The Wróblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences went through several periods of development. It was founded in 1912 by the famous Vilnius lawyer, public figure and bibliophile Tadeusz Stanisław Wróblewski (Tadas Stanislovas Vrublevskis, 1858–1925).
In January 1941, the library became the Central Library of the Academy of Sciences of Soviet Lithuania. The Central Library provided all possible assistance to institutions of the Academy of Sciences for scientific research, supplying them with scientific literature and bibliographical publications, propagating research literature from the Soviet Union and foreign countries, and carrying out research and methodological studies in book science, bibliography, etc. In 1941, the library’s stock totalled 380,000 documents. In 1945, it came to 500,000 documents. In 1960, it was 1,508,000 documents. And in 2009, it was 3,784,000 documents. In 1945, the library had 67 readers. By 1960, this number had grown to 2,300. And in 2009, it was 9,595.
After the restoration of Lithuania’s independence, significant changes took place in the functioning of the library. The Presidium of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences adopted new regulations for the Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. The most important was the dissolution of the classified holdings. Also, new departments were established (including the Department of Old Periodicals). The compilation of the electronic catalogue started in 1995. In September 2009, the Presidium of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences restored the former name of Wróblewski to the library. Today, the Wróblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences is a scientific library of state significance, a cultural, scientific and educational institution. Its founder is the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. All citizens of Lithuania and foreign countries are entitled to use the services of the library. On 1 January 2015, the stock of the library included 3,733,514 volumes. On 1 January 2015, the Wróblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences had 12,274 registered users. The Manuscript Department holds about 276,000 manuscripts, which are divided into 424 funds.
