The short circuit of the public library

Abstract

Finally, it seems like there are no obstacles to the fulfilment of the public library original dream to be a library for everyone, since the universal education has been in place for a long time now. All the same, even in the most innovative libraries, the actual users, as compared to population, are a minority. In addition, after the economic crisis has sprung, the whole public sector is suffering in terms of funding and support. In the last decades, public libraries have started reinventing themselves to become more attractive for their audiences and more in line with contemporary society. The boundaries of their mission become broader and broader while the role of public libraries is reinterpreted as a support to social – more than cultural – needs. The article wonders whether and how much this path should be followed and how the potentially resulting short circuit can be managed.

Keywords

• Biblioteca pubblica
• biblioteca per tutti
• biblioteca sociale