Išeivijos bibliotekų ir skaitymo klausimai JAV lietuvių periodikoje (iki 1904 m.)

[full article and abstract in Lithuanian; abstract in English] A library is a multifaceted phenomenon. This multifacetedness is revealed in the definition of a library, it being a private or public book collection, or an educational institution, the mission of which is to collect, compile and store books as well as provide public access to them. Often, under the influence of historic circumstances, a more significant manifestation of certain aspects of its activity can be observed. This also applies to the role of libraries within the Lithuanian diaspora up to 1904. This article aims at analysing the situation prevailing in the Lithuanian diasporic libraries at that time and the efforts undertaken by the emigrees to compile printed periodicals in the libraries of foreign-born (non-Lithuanian) people. The aim was set to explore the attitude of the Lithuanian emigrants on the role of libraries, analyse the processes of setting up libraries and their activities as well as the efforts to compile Lithuanian periodicals in the foreigners’ libraries. Given the lack of research diaspora libraries, the article was prepared mainly on the basis of material collected from the periodicals issued at that time and available to the Lithuanian diaspora.Based on the collected material, it can be said that the idea of diaspora libraries is often related to the importance of education, self-education and reading, and often refers to the experiences of other nations and US public libraries. A small number of intellectuals among emigrants has resulted in few personal libraries being established and predetermined a seemingly slow emergence and development of emigrant libraries despite the encouragement to set them up. About a hundred libraries are believed to have been established or intended to be established. It was mainly the intellectuals or more educated emigrants who contributed to the process of developing libraries. They were founded by certain associations created specifically for this purpose or by other institutions such as various societies, clubs, etc., mainly concentrated in the numerous communities of Lithuanians living in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, and severalso-called East Coast states of the United States. It is a fairly impressive figure, considering the conditions under which they were created and developed.Even though the archival function of libraries was understood and plans were made to create a library, the stock of which would cover the entire