Internationality, participation in the global context of the development of librarianship, work in a multicultural environment, intersectoral cooperation contribute a lot to the image and prestige of the library, and create a new connection between the library and society. The news about the library’s activities spread at international events strengthens the library’s own position in professional networks, allows to establish new partnerships, get involved in new projects, and implement innovations for the benefit of its community.
In May-June 2024, the name of Panevėžys County Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė Public Library was heard at four international events.
On the 29th of May the conference “Libraries as spaces for digital transformation and community well-being” organized by the Progress Foundation and Associazione Biblioteche together with Next Library was held in Milan (Italy). At this international event, the presentation “Using Online Communication Platforms for Language Learning and Community Building” prepared by Virginija Švedienė, coordinator of the library’s adult education activities, was given. Effective ways of developing spoken foreign language skills of adult learners using remote communication platforms were presented to the international community of public and academic libraries. The presentation shared the experience of the English conversation club “Let’s Talk”: the necessity of remote classes during the quarantine, the possibilities and advantages of this format in building an international community of English language enthusiasts was discussed. Jūratė Baltušnikienė and Jūratė Šamelienė, library volunteers and members of the “Let’s Talk” club, were the presenters at the conference.
On the 26th of June the report “The Power of Story to Inspire Voice: Global Storytelling Done Digitally” was presented at ISTE Live 2024, the annual conference of the International Society for Technology and Education in Denver (USA). The presenters of the report were ISTE leaders, educational media technology pedagogues, experts in creative digital storytelling Gwynn Moore and Julie Jaeger (USA) and Toma Apynytė-Kirslienė, head of the Department of Cultural Education for Children and Youth, and Virginija Švedienė, coordinator of adult education activities of the Readers’ Service Department of Panevėžys Public Library . The announcement presented 2023. The experience of the practical conference “The Power of Story, Inspiring Voice: Involving Educators in Digital Storytelling” organized by Panevėžys County Library was presented – it was shared, how the public library specialists of Panevėžys region learned the basic steps, elements and methods of digital storytelling and how they later succeeded in applying this knowledge in their work. Lecturers G. Moore and J. Jaeger presented the report live at the conference, and the Lithuanian librarians participated in the presentation virtually.
On the 25–27th of June the annual conference of the Federation of European Storytellers (FEST) was held in Glasgow (Scotland). It was attended by the representatives of Panevėžys County Public Library Toma Apynytė-Kirslienė and Virginija Švedienė. On the 27th of June T. Apynytė-Kirslienė, gave a presentation “The Power of Narrative: Community Engagement in Public Libraries” in one of the conference sessions. The presentation shared the information about the storytelling education lessons created by the librarians of Panevėžys region and currently conducted for various age groups of library visitors.
On the 27th of June–2nd of July the presentation “Global Discussions about Literature Online” was given virtually at the annual conference of the American Library Association (ALA) held in San Diego (USA). The authors of the report were Virginija Švedienė, coordinator of Panevėžys County Library’s adult education activities, and Stacy Histle-Chaudri, director of the Ray County Public Library of the State of Missouri (USA). The report presented the experience of cooperation between the English conversation club “Let’s Talk”, operating in Panevėžys County Library and the book club of the Ray County Public Library, sharing with the audience tips on how to use remote communication platforms to bring together international communities, develop critical thinking, creativity and a culture of discussion.
Virginija Švedienė
Coordinator of adult education activities
