuit Order in 1773, the
Commission of National Education The Commission of National Education ( pl, Komisja Edukacji Narodowej, KEN; lt, Edukacinė komisija) was the central educational authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and King Stanisław II August on October 14 ...
took on custody of the Vilnius University. In 1781 the university was renamed Head School of Lithuania. Its academic course altered, and the library fund was replenished with books on natural science and medicine.


Russian Empire

After the
Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...
in 1795, the greater portion of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...
, including its capital Vilnius, became part of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. In 1803 the Head School of Lithuania was renamed the Vilnius Imperial University. By the 1820s, Vilnius University ranked among the leading universities in the Russian Empire; the revival of academic research had a positive effect on the library as well. In 1804 professor Gottfried Ernest Groddeck was appointed the head of the library. He succeeded in making it accessible to the public. A Lending Department was opened in 1815, and university staff and students, officials of the educational districts, and gymnasium teachers were allowed to borrow books. The library was moved to the Small Aula, which had a ninety-seat reading room. Groddeck initiated the compilation of an alphabetic and later a systemic
card catalogue A library catalog (or library catalogue in British English) is a register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations. A catalog for a group of libraries is also c ...
. Compared with other libraries in the Russian Empire, the Vilnius University Library had attained the most advanced European standards at that time. After the
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
, Tsar
Nicolas I , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...
closed the university on 1 May 1832. A large part of library's collection was taken from Vilnius and distributed to various academic institutions in Russia. There were unsuccessful attempts 1834 to establish a public library with the remaining books from the university library. In 1856 the Antiquities Museum and a reading room began to function under the auspices of the Archaeological Commission. In 1865 they were converted into the Vilnius Public Library and Museum. The library was given nearly 200,000 volumes of valuable books and manuscripts from the collections of schools, cloisters, and private libraries that had been closed after uprisings in 1831 and 1863. By 1914 the Vilnius Public Library contained more than 300,000 books and ranked 4th among the libraries in the Russian Empire. It was devastated during World War I, and books were once again transported to Russia.


After World War I

Vilnius University was reopened by Poles on 11 October 1919, and renamed in honor of Stephen Báthory. Though it had been plundered, the library retained a fairly large collection. During World War II, the library suffered again from plunder and fire. The destroyed university and its library needed rapid restoration after the war. Reading rooms were installed and bibliographical activities soon organized. The library managed to retrieve approximately 13,000 of its valuable publications. The Vilnius University Library witnessed the following significant events during the period of 1945–1990: the 400th anniversary of the library and the university (in 1970 and 1979 accordingly), the building of two new book depositories, and founding of new departments. The early book collections needed restoration, and Jurgis Tornau, then director of the library, undertook to establish the Department of Restoration in 1968. The library acquired the Department of Graphic Arts in 1969. At the end of the 1960s a decision was made to safeguard integral collections from various donors in the main library depository.


After the regaining of independence by Lithuania

The library has had an electronic catalogue since 1993, accessible via the Internet since 1994. In 2000 VU Library together with other Lithuanian libraries started to subscribe to various databases, beginning with EBSCO, a universal database of full-text documents. On 1 December 2001 a user service sub-system enabling placing a request for an item via electronic catalogue from any study space equipped with computer was introduced in the library. In 2003 the library became the seat of the Vilnius Bookbinders Guild (established in 1664) and the library's bookbinder Cezar Poliakevič was elected as its chairman. In 2005 an information centre "Odysseus" for people with disabilities was opened for the first time in the history of Lithuanian academic libraries. The first Media Collection has been started at the Central Library of Vilnius University in 2006. In 2006 refurbishment of premises of the Central Library was started, In 2006 a technical project for the new library building in Saulėtekis Valley was completed, a concept of the Scholarly Communication and Information Centre was being developed. On 26 March 2009 a tripartite agreement was signed between the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania, the Central Project Management Centre and Vilnius University on financing and management of new Vilnius University Library building “National Open Access Scholarly Communication and Information Centre” (SCIC). The new building was opened on 6 February 2013 and the SCIC became the first building at the Saulėtekis Science and Technologies Valley.


Leaders of the library

VU Library leaders: * John Hay (till 1575) * Laurynas Rydzevskis (1756–1757) * Stanislovas Rostovskis (1765–1765) * Juozas Pažovskis (1778–1787) * Tadeušas Mackievičius (1787–1792) * Rapolas Litvinskis (1792–1799) * Augustinas Tomaševskis (1805) – adjunct * Fransua de la Žumeljė (1807) – adjunct * Gotfrydas Ernestas Grodekas (1804–1825) * Liudvikas Sobolevskis (1826–1830) * Pavelas Kukolnikas (1830–1832) * Aleksejus Vladimirovas (1866–1869) * Jakovas Golovackis (1871–1888) * Julijanas Kračkovskis (1888–1902) * Flavianas Dobrianskis (1902–1913) * Dmitrijus Daugėla (1913–1915) * Eduardas Volteris (1919) * Stanisław Ptaszycki (1919) * Ludwik Janowski (1920-1921) * Witold Nowodworski (1921-1923) * Stefan Henryk Rygiel (1924–1929) * Adam Gracjan Łysakowski (1930–1939) *
Vaclovas Biržiška Vaclovas Biržiška (2 December 1884 – 3 January 1956) was a Lithuanian attorney, bibliographer, and educator. He was a member of a notable Lithuanian family; his great-grandfather Mykolas Biržiška was a representative in the Sejm when the Co ...
(1940–1941) * Elena Eimaitytė-Kačinskienė (1941, 1943 – leader at interim) * Juozas Baldžius (1944–1946) * Marija Burokienė (1946–1948 – leader at interim) * Levas Vladimirovas (1948–1964) * Stasė Vaidinauskaitė-Vaškelienė (1964–1968) * Jurgis Tornau (1968–1985) * Birutė Butkevičienė (1985–2006; from September 2006 till September 2008 – director for Science and Cultural Heritage) * Prof. Audronė Glosienė (General Director from September 2006 till January 2009) * Irena Krivienė (Director for Economics and Development from September 2006 till March 2009. From March 2009 - Director General) * dr. Marija Prokopčik (Director of Information and Cultural Heritage Activities from September 2008) * Jūratė Kuprienė (Director for Economics and Development from January 2010)


Services

The library provides services for the academic community of Vilnius University, all citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and foreign subjects. Academic materials can be borrowed only by members of academic community of Vilnius University, whereas registered users over 16 can borrow fiction and books for leisure. Besides traditional services, the library offers users some unconventional ones such as booking of study spaces or premises, guided tours or 3D printing. The library is supplied with special software for visually and physically impaired. Users can search for resources using
virtual library The World Wide Web Virtual Library (WWW VL) was the first index of content on the World Wide Web and still operates as a directory of e-texts and information sources on the web. Overview The Virtual Library was started by Tim Berners-Lee creato ...
. Study spaces or premises can be booked through internet, with help of which users can browse the library's digital collections, virtual exhibitions, or even take a virtual tour.


Cultural Heritage

The Rare Books Division has accumulated over 170 thousand items from the 15th through the 21st century. It is the largest depository of old books in Lithuania equaling the most famous libraries of Eastern Europe. The library's holdings contain the largest collections of incunabula (328 items, one of the earliest incunabula is Roberto Valturio ''De re military'' (''Concerning Military Matters'', Verona, 1472), one of the largest collections of post-incunabula (around 1.7 thousand items) in Lithuania and the richest in the world collection of early printed Lithuanian books (including the first printed Lithuanian book by Martynas Mažvydas, Katekizmas by Mikalojus Daukša, works by Baltramiejus Vilentas); especially valuable old atlases (1.2 thousand items) and maps (around 10 thousand items); book collection of the Old Vilnius University Library – Bibliotheca Academiae Vilnensis (it includes books from collections of Sigismund August, Sapieha family, Georg Albinius, Walerian Protasewicz, Michał Kazimierz Pac, Eustachy Wołowicz, university professors and eminent figures of Lithuania). The Manuscripts Division contains more than 325 thousand items in various languages of the world as well as autographs by eminent scholars and cultural figures of Lithuania and the world, members of royal families and rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The major part of materials is related to Vilnius University and its history. The division contains personal archives of former and current professors and researchers of the university, collection of dissertations and final papers, materials collected in ethnographic and local history investigation expeditions, archives of societies and associations, special collections (parchments, photographs, music sheets, architectural drawings and blueprints, land layouts, autographs, collection of newspapers from 1988 to 1993 ''National Renaissance Periodicals''. The Division of Graphic Arts has around 92 thousand items in its collection. The most significant part of the collection (around 12 thousand prints) covering the period from the 16th to the 19th century.


Architecture of historical halls


Hall of Franciszek Smuglewicz

The Hall of Franciszek Smuglewicz is the oldest part of the original library complex, named after
Franciszek Smuglewicz Franciszek Smuglewicz ( lt, Pranciškus Smuglevičius; 6 October 1745 – 18 September 1807) was a Polish-Lithuanian draughtsman and painter. Smuglewicz is considered a progenitor of Lithuanian art in the modern era. He was precursor of his ...
(1745–1807), celebrated painter and professor of the university. Until the end of the 18th century, the hall was used as a
refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the La ...
. In 1803 it was assigned to the library and artist Smuglewicz was hired to decorate it. The painter adhered to the spirit of
Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...
; between the windows and on the walls he painted the portraits of the 12 most prominent figures in antique art and science:
Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
,
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
,
Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is ...
,
Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ...
,
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
,
Heraclitus Heraclitus of Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειτος , "Glory of Hera"; ) was an ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Persian Empire. Little is known of Heraclitus's life. He wrote ...
,
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
,
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
,
Diogenes Diogenes ( ; grc, Διογένης, Diogénēs ), also known as Diogenes the Cynic (, ) or Diogenes of Sinope, was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism (philosophy). He was born in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea ...
,
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
,
Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists ...
and
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
. From then on the hall was used for various ceremonies and celebrations.
Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...
was granted his diploma here in 1819. Prominent guests including
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, Tsar Alexander II, and others have visited this hall. In 1855 the hall was assigned to the Antiquities Museum of the Vilnius Provisional Archaeology Commission and, when the commission was closed in 1865, to the Public Library of Vilnius. Over time hall's functions changed and in 1867 painter Vasilii Griaznov replaced its classical tones with pseudo-
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
ornamentation. The hall was refurbished in 1929 and restored to the version by Smuglewicz. During the works, a 16th– or 17th-century fresco of Mary enveloping the founders of the old university was uncovered on the ceiling. Since then the Hall of Franciszek Smuglewicz has retained its appearance with furniture from the time of the Public Library of Vilnius.


Hall of Joachim Lelewel

At first the hall was an almost square chapel with a vaulted ceiling, rising upwards through the second and third floors. The centre of the vaults was taken up by a panel with a painted portrait of St.
Stanislaus Kostka Stanisław Kostka S.J. (28 October 1550 – 15 August 1568) was a Polish novice of the Society of Jesus. He is venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Stanislaus Kostka (as distinct from his namesake, the 11th-century Bishop of Kraków S ...
, the guardian of students. The chapel was built at the end of the 17th century according to designs of Tomasz Zebrowski. After the dissolution of the Jesuit Order the hall was used by the Department of Paintings. The hall was divided into two floors during the first quarter of the 19th century. For a long time the third floor was home to the Art Department, and the workplace of famous artist
Jan Rustem Jan Rustem ( hy, Յան Ռուստամ; 1762 – 21 June 1835) was a painter of Armenian ethnicity who lived and worked in the territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Primarily a portrait painter, he was commissioned to execute ...
. In 1929, professor
Joachim Lelewel Joachim Lelewel (22 March 1786 – 29 May 1861) was a Polish historian, geographer, bibliographer, polyglot and politician. Life Born in Warsaw to a Polonized German family, Lelewel was educated at the Imperial University of Vilna, where in 18 ...
bequeathed a valuable collection of books and atlases to the library; they were transferred from Kurniki to this hall, which was then named in his honour and commemorative exhibition was arranged.


White Hall (old observatory)

The history of the White Hall is part of the history of the old observatory (founded in 1753) of the Vilnius University. The observatory was designed and built by Lithuanian architect and astronomer, VU professor, Tomasz Zebrowski. Funds for the building were donated by Ignacy Ogiński and his daughter Elżbieta Ogińska-Puzynina, whose particularly generous contribution of 200,000
Polish złoty The złoty (; abbreviation: zł; code: PLN) is the official currency and legal tender of Poland. It is subdivided into 100 grosz (''gr'').Singular: ''grosz'', alternative plural forms: ''groszy'', ''grosze''. The widely recognised English form ...
gained her the title of the observatory patron. The observatory was composed of the White Hall, the Small Hall, two slender three-storey square towers, and two small single-storey towers. Six massive
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
pillars, girded with ornamental
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
s divide the White Hall into three parts. An oval opening in ceiling appears to connect the White Hall with the Small Hall above it, and thereby conveys the Baroque concept of infinite space. A remarkable portrait of King
Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...
is positioned in the centre of the tympanum. The portrait is surmounted by allegorical figures of the sitting women representing Diana and
Urania Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, he ...
. Diana holds a portrait of benefactress Elżbieta Ogińska-Puzynina, while Uriana has a wreath of stars in her hands. At the end of the 18th century,
Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt ( lt, Martynas Počobutas; 30 October 1728 near Grodno – 7 February 1810 in Daugavpils) was a Polish–Lithuanian Jesuit, astronomer and mathematician. He was professor of Vilnius University for over 50 years ...
built an extension to the observatory, designed by architect
Marcin Knackfus Marcin Knackfus (, c. 1742 – c. 1821) was a Polish–Lithuanian Neoclassical architect of German descent. Born near Warsaw, he worked in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and particularly in its capital Vilnius. He was a tutor of Laurynas Guceviči ...
in the
Classical style Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...
. The extension housed a large quadrant and other instruments. The White Hall contained not only astronomical equipment but also a valuable library with works on astronomy, mathematics, physics, geography, architecture, and other subjects taught at the university. The books were kept in 12 cupboards in niches between the windows. The hall was decorated with approximately 30 oil paintings of prominent individuals and university scholars. The observatory was seriously damaged by fire in 1876 and closed in 1883. During the time of the Public Library of Vilnius, the White Hall was used as a book depository. It was reopened in 1997 after 10-year renovation. A unique collection of ancient astronomical instruments, including globes made in Amsterdam in 1622 as well as globes made in 1750 and dedicated to King
Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...
, is displayed in the White Hall. Now it houses the Professor's Reading Room and plans are made to arrange a museum of the university's history.


Philology Reading Room

The Philology Room occupies the second floor above the Hall of Franciszek Smuglewicz. At first the room was the assembly hall of the Jesuit Academy, later it was converted into a library. When the library was transferred to the present Small Aula in 1819, the room housed a museum of
mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proces ...
. After the university was closed, the hall belonged to the Museum of Antiquities from 1855 to 1865. In 1945, the hall was converted into the General Reading Room for the Vilnius University Library. The hall has once again been newly restored, according to a project by architect Aldona Švabauskienė. The
parquet floor Parquet (; French for "a small compartment") is a geometric mosaic of wood pieces used for decorative effect in flooring. Parquet patterns are often entirely geometrical and angular—squares, triangles, lozenges—but may contain curves. T ...
was restored according to the surviving samples from the mid-19th century. The 17th-century vaults have been preserved, but their decorations of plaster-work were painted over at the beginning of the 20th century, and now the room is devoid of embellishments. In the end of 2010 the hall was converted into the Philology Reading Room.


Professors' Reading Room

The hall used to serve as the Jesuits' summer residence. In the 18th century it was decided to adapt the hall to the needs of the library. A
frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
with floral ornaments was discovered under a layer of plaster during a restoration in 1919. The design of its wooden
coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...
ed ceiling by architect
Karol Podczaszyński Karol Podczaszyński ( lt, Karolis Podčašinskis) (7 November 1790 – 19 April 1860) was a Polish- Lithuanian leading Vilnius architect, a representative of the neoclassical architecture and a professor of the Vilnius University, as well as on ...
was discovered after a fire in 1969. It was renovated by
Ferdynand Ruszczyc Ferdynand Ruszczyc (1870–1936) was Polish painter, printmaker, and stage designer. He was a member of the aristocratic Ruszczyc de Lis family. Biography Born in the village of Bohdanów (then Russian Empire, now Belarus), Ruszczyc spent his ...
, a professor of the university. The hall's Classical decor and its original grey colour was restored in 1970.


National Open Access Scientific Communication and Information Center

The Scholarly Communication and Information Centre (SCIC) is a subdivision of Vilnius University Library situated in the Saulėtekis Science and Technologies Valley. Four faculties, two centres, namely Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology, and Life Sciences Centre as well as other institutions are located in the Valley. Distinguishing itself by modern environment, SCIC works 24 hours a day and 7 days a week providing around 800 study spaces. Users are offered with special reading rooms, rooms for individual or group work, seminar rooms, a conference hall equipped with modern technologies, a playroom designated for children, 3D printer, special laboratories supplied with assistive technologies for visually impaired. Relaxation zones and a café also serve the needs of users. The most advanced technologies are applied for the library's maintenance and book transportation systems. Underground storage and technical floors have modern book transportation, security and fire extinguisher with mist spay systems. The library's building was designed by Rolandas Palekas, a winner of the Lithuania National Award. In 2013 the Ministry of the Environment acknowledged the Scholarly Communication and Information Centre one of the best architectural creations in the field of urbanistic and architecture.


References


External links


Official website of the Vilnius University Library
virtual guide of Vilnius University architectural ensemble
--> {{Authority control Academic libraries Buildings and structures of Vilnius University Libraries in Vilnius Deposit libraries