The aim of the new president of the librarians’ society is to increase the prestige of the profession

The Lithuanian Librarians Association (LBD) will be chaired for the next three years by the director of the Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė Public Library, dr. Laura Juchnevich. The new head of the LBD, elected at the general meeting, says that she will seek to increase the prestige of the librarian profession, promises to initiate more active cooperation between the country’s libraries and foreign partners, and will suggest applying the good practices of other countries to Lithuania. In her opinion, it is very important that every specialist working in libraries can boldly and proudly introduce himself as a librarian, and if he still feels like a representative of another profession working in a library, he should be able to clearly convey the values ​​created by the library to the public and name his contribution in this activity.

From book lending to media and information literacy education

Dr. L. Juchnevich started his term in 2023. in the middle, with ongoing commitments and already implemented projects and plans for the coming year. One of the planned areas of activity is strengthening the image of the librarian as a strong information specialist.

Even 9 out of 10 visitors to Lithuanian public libraries admit that using the services provided by the library has a positive impact on their quality of life. This shows that in 2022 At the end of 2018, a survey of the Kantar company was conducted on behalf of the Lithuanian National Martynas Mažvydas Library, during which 2,990 respondents were interviewed.

Visitors evaluate the services provided by Lithuanian libraries very well (the overall average rating is 9.5 out of 10 points). According to the research, librarians’ consultations, help in finding and using information sources and the quality of library service, events, trainings and educations organized in libraries are the most valued.

“We see that the public appreciates the services provided by the library staff well. There is always room for improvement, but it is equally important to increase the prestige of this profession. To achieve this goal, we plan to implement a communication campaign to increase the prestige of the profession, we aim to strengthen the community members’ sense of pride in this profession, and at the same time encourage new members to join the ranks of librarians,” says LBD president Dr. L. Juchnevich.

Although research reveals that library patrons understand the changed nature of librarians’ work, information specialists are still stereotypically assigned the sole role of lending books in society. According to the chairwoman, nowadays it is possible to borrow a publication without the direct help of a specialist, using self-service devices or bookstands, and the librarian is expected to be able to help solve complex informational or bibliographic queries and advise on digital literacy issues. From 2023 autumn librarians throughout Lithuania will implement media and information literacy training, and preparations are already underway for this new and particularly relevant topic for society. Dr. According to L. Juchnevič, only continuous publicity of activities and presentation of librarians’ competences, actualization of new topics can help reveal the values ​​created by librarians and libraries.

Joint projects with foreign partners

The chairwoman of the association points to the creation of new partnerships with colleagues in foreign countries, cooperation in organizing international activities and the continuation of ongoing activities as one of the priorities. Currently, LBD cooperates with colleagues in Finland, Sweden, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Moldova, it is intended to look for new joint business opportunities with partners from other European Union countries.

“The Youth Department of the Lithuanian Librarians’ Association has perfectly integrated itself into the implementation of international activities, every year it represents the LBD at the congresses of young librarians of the Baltic countries in different Baltic countries. in 2022 the training event took place in Estonia in 2023. next year the meeting will be held in Latvia, and this year in July it is planned to go to Greece, where a group of specialists will raise their qualifications according to the program implemented by the Erasmus+ project”, says Dr. L. Juchnevich.

“I would like library employees to have a permanent opportunity to improve, to go abroad, to gain experience in other countries, events for the exchange of good practices would become more frequent, and librarians would have contacts abroad. Therefore, I will strive for LBD members to be active participants in international activities, to be able to participate in conferences both in Lithuania and abroad”, adds the chairperson of LBD.

She emphasizes that modern library workers must strive for continuous improvement, society’s expectations for libraries are constantly growing, so it is necessary to take advantage of opportunities more actively.

The Lithuanian Librarians’ Association (LBD) actively participates in gathering the Lithuanian librarians’ community. The association takes care of improving the qualifications of library workers, issues of professional ethics of librarians and cultural activities of the community. Currently, LBD unites about 2,000 members throughout Lithuania.