Klaipėdos universitetas

This article analyses and compares life narratives from the previous and currently working librarians of Ukmergė district between the time period of 2016–2018. The analysed narratives reveal the most distinct connections between identity of librarians and their professional activity, and reflect the realia of cultural and social life. Comparison of previous and current narratives reveals experiences of different generations having the same profession, what helps to understand how the specific features of human personality reveal in a specific time period. The narratives of librarians reveal the importance of the community when accepting a cultural worker to a team and supporting him/her, also the role of a library as a “shelter” for the community groups that are considered outcasts becomes apparent, and the supplementary social roles of a librarian are revealed.

The aim of this article is to ascertain what kinds of traditions were common among the communities of cultural workers in the Ukmergė region at the start of the 20th century and in the first half of the 21st century. Based on fieldwork collected in Ukmergė in 2019, it can be claimed that cultural workers were related in both their professional and their social relationships. During Soviet-era government-approved celebrations, seminars for cultural workers and anniversaries were the most popular; while during the period of independence, gatherings of separate collectives, Christmas celebrations, and various organised professional and recreational trips were preferred. The tradition of awarding the best employee, which began with socialist competitiveness in the Soviet era, continues today in the cultural worker workplace.

The article aims to show how cultural workers construct a place through both general historical moments of community life and through individual experience. This study used the methods of conversation, questionnaire, semi-structured and in-depth interview, and observational participation. The research reveals that the feeling of home is best revealed through the individual experience of each respondent in relation to other co-workers. Connected by local history,