On April 15, Aušrinė Žilinskienė became Director General of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania. Mrs. Žilinskienė was selected to lead the National Library after winning a Ministry of Culture competition in November of last year. She is the first female director general in the National Library’s 105-year history.

On her first day at work, the new director of Lithuania’s largest research and parliamentary library met with the National Library staff. Simonas Kairys, the Minister of Culture, introduced the Director-General to the Library staff.

Mrs. Žilinskienė’s introductory speech emphasized the Library’s ongoing diverse activities. She intends to focus on clarifying the institution’s vision, planning, organizing, and carrying out its strategy and activities. The new Head of the National Library’s primary goal is to prioritize quality in the National Library’s activities, projects, and services.

“I have always had the great privilege to work with wonderful people. I hope I can do it again this time. I am an experienced manager and team leader. I am good at mobilising and coordinating a team to achieve the results we want. My whole conscious career has been related to books and literature. My strengths lie in my work and experience in an international environment and in a team,” said Žilinskienė.

The new head of the library expressed her gratitude to the former long-time Director General of the National Library, Professor Dr. Renaldas Gudauskas.

From 2014 to 2022, Žilinskienė was the head of the Lithuanian Culture Institute, and later worked as the project manager of the Lithuanian Audiosensory Library’s project “ELVIS – Adapted Media Platform: Developing Access to Inclusive Cultural Content for Users with Individual Needs”. In 2011-2014, she worked as a project manager for the Lithuanian Art Creators Association, and for ten years (2001-2010) she was the director of the public institution “Lietuviškos knygos” (Lithuanian books). In 2003, she was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit for Lithuania.

Žilinskienė has been a member of the Board of the Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum since 2020, a member of the Curatorial Board of the Thomas Mann Cultural Centre since 2008, and a member of the Board of Directors of the EUNIC (EU National Institutes for Culture), the European Network of Institutes of Culture, for the period 2020-2022.

The term of office of Professor Dr. R.Gudauskas, the Director General of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, officially concluded on January 15, 2024. R. Gudauskas has been leading the National Library since 2010. During this period, the National Library underwent a reconstruction valued at 26 million euros and has implemented projects of national importance, benefiting not only the National Library, but also users of services from other libraries, and cultural and educational institutions.

The National Martynas Mažvydas Library of Lithuania is a public memory institution that promotes information dissemination, culture, science, and education. It also oversees the implementation of state information policy.

One of the primary strategic objectives is to create an information and cultural space that is accessible and inclusive to all. The National Library’s main strategic direction is to create value for society by helping to accelerate progress in Lithuanian society and improve the country’s international competitiveness.
The National Library plays an important role in preserving, updating, researching, and integrating the national cultural heritage into the European Data Space.

The National Library cooperates with state bodies and institutions, non-governmental and public organisations, establishes a network of international partners, and actively participates in the activities of international organisations.