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Abstract

The whole library world is on the move. Two transitions are, nowadays, taking place: the rising of the e-book, that is changing the very concept of book and reading, and the crisis of library, caused not only by the technological innovation but also by the present economic moment. The author, in this essay, considers these phenomena with a broad theoretical approach, trying to depict difficulties, dangers and opportunities the new situation presents. The librarians and all the supporters of reading – he suggests – have to face the challenge represented by the “digital mutation” with curiosity and with a proactive attitude, trying to defend the stakes of the readers, the information ecology and the freedom of knowledge. In this commitment nothing is granted: it is a battlefield, where the librarians have to stand in. In this uncertain scenario (the digital revolution and the hard effects of the economic crisis on cultural services) the “disappearing” of the library is often forecasted; but the future – author says – is not written; the librarians have the possibility to write it, and to hold their role in the changing societies, on condition that they completely rethink their profession. The future libraries have to reshape themselves, becoming – as they are in fact becoming – more and more “social”, pleasurable and interesting places where all citizens could find occasions for education, information, entertainment, and overall where they could discover – or nurture – the passion of reading.