The Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Centre (previously: Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute, (MELC)) is a Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

n publishing house that issues encyclopedias, reference works, books, monographs, and dictionaries. The Institute, headquartered in Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

, is supported by the Lithuanian Republic's Ministry of Education and Science

Ministry of Education and Science (Lithuania)

The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania is a government department of the Republic of Lithuania. Its operations are authorized by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, decrees issued by the President and Prime Minister, and laws passed by the Seimas...

.

The publishing house was established in 1997, as a reorganisation of Science and Encyclopaedia Publishers. The latter publishing house was founded in 1992 after the merger of Mokslas Publishing with State Encyclopaedia Publishers.

The principal goal of the institute is the completion of the 20-volume Universal Lithuanian Encyclopaedia; as of 2007, 11 volumes had been completed. It also publishes several specialized encyclopedias, standard and specialized dictionaries, reference books, research monographs focusing on social science, natural science, and technology, scientific works by international authors, and popular science books.

Major publications

• Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia)
• Mažosios Lietuvos enciklopedija (Encyclopaedia of Lithuania Minor) (4 vols.)
• Muzikos enciklopedija (Encyclopaedia of Music) (3 vols.)
• Technikos enciklopedija (Technical Encyclopaedia) (4 vols.)
• Žemės ūkio enciklopedija (Encyclopaedia of Agriculture) (3 vols.)
• Baltų religijos ir mitologijos šaltiniai (The Origins of Baltic Religions and Mythology) (4 vols.)
• Lietuvių vardų kilmės žodynas (Etymological Dictionary of Lithuanian Names)
• Senoji Europa (Old Europe) by Marija Gimbutas
  Marija Gimbutas
  Marija Gimbutas , was a Lithuanian-American archeologist known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of "Old Europe", a term she introduced. Her works published between 1946 and 1971 introduced new views by combining traditional spadework with linguistics and mythological...
  
  
• Vokiečių – lietuvių kalbų žodynas (German-Lithuanian Dictionary)
• Rusų – lietuvių kalbų žodynas (Russian-Lithuanian Dictionary)
• The History of the Lithuanian language by Zigmas Zinkevičius
  Zigmas Zinkevicius
  Zigmas Zinkevičius is a leading Lithuanian linguist-historian, professor at Vilnius University, and a true member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. He has contributed to studies in the history of languages, onomastics and other areas. Zinkevičius is a recipient of the Herder Prize, which was...