The Palace of Commerce, Industry and Crafts, designed by Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis and located at K. Donelaičio St. 8, is the home of the Documentary Heritage Research and Dissemination Centre of the Oak Grove Library. The Centre consists of the Old and Rare Printed Materials Unit, the Digitisation, Updating and Preservation Unit and the Kaunas Studies Unit.
Although a large part of the entire collection is specially stored and not accessible to users, those interested in old and rare prints are welcome to visit the Old and Rare Prints Reading Room and Old Book Exposition K. Donelaičio St. 8, 2nd floor, 202 room.
For more information on old and rare publications, please visit the section “For Enthusiasts of Old and Rare Publications”:
For Enthusiasts of Old and Rare Publications
The Old Book Exposition
The Old Book Exposition, which has been in the library since 1993, opened in 2020 with new colours and experiences. It illustrates the development of the printed book over more than half a millennium, from its cradle to 20th century publications. The exposition present the history of the book in a visual, informative and interactive way: cover decoration and binding techniques, the structure and layout of the book, the ornate title pages and initials, the superscriptions and manuscript inscriptions preserved in books, Renaissance publishing houses, banned books, famous scientific works and textbooks printed over a century ago, the most beautiful old editions preserved in the library, and many more curiosities, which invite you to delve into the mysterious world of books.
The exhibition has been updated as part of the project “The Old Book Opens for You”. The project was partly funded by the Council of Culture.
In the Old Books Exposition we offer:
guided tours on the development of the old book, from the first printed books to 20th century publications;
thematic tours, which take a deeper and more in-depth look at a selected phase of the book’s development;
cultural Passport education: “Discover the history of paper and learn how to preserve it” and “Fairy Tales” (read more here);
three educational programmes – “The Way of the Book”, “Childhood Authors and Old Illustrations Revisited”, “Initials of Old Books” (read more here);
a self-guided journey along the path of an old book using the information-educational terminal, where you will not only find numerous illustrations revealing the pages of the books that are not visible in the exhibition, but you will also be able to make a word out of the initials or test your knowledge of the history of the book with a quiz.
For visiting the exposition and guided tours, please contact us by tel. +370 37 32 43 17, email seni_reti@azuolynobiblioteka.lt. In advance registration is required.
Guided tours and educational programmes are free of charge.