Il valore della biblioteca in una società democratica

Abstract

On 15 March 1833 the library was formally established; the following year it was opened to the public, after the renovation of two rooms in the former Augustinian monastery. And today? The basic question that circulates - and not only in Italy - is: “Does a physical library still make sense, or is the digital library sufficient?”. Two works come to our aid. The case for books: past, present, and future, 2009, by Robert Darnton, and Our enduring values by Michael Gorman, 2000 and revised in 2015. Ranganathan, in his two volumes The five laws of Library Science of 1931 and Reference service of 1961, hypothesizes a personalized service according to the characteristics of each reader. Libraries are places of meeting, discussion and socializing. Public libraries are accessible and welcoming places; they help to create a community, act as a safe space, transforming themselves into a cornerstone of urban regeneration, offer everyone the possibility of intellectual elevation and favor the growth of aware and responsible citizens. Libraries contribute to the formation of informed, up-to-date, culturally aware and educated citizens to consider education, competence, merit, solidarity, respect for cultural diversity as founding values of a renewed sense of identity and belonging to the community in which they live.