History

The library was established in 1950, on the 1st of October and was then called Šiauliai Regional Library. Later it was reorganized into Šiauliai Public Library.

The first library was housed on the ground floor of a small two-storeyd building at Nr.77 Dvaro street. It had a Directorate, an Acquisition-processing department and Lending rooms. From the beginning of its existence the Library employed 12 librarians and only one of them had a higher education.

In 1961 the Library was alloted additional accommodation in a living house at Nr. 29 Varpo Street. The Directorate Office and the Reading Room were removed there, the latter one being furnished with 44 seats. Moreover, a Methodical Office and a Bibliographic Department also began to exercise their functions there. During the following years the city goverment provided with  several more stores for the accommodation of  book stocks. In 1962 the city Musical Library, which had been functioning at the Culture House, was appended.

In 1966 new premises in Ežero street were alloted for the Children‘s Literature Department.

At the beginning of 1977 the Library departments were scattered around the city as many as in nine different locations.

At the end of 1977 a specialized, well equipped, three – storeyed Library building was accomplished  at Nr.62 Aušros avenue, the space of which being five times larger than the total area of all previous buildings. The new library started its work on  6 January 1978.

In 1989 the Library was renamed after Povilas Višinskis, an outstanding Lithuanian cultural character, public man, enlightened person.  In 1990 the Library hall was decorated with P. Višinskis‘ mosaic portrait designed by V. Trušys. Since then the library has held scientific conferences on  Povilas Višinskis‘ Readings.

After  restoration of counties in the republic in 1995, the Library was renamed Šiauliai County Povilas Višinskis Public Library.

The enlargement of the premises was induced by the growth of Library holdings. The initial fund of books comprised over 14,000 items of printed matters which were acquired through the Republican Book Supply Agency or bought in Šiauliai and Radviliškis book shops.

In 1956 the library started to subscribe to periodicals from foreign countries. The majority of them were in German or Polish languages.

Since 1961 the Library has been receiving a legal deposit copy from the local Titnagas Printing House and since 1990 – a legal deposit copy of republican printed matters. In 1996 the library became the World Bank’s depository Library.

In Soviet times the Library had no permission for the  special restricted – access book fund, but still the literature was secretly collected. A number of learned persons such as V. Vaitekūnas, N. Zdzichauskas, P. Bugailiškis, M. Povylienė, J. Naujalis and the others donated their preserved books and journal collections to the Library. Special literature was also bought from Kaunas antiquarian bookshop, auctions. In such a way the Library got hold of nine volumes of “Lithuanian encyclopedia”, all “Šiauliai Annuals” published during the interwar period, and other materials.

Library Directors
1950 – 1955  – Valentina Kanonovič – Sidorovič
1955 03 15 – 08 01  P. Gaivenis
1955  –  1963   Valerija Vilkienė (presently Dichavičienė)
1963  –  1989  Janina Kaškelienė
1989  –  2005  Eugenija Rimkūnienė
2006  –  2016  Rūta Žirgulytė
2016 06  –  prof. dr. Bronius Maskuliūnas

 
Skip to content