The Cents Room and the Great Book of Lithuania

The Cents Room at ŠU Library (now Šiauliai Academy Information Centre, Vytauto g. 84, 1stfloor, Room 208) was officially opened on 16 February 2015, on the Independence Day of the Republic of Lithuania. Participants of the event surrounded the towns marked on the Lithuanian map with gold ribbons and donated The Cross of the Vytis made out of silver inter-war litas coins.

On 24 February 2015, the President of the Republic of Lithuania awarded the creators of the room a Lithuanian tricolour flag for the originality of the idea and ingenious way of saying goodbye to the national currency, as well as in celebration of 16 February. The President's flag is kept in the Cents Room.

The idea of the Cents Room was put forward and implemented by the Union of Non-Governmental Organizations of Šiauliai; the designer of the project was Vilius Puronas, while the idea was implemented with the help of the then Šiauliai University Library staff. The coins were pasted to the walls by the university students, children from Šiauliai schools and kindergartens, staff members of various institutions and organizations, visitors of the library, and all the people of Lithuania who donated cents. The room’s walls and ceiling are covered with 1, 2 and 5 cent coins, while mirrors enhance the space. On one of the room’s walls, a map of Lithuania is formed with coins – cities and towns are marked with 50, 20 and 10 cent coins; the largest cities are marked with litas coins of different value. On the other wall of the room, a huge model of the litas is located, with a throne covered with coins, where visitors to this unique room can sit and pose for photos.

The Cents Room has been added to the Lithuanian Book of Records as the object with the largest number of coins used to decorate the room (157,130 pieces). The total value of the coins is 3,463 litas 69 cents (€1,003.15).

An exhibition "The Historical Development of Money in Lithuania", which is situated next to the Cents Room, presents the money that circulated in different periods in Lithuania. The banknotes on display were donated to Šiauliai Academy Information Centre by Vilius Puronas, an honorary citizen of Šiauliai, a local historian, and an industrial designer, from his personal collection.

The Cents Room is open on ŠA Information Centre working hours. There is a possibility to book a tour.

The Great Book of Lithuania Aukuras Salduvei (Altar for Salduvė)

The largest book of Lithuania is being displayed in the first floor lobby of Šiauliai Academy Information Centre. Aukuras Salduvei. Didžioji Salduvės knyga (Altar for Salduvė. The Great Book of Salduvė) is the book dedicated to the millennium of Lithuania. This giant book, which weights 113.6 kilograms, is 1.25 metres high, 0.9 metres wide, 25 centimetres thick and has 184 pages.  The idea was developed by Vilius Puronas.

The book consists of four chapters. The first chapter is on archaeology and it presents data from archaeological investigations. The part dedicated to the history and studies of Šiauliai district contains legends and stories about Salduvė mound. The chapter dedicated to the present day contains the present history of the city and the mound. The chapter on the future conveys the visions for cleaning up of the mound and the creation of the Baltic Park. Alongside with articles in Lithuanian language, there are some in Latvian (page 30) and Prussian languages (page 179) as well. The book is illustrated with the works and collages created by artists in various periods.

Metal covers are decorated with oak leaves cut out of steel sheets and black-and-white calfskin.  The great book was printed by Šiauliai Printing House-Bindery. A special printing ink that will not fade for 300 years was used for the printing. Applied covers were created by Šiauliai joint stock company Elga. Directors of the both companies Stanislovas Dikša and Ramūnas Volbekas are sponsors of the book.

The first time the giant book was presented to the public was 2009, in the International Business and Achievement Exhibition in Šiauliai, while in 2010 the book was being displayed in Vilnius Book Fair. During the fair the giant book was shown to the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė and the Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius. In 2012 the book was given to ŠU Library (now Šiauliai Academy Information Centre).