Lithuanian Public Libraries

The Library was established in 1937. It had approx. 1,000 books then. During the war the Library was burned. In 1946, the reading-room was opened again in Šakiai. In 1950, the Library was reorganised into the district library.

In 1977, on the basis of the district library the central library with 5 departments was established. 40 village libraries have become the branches of the public library.

In 1996, the Library regained its old title of the public library. At present, the Library has 4 departments: Reader Service, Children’s Literature, Methodology & Bibliography, and Acquisition & Processing. 29 branches of the Public Library function in the district. Literary exhibitions and events are organized in the Library. The Spring of Poetry festivals take place annually where men of letters, the members of the Spring of Flatlands Club meeting at the Library, take part as well as Lithuanian and foreign poets.

The Library is engaged in the publishing activities: six Šakiai calendars and a collection of the district’s literary works Šaltinėlio srovė (The Stream of the Springlet) and Ilgesio gija (The Thread of the Longing) were published. Reference publications Literatūrinis kelias po Šakių kraštą (The Literary Path through Šakiai Region), Suvalkijos signatarų takais (Following the Paths of Suvalkija Signatories), and Šakių krašto knygnešiai (The Book-Smugglers of Šakiai Region) were prepared and published. Occasional paper Šaltinėlio srovė (The Stream of the Springlet) is published.