On October 19–23, the coordinators of book clubs of the libraries of the Panevėžys region visited Croatia, where they participated in an international work observation visit. It was organized by the Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė Public Library of Panevėžys County, implementing the Erasmus+ program project. Anykščiai L. and S. Didžiuliai Public Library was represented on the visit by librarians Živilė Rupšienė and Birutė Venteraitienė. The main goal of the trip was to get acquainted with the book clubs operating in the Rijeka City Library and its branches, to gain good experience from Croatian libraries, and to apply the ideas they brought back when organizing the activities of reader clubs in Anykščiai.
During the visit, librarians in Rijeka were mentored by Virginija Švedienė, an educational activities specialist at the Reader Service Department of the Panevėžys County Public Library, and Tanja Badanjak, a book club coordinator at the Rijeka City Library.
A cultural quarter with surprising spaces for young people
On the first day of the visit, coordinator Tanja introduced the history of the Rijeka City Library. We learned that the library moved to its current modern building, locally known as the "T-house", after a major renovation only in 2023. This impressive architectural structure is an integrated part of the former industrial complex "Rikard Benčić", which has now been transformed into a lively and modern cultural quarter. In the main building, the participants visited the periodicals reading room, subscription room, specialized and local history literature funds, and a foreign language reading room.
The Anykščina women were greatly impressed by the youth department "Rasadnik", intended for visitors under 30. Here, young people, even without a reader's ticket, can use the sound recording room with musical instruments, a sound editing studio, watch films or participate in creative workshops for free. Only when young people become regular visitors to these spaces do the employees encourage them to register and become readers.
The second day of the visit was dedicated to spaces adapted for children up to 14 years of age. The huge building, renovated five years ago, houses the Children's Literature Department, the Puppet Theater, the Museum of Modern Art, a café and a cinema for the little ones. As much as 80 percent of all activities in the children's space are organized by the librarians themselves, in close cooperation with schools, kindergartens and non-governmental organizations. There are two reading clubs for children aged 8–12 (book and comic book lovers), and a green room called "Striboro Forest" is equipped for educational and sensory activities.
From detectives to a unique mother-daughter club
The remaining days of the visit were devoted to delving into the specifics of book clubs – this activity has been successfully developed in Rijeka since 2006. Currently, coordinator Tanja oversees as many as 20 clubs operating in the library, its branches and on the islands, and they are regularly visited by about 200 registered readers. Usually one club consists of 6-12 people, meeting once a month in the evenings. Only one club in the village branch stands out for its tradition of meeting for discussions on Saturdays at 10 am. Croatian experience shows that those clubs whose members have known each other for a long time last the longest.
The Rijeka library network is surprising in its variety of clubs. I was particularly interested in the idea adopted from US libraries – the club „Mothers and Daughters“. In it, mothers and their daughters aged 15 and older read the same book and then discuss it. Their opinions about the works often differ, which leads to very interesting intergenerational discussions. Fans of crime books gather in the club „Krimi četvark“, the club „Literany Civen“ reads books in English, and the library staff themselves have their own separate club, where they discuss professional literature and books that they later recommend to readers. Ania, the head of the youth book club (17–27 years old), noticed that after joint discussions, young people’s opinions about the novel they have read often change for the better.
Good experience will travel to Anykščiai
This internship was completely beneficial for Lithuanian librarians. Together with foreign colleagues, the principles of club organization, rules, methods of motivating readers, and literature selection criteria were examined. The discussions led to a common conclusion that participation in book clubs not only enriches members' vocabulary and develops critical thinking, but also teaches group discussion and helps to find new friends.
During the visit, representatives of the Panevėžys region presented how book club activities are organized in Lithuania - colleagues from Panevėžys, Biržai, Rokiškis, Visaginas and Molėtai public libraries shared their experiences. Birutė Venteraitienė, librarian of Anykščiai Public Library, presented the activities of the Anykščiai Public Library's book club "Knyginyčia".
It is hoped that the knowledge, methods and ideas acquired in Croatia will be successfully applied at the meetings of the Anykščiai Public Library's book lovers' club "Knyginyčia" and the children's book club "Knyguoliai" and will be useful in the activities of new clubs to be created in the future. Librarian B. Venteraitienė is already nurturing a new idea - to bring together fellow librarians in a club where they could share thoughts about the books they have read, discuss news and recommend the most interesting publications to readers.
