About

Our mission
We open opportunities to advance, communicate and explore for those with different reading needs.

Our vision
Everyone can read!

Lithuanian Audiosensory Library. Books in Audio and Braille (LAB) is the state library the purpose of which is to satisfy the informational and cultural needs of the people who are not able to read the regular printed text. The origins of LAB reach 1927 when the first Lithuanian library of the publications for the blind was collected in Kaunas Institute for the Blind. Later, after the World War II, Lithuanian Association for the Blind started establishing libraries for the blind in various cities of Lithuania which were joined to one system with the centre in Vilnius and branches in other Lithuanian cities in 1966. Since 1992, LAB is subordinate to Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania and acts as the network of information supply for the blind covering the whole country.

The fund of the publications of the library in special formats is comprised of over 34 000 publications of which more than 7 500 are audio and Braille books. A special place in the fund of the publications in special formats of LAB is taken by the publications with tactile illustrations for visually impaired children. By touching the tactile illustrations blind and visually impaired children enjoy the illustrations. The readers of LAB are people who cannot or find it difficult to read regular printed text because of sensory (blindness, visual impairment), physical functions, developmental, complex disorders, experienced learning difficulties or other inborn or gained health disorders. By publishing and providing leisure, cognitive and learning literature in special formats, LAB helps these people to receive the necessary information for work, studies, fostering hobbies and enjoying reading. LAB provides services to the readers not only in the centre of the library in Vilnius, but also in territorial branches in Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, and Ukmergė. Moreover, LAB has established service points in various organisations in the whole country. In 2018, the network of LAB services comprised of more than 80 points in the organisations of the disabled, retirement homes, public libraries, and other institutions which are visited by the people of target groups of LAB. In order to provide its readers the possibility of getting the digital publications in any time of the day and using the library services at home, LAB also provides these publications via the virtual library for the blind ELVIS, which is administered by the library. Publications are delivered home to the people who are not able to come to the library because of health problems and do not have the possibility to use the virtual library. Since 2016, after the implementation of the project “GoSMaRT”, LAB also provides audio publications to the users with the equipment for audio publication listening (MP3, CD players).

 

FOR CONTACTS
Lithuanian Audiosensory Library. Books in Audio and Braille
Skroblų str. 10,
LT-03142 Vilnius, Lithuania
Ph: 8 666 85 307
E-mail: info@labiblioteka.lt