Lithuanian encyclopedias are encyclopedias published in the Lithuanian language or encyclopedias about Lithuania and Lithuania-related topics. The first known attempt to create a Lithuanian encyclopedia was in 1883, when Jonas Jacevičius failed to get permission from the Tsarist authorities for such a publication during the Lithuanian press ban (1866–1904). Several general Lithuanian encyclopedias were published afterwards: one in independent Lithuania in the 1930s (interrupted by World War II and never completed), two in the United States, three in the Lithuanian SSR, and one that has been underway since 2001 in independent Lithuania. As of summer 2012, 20 volumes of this projected 25-volume Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia (Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija or VLE) had been published.