A collection shaped by centuries of history, is one of the most valuable stocks in the library. It contains books from the personal collections of Sigismund Augustus, Georgius Albinius, Walerian Protasewicz, Ostafi Wołłowicz, Sapieha and Pac family and other university professors and alumni. This stock, which has an intrinsic historical-cultural value, collects educational literature (textbooks), canon and civil law treatises, various dictionaries and encyclopaedias, studies of other countries and general history, natural sciences, architecture, art and music publications. After the university was closed in 1832, a large part of the collection was transported to Russia and was returned only in 1950’s. The books are kept in accordance with the old historical call numbers. It is speculated that the majority of the stock is the work of Vilnius bookbinders.
