About us

The LAB’s public awareness campaign "Read Like You’ve Never Read Before" was rolled out, introducing the public to the EPUB character. Today, the EPUB digital format best meets accessibility requirements and helps make reading possible for everyone.
The LAB in Vilnius opened its interactive exhibition "From Need to Change" to the public, telling the story of the blind community’s influence on the course of Lithuania’s history.

The era of inclusive publishing began. The Lithuanian Audiosensory Library developed a certification system for accessible digital publications and patented the accessible publication mark. The “Accessible Publication. Certified by LAB” mark guarantees that an EPUB publication is compatible with screen readers and easy to read across a range of devices.
The first commercial EPUB publications were certified.
The ELVIS mobile app was launched, along with the copyright protection initiative "Skaitykis su knygomis" ("Read Fair").

The Lithuanian Library for the Blind was renamed the Lithuanian Audiosensory Library. The new name was chosen to emphasise the opportunities offered by accessible formats rather than disability.
The LAB team returned to its renovated building in Vilnius, where its accessibility solutions became a model for many other institutions in Lithuania.
The ELVIS bus set off on its first journey, bringing information about audiobooks and alternative ways of reading to seniors living in remote villages and to the libraries that serve them.
We published our first work of fiction in Easy-to-Read language – Alvydas Šlepikas’s novel "Mano vardas yra Marytė" ("My Name Is Marytė").

For the first time, we organised the Non-Reading Festival – an event for young people with dyslexia, their families and professionals.
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the LAB helped ensure that publications in accessible formats in Ukrainian reached refugees who had temporarily settled in different countries.

The library became a permanent member of the IFLA Libraries Serving Persons with Print Disabilities (LPD) Standing Committee. IFLA is the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, bringing together libraries from around the world. The LPD Standing Committee brings together libraries that serve people who are unable to read standard print.

The LAB’s mission, vision and values were refined.
The ELVIS virtual library began expanding its collection with books in accessible formats, as well as films and theatre performances with audio description, produced by other publishers.

The LAB’s regulations were updated, defining its target group as people who are unable to read standard print. This change laid the groundwork for the further development of the LAB and ELVIS, greater international engagement, and the rapid modernisation of services and resources.

Volunteer narrators began recording books in the LAB’s studios.

The Electronic Publication Management Information System (ELVIS) was developed – a virtual library that gave readers with visual impairments access to digital books anytime, anywhere.

Multimedia publications in the DAISY format began to be developed for learners, students and researchers. DAISY publications allow users to search the text, bookmark important passages and add notes.

After a six-year transition period, publications on compact discs (CDs) finally replaced all other formats.

Audiobooks began to be released on compact discs (CDs).

At the initiative of the Lithuanian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired (LASS), and with funding provided by the Council for the Affairs of the Disabled under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, a new library building was constructed at 10 Skroblų Street in Vilnius.
It was the first library in Lithuania to be built after the country declared its independence.

The Lithuanian Library for the Blind was granted the status of a library of national significance, joining Vilnius University Library, the Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and the Lithuanian Medical Library in holding the same status. This provision was established in the Law on Libraries.

The LASS Republican Central Library was placed under the authority of the then Ministry of Culture and Education and renamed the Lithuanian Library for the Blind.

On 13 January, after the Soviet army seized the premises of Lithuanian Radio and Television and the TV Tower, Lithuanian Radio urgently relocated to the library’s Sound Recording Studio, where it continued broadcasting for more than 300 days.

The library took over the Sound Recording Studio of the Lithuanian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired (LASS).

Audiobooks began to be released on cassette tapes. The first cassette audiobook featured the plays "Mindaugas" and "Mažvydas" by Justinas Marcinkevičius.

Braille reading competitions began to be organised.

A Typhlology Department was established at the Central Library of the Lithuanian Society of the Blind (LAD). (The term "typhlology" derives from the Greek "typhlos", meaning “blind”.) Its specialised collection of typhlological resources remains the only one of its kind in Lithuania.
The first mobile libraries began operating, providing publications in accessible formats to people living in small towns and rural areas.

On 1 January, the Central Library of the Lithuanian Society of the Blind (LAD) was established in Vilnius, with branches in Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Šiauliai and Švėkšna. This date is considered the official beginning of the library’s history.
The first audio magazine was released, later renamed "Spindulys" ("Ray of Light").

The first Lithuanian audiobook was released – "Žmogus" ("Man") by Eduardas Mieželaitis, narrated by actor Eduardas Kunavičius. The book was recorded on magnetic tape.

After the Second World War, libraries for blind adults were established at centres of employment for blind people: in Vilnius in 1947, Kaunas in 1948, Panevėžys in 1952, Šiauliai in 1957 and Klaipėda in 1961.
The first library in Vilnius was a modest 18-square-metre room with a small collection of Braille publications. From the very beginning, however, library staff also took on the role of teachers: they learned Braille and developed teaching methods to train potential adult readers.
Audio readings were broadcast through local radio networks and held live at workplaces and in libraries.

The first book in Lithuanian Braille was printed – "Mūsų šviesa" ("Our Light"), a first-grade primer compiled by Viktorija Genytė (Šmaižienė). Published by the Kaunas Institute for the Blind in an edition of 20 copies, the book remained in use for many years.

The first handwritten books in Lithuanian Braille were produced. The books were dictated by sighted schoolteachers and Girl Scouts, while students at the Kaunas Institute for the Blind transcribed the dictated texts into Braille.
By the end of the year, the Kaunas Institute for the Blind had also assembled a small collection of typhlological publications in standard print, along with Braille alphabets in Latvian, German and Esperanto. These modest collections formed the foundation of the library’s holdings.

Drawing on the Braille alphabets used for Latin, German and Latvian, Pranas Daunys adapted the Braille alphabet for the Lithuanian language.
The Kaunas Institute for the Blind began operating.