Jewish Library Opens in Vilnius
December 16, 2011
On December 16th, Charge Anne Hall attended and spoke at the official opening of the first Vilnius Jewish Public Library since before WWII, lauding Lithuania’s efforts to highlight its pre-war Jewish history and heritage. Other speakers at the program included the Prime Minister, Minister of Culture, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Seimas, the Deputy Chairman of the Jewish Community of Lithuania, and the initiator of the idea, American citizen Wyman Brent – who is neither Jewish nor has any Lithuanian heritage.
The collection at this point has 5,000 volumes either about Jewish life or by Jewish authors, and also includes original art work and photographs created just for the library. Mr. Brent began working on this idea over seven years ago, and began soliciting books for donation from all over the world. With 2011 being declared the Year of Holocaust Remembrance, the Lithuanian government supported this effort, and in fact committed 500,000 Litas for the renovation of the building housing the library. The current space has room for a great many more books, and will also be able to host exhibits and other special events. The library will be managed as a branch of the Vilnius County Mickevicius Library.
