Bibliographical technical school (1886-1889): a 'missed' opportunity

Abstract

The paper aims to analyze the regulations and the program of studies envisaged by the Scuola tecnica bibliografica – a two-year technical course established in 1886 to be given at the central national libraries of Rome and Florence – in order to outline the strategies that the Ministry of Public Education intended to implement in the field for the professional training of librarians. The unpublished correspondence accompanying these official documents between the Minister of Public Education Michele Coppino, Desiderio Chilovi and Domenico Gnoli is examined, in order to shed light on the complex events that led to perennial postponements of the inauguration of the new course up to to arrive at an inevitable and sad ending: its ‘failure’ to start.

Keywords

• librarians
• training
• national libraries