Bibliotekėles atidarymas Raseiniuose - Little Free Library opens in Raseiniai

Šiandien mūsų kultūros atašė Sarah Talalay rašo apie kelionę į Raseinius.

Siekdamas pasidalinti su kitais savo meile knygoms ir bendruomeniškumo jausmu, Raseinių liberalus jaunimas neseniai džiaugsmingai atidengė pirmąją miesto Bibliotekėlę arba Mažąją nemokamą biblioteką („Little Free Library“) Dominikonų gatvėje esančiame parke. Idėja „Pasiimk vieną knygą ir palik kitą“ atsirado Viskonsino valstijoje JAV 2009 m., kai Todd Bol savo kieme pastatė ant kojelės miniatiūrinį nameliuką – mokyklėlę ir užpildė jį knygomis. Taip gimė socialinė iniciatyva. 

Šiandien pasaulyje yra daugiau nei 32000 Bibliotekėlių, ir keletas jų jau veikia Lietuvoje.

Prieš atidarydami Bibliotekėlę savo mieste, Raseinių liberalaus jaunimo atstovai pakvietė JAV ambasadą sudalyvauti atidarymo šventėje. Prašymas buvo perduotas man, kultūros atašė, ir man ši idėja pasirodė įdomi. Bibliotekėlei padovanojau dvi knygas – žymaus JAV virtuvės šefo Art Smith receptų knygą ir rašytojos – iliustratorės  Mairos Kalman knygą „Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything" – tinkamą pasirinkimą šia proga, nes Prezidentas Jeffersonas itin mėgo knygas. Dienai baigiantis spėjau aplankyti ir anksčiau šiais metais Kaune atidarytą Bibliotekėlę, įkvėpusią Raseinių gyventojus.

Jūsų dėmesiui abiejų Bibliotekėlių nuotraukos. 


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Today, our cultural attache Sarah Talalay writes about a trip to Raseiniai.

Seeking to share a love of books and a sense of community, the Raseiniai Liberalus Jaunimas (Raseiniai Liberal Youth) recently unveiled with fanfare, the town's first "Bibliotekele" or "Little Free Library" in a park off Domininku gatve. The "take a book, leave a book" concept was launched in Wisconsin in 2009 when Todd Bol built a model of a one-room school house, filled it with books and put in on a post in his front yard. A social enterprise was born.

Now, there are more than 32,000 Little Free Libraries across the globe, including several in Lithuania.

Before opening their Bibliotekele, the Raseiniai Liberal Youth sent an email to the Embassy asking if someone would attend the opening. It seemed like a good idea for the Cultural Attache. I donated two books - a cookbook by US celebrity chef Art Smith and writer-illustrator Maira Kalman's book, "Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything," which seemed appropriate since President Jefferson loved books. Before the day was over, I took advantage of an opportunity to see the inspiration for Raseiniai's Bibliotekele - one that opened earlier this year in Kaunas.

Check out photos of both.

Raseiniuose - in Raseiniai

Kaune - in Kaunas

Deputy Chief of Mission Silberstein Visits Alytus to Donate Books, Connect with Community

On January 17, Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Silberstein visited  the city of Alytus. Mr. Silberstein  met with the Vice-mayor of Alytus to discuss local Lithuanian-American projects and events. Alytus is the sister city of Rochester, NY, and one of the signature programs of this partnership is the virtual orchestra bridge which connects the Alytus Music School Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Hochstein Youth Symphony Orchestra. On February 2, the virtual “bridge” will connect the two orchestras for a live performance. In the education sphere, the Alytus College will host a U.S. Fulbright Scholar, the first college (as opposed to a university) in Lithuania to do so. Dr. Joseph Bulsys will teach Communication courses and develop curriculum in public speaking; work with Alytus College on academic projects; and establish a partnership between the Alytus college and SUNY-Geneseo.

During his visit, DCM Silberstein also presented the U.S. Embassy book donation to Alytus Jurgis Kuncinas Public Library as part of the Lithuanian President's initiative ,,Knygu Kaledos” (Books for Christmas). In his remarks during the presentation, Mr. Silberstein said, “Today, reading is no longer a solitary pastime. People talk about what they’ve read on social media, almost, it seems, in real time. So I hope that these books will find their fans in every medium, and will be used to create many events and conversations that bring our two nations closer together.”

Mr. Silberstein visited the Maple Street Cemetery to honor the memory of  Sgt. Arunas Jarmalavicius, a native of Alytus who was  killed during an attack on an airfield base in Chaghcharan (Afghanistan), by laying flowers on his grave.

Mr. Silberstein also met with the representatives of Alytus Women's Center, a NGO that maintains a domestic violence crisis center. 

New Year, New Library

Well, we've had a great year, and to celebrate, the Public Affairs team at the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius has given itself a present: A brand new Facebook page for the American Center Library.

The page features the latest and greatest news from the library: new acquisitions, program announcements, events etc. We're also running a series on English language and another one on essential American food recipes. Of course, we welcome your suggestions and comments, and please, help us spread the word!