INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BOOK SCIENCE
To the 450th Anniversary of the First Lithuanian Book

Vilnius University
DEPARTMENT OF BOOK SCIENCE

Vilnius, 24-28 September, 1997

HISTORY OF THE OLD BOOK AND MODERN BOOK SCIENCE

Two capital cities - Vilnius and Königsberg - are very important for the history of Lithuania and Lithuanian book. They have established the printing houses and started publishing of books in the whole East Baltic region almost simultaneously. After that printing spread across bigger towns in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Prussia, Kurland and Livonia. During several centuries in this region different states appeared, were ruined and born again. The book was their most reliable support during times of despair or glory. It was the means of communication for the people in the region and their link to the wide world, it helped to develop national identity and morality, speeded up the progress of education, science and culture. The closeness of the nations stimulated the relations in publishing. The Vilnius, Kėdainiai and Gardinas printing houses published not only Lithuanian and Polish books, but Estonian, Latvian, German, Jewish, Rutenish and Russian ones as well; Königsberg, Tilsit and Klaipėda printing houses published not only Lithuanian and German books, but Latvian, Estonian and Polish ones; Riga, Tartu and Tallinn - not only Latvian and Estonian, but Lithuanian, German and Russian books too. Maybe this accounts for the similarities among the books of the Baltic countries: historical parallels, contents, architectonics. These similarities are quite widely discussed. The 450 anniversary of the First Lithuanian book is a good chance to expand research and discussion. One of the first events for this commemoration was the International Conference in Lübeck that took place a year before "The relations of German-Lithuanian book during last 450 years". Later many presentations about Lithuanian book were made during events in commemoration Martynas Mažvydas educational book "Simple words of catechism, science for reading the written and cantos..." (1547). The Conference at Vilnius university will discuss the current problems of book science, reveal unknown relations between Lithuanian publishing and neighbouring countries, the interaction of the old and modern book, the trends and prospects of modern book and book science.

The International Conference of Book Science is organised according to the state programme for the Commemoration of the First Lithuanian Book 450th Anniversary and financed by the State Commission. We are grateful to the State Commission for this. We thank our colleagues for preparing the presentations, our guests from Lithuania and foreign countries.

The reports of the conference will be published in the collection of research papers of the Vilnius university "Knygotyra" (Book Science). The working languages of the Conference are Lithuanian and English.

Organisers of the Conference Prof. Domas KAUNAS
Prof. Assoc. Elena MACEVIČIŪTĖ

PROGRAMME

On the cover of the programme – the sign of the State Commission for the Commemoration of the First Lithuanian Book 450th Anniversary

25 September

PLENARY SESSION
Aula of Vilnius University, Universiteto g. 3, 10.00-11.30 val.

Chairperson:
Prof. Rolandas Pavilionis,
the Member of the State Commission for Commemoration of the First Lithuanian Book 450th Anniversary, Rector of Vilnius University

Opening:
Prof. Vytautas Landsbergis,
the Chairman of the State Commission
for the Commemoration of the First Lithuanian Book 450th Anniversary,
the president of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania

Prof. Zigmas Zinkevičius,
the Chairman of the Linguistic Working Group of the State Commission for the Commemoration of the First Lithuanian Book 450th Anniversary,
the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania

Presentation:
Prof. Domas Kaunas,
the Secretary of the State Commission for the Commemoration
of the First Lithuanian Book 450th Anniversary, the head of the Department
of Book Science at Vilnius University
The Trends and Problems of Lithuanian Book History Research

Alma Braziūnienė,
the Head of the Department of the Rare Books, Vilnius University Library
The old and rare books at the Vilnius University Library: presentation of the exposition

(Coffee break 30 minutes)

SECTION 1
HISTORY OF THE BOOK
Aula of Vilnius University, Universiteto g. 3, 12.00-18.00 val.

Chairpersons:
Prof. Domas Kaunas, dr. Aušra Navickienė

Presentations:
12.00-12.30
Dr. Gertrud Bense,
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
The texts of the first Lithuanian song book in the light of modern research

12.30-13.00
Dr. Elmantas Meilus,
Institute of Lithuanian History
The book vendors of the Samogitian Duchy in the eighteenth century

13.00-13.30
Sigitas Lūžys,
Vytautas the Great University
Book collections in Samogitian county in sixteenth-eighteenth century

13.30-14.30
(Lunch break)

14.30-15.00
Prof. Assoc. Stasė Matulaitytė,
Vilnius University
The ancient Vilnius Calendars of sixteenth-seventeenth century

15.00-15.30
Prof. Assoc. Liivi Aarma,
Tallinn Pedagogical University, Estonia
Estonian Catholic Books Printed in Vilnius 410 Years Ago

15.30-16.00
Tamara A. Samoiliuk,
Byelorussian University of Culture, Minsk
The Byelorussian Book Printed in the Great Duchy of Lithuania

(Coffee break 30 minutes)

16.30-17.00
Menachem M. Feldman,
Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, Israel
From the History of Jewish Printing Houses in Vilnius

17.00-17.30
Dr. Aušra Navickienė,
Vilnius University

Janet Zmroczek,
British Library, United Kingdom
The Collection of the Lithuanian Books in the British Library

17.30-18.00
Dr. Jūratė Trilupaitienė,
Institute of Culture and Art
Printed Music in the Context of Lithuanian Musical Life
in the sixteenth-seventeenth century

SECTION 2

PROBLEMS OF THE MODERN BOOK SECTOR
Hall of Senate, Universiteto g. 3, 12.00-18.00 val.

Chairpersons:
Prof. Assoc. Elena Macevičiūtė, Dr. Remigijus Misiūnas

Presentations:
12.00-12.45
Prof. Tom D. Wilson,
University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Electronic Publishing and the Future of the Book

12.45-13.30
Drs. Albert Boekhorst,
University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Books: From Clay Tablets to Virtual reality

13.30-14.30
(Lunch break)

14.30-15.15
Prof. Assoc. Vanda Stonienė,
Vilnius University
Lithuanian Book in 1940 – 1990

15.15-16.00
Prof. Assoc. Osvaldas Janonis,
Vilnius University
Bibliographic Control of Lithuanian Books in International Context

(Coffee break 30 minutes)

16.30-17.00
Prof. Assoc. Julija Zinkevičienė
Vilnius University
The Role of Reference Material in the Book Market

Irena Krivienė
Vilnius University Library

Prof. Assoc. Elena Macevičiūtė,
Vilnius University
Programme UNESCO "Memory of the World"
and the Project of Preservation
of the Old collections at the Vilnius University Library

26 September

SECTION 1

HISTORY OF THE BOOK
Aula of Vilnius University, Universiteto g. 3, 9.30-13.00 val.

Chairpersons:
Prof. Assoc. Vanda Stonienė, Dr. Juozas Tumelis

Presentations:
9.30-10.00
Dr. Aistė Paliušytė,
Institute of Culture and Art
Emblematic Iliustrations in the Publications
Dedicated to Jonušas Radvila (1612 – 1655)

10.00-10.30
Jolita Liškevičienė,
Vilnius Academy of Art
Graphics of the books printed in Vilnius at the end of the sixteenth -
beginning of the seventeenth century

10.30-11.00
Dr. Juozas Tumelis,
Lithuanian National Library
The First Books Printed in the Great Duchy of Lithuania

(Coffee break 30 minutes)

11.30-12.00
Steingrimur Jonsson,
Lund University Library, Sweden
The printed book in Lithuania and Iceland.
A comparative study

12.00-12.30
Dr. Habil. Krystyna Bednarska-Ruszajowa,
Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
The Books, Published Before the Enlightenment, Read by Professors
at the Vilnius University Library in 1805 – 1816

12.30-13.00
Arvydas Pacevičius,
Vilnius University
Lithuanian Books in the Libraries of the Monasteries
(the end of eighteenth - the middle of nineteenth century)

13.00-14.00
(Lunch break)

SECTION 2

PROBLEMS OF THE MODERN BOOK SECTOR
Hall of Senate, Universiteto g. 3, 10.00-18.00 val.

Chairpersons:
Prof. Assoc. Osvaldas Janonis, Irena Krivienė

Presentations:
10.00-10.45
Edward J. Valauskas,
Chief and Managing Editor of First Monday,USA
Publishers, Authors and Readers: the Right to Read in a Digital Age

10.45-11.30
Prof. Krzysztof Migon,
Wroclaw University, Poland
Book Policy in the Contemporary World

(Coffee break 30 minutes)

12.00-12.30
Dr. Remigijus Misiūnas,
Vilnius University
Book Publishing in Lithuania in 1990 – 1996

12.30-13.00
Giedrė Bautrėnienė,
Director of the Publishing Programme, Open Lithuania Fund, Lithuania
The Publishing Programme of the Open Lithuania Fund

13.00-14.00
(Lunch break)

PRESS CONFERENCE
12.00-13.00
Book Science: state of art, prospects, international relations
Vilnius University Library, Hall of P. Smuglevičius, Universiteto 3

OUT OF TOWN SESSION,
14.00
Sites of Lithuanian Books History in Lithuania Minor
Return planned for 27 September, 10 p.m.
Overnight stay in the Šilutė hotel"Nemunas".
The participants of the Conference discuss
the results of the Conference at 9.00 in Šilutė
F. Bajoraitis Public Library, attend the opening
of the memorial board for the first book shop in Šilutė at 10.00,
visit Kintai, Ventė, Priekulė, Klaipėda.

Guest Information
Please, inform the organisers of the Conference
of your attendance in written form
or by telephone by 15th of September.
Indicate if you need a hotel reservation.

Address;
Organising Committee of the International Conference
of Book Science
Department of Book Science, Faculty of Communication
Vilnius University
Universiteto 3, 2734 Vilnius, Lithuania
tel.:370 2 768 961
fax: 370 2 768 957
e-mail: elena.maceviciute@kf.vu.lt

The participants of the Conference are registered
on 25th of September in the Vilnius University Aula.
The registration fee - 7 Litas for the participants from Lithuania,
25 USD for foreign participants.
It should be paid in cash at the registration desk