Since 2014, by actively participating in the Erasmus+ programme, the Panevėžys County Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė Public Library has not only been organising job shadowing visits for staff members, volunteers and adult learners, but also hosting groups from other European countries taking part in the Erasmus+ programme. Since 2023, the library has already served as a host organisation fifteen times for groups of European library professionals, employees of adult education organisations, and adult learners. A comprehensive visit programme is prepared for guests, enabling them to become familiar not only with the regional library‘s non-formal education programmes, but also with the activities of municipal public libraries across the Panevėžys county. Participants of job shadowing visits highlight the wide diversity of activities offered by Lithuanian public libraries and positively assess the strong involvement of local communities in non-formal education.
From 5 to 8 January, the library welcomed guests from Spain – representatives of the Arévalo Adult Language School. During the visit, they were thoroughly introduced to the library’s non-formal adult education activities, volunteering opportunities, and achievements in the field of international cooperation. The guests showed particular interest in non-formal language learning opportunities and took part in a Language Café session as well as live and virtual meetings of the English conversation club „Let’s Talk“.
According to Pilar Calvo, the Head of the Arévalo Adult Language School who visited the library, developing language skills in a democratic and friendly environment is something that formal education institutions often lack; therefore, the library’s experience in this field is especially inspiring. A series of online English conversation sessions is planned, allowing adult learners from Lithuania and Spain not only to improve their language skills together, but also to broaden their knowledge of each other’s cultures. This type of practice is not new to the library‘s English conversation club „Let’s Talk“ — English language enthusiasts from Italy already participate in the club’s online meetings, and since January 2025 the club members have been involved in a joint project with the Vallès Oriental Adult Language School (Spain), independently organising online English conversation sessions.
During the job shadowing visit, the guests from Arévalo also visited the Juozas Miltinis Memorial Apartment, where they were introduced to the possibility of choosing non-traditional spaces for language learning activities. During the visit, the plan and methodology of an English conversation club „Let‘s Talk“ session were presented — previous discussions on theatre held in this setting demonstrated that the authentic environment of the memorial apartment significantly contributes to active participant engagement, the overall success of the session, and a deeper exploration of the topic.
The guests from Spain were impressed not only by the wide range of non-formal adult education activities offered by the library, but also by the vibrant and rich cultural life of Panevėžys as a whole — the abundance of cultural events encourages community involvement and supports lifelong learning.
Photo Gintaras Lukoševičius
Virginija Švedienė
Specialist of Educational Activities
