Florence, libraries set up home and takeaway book service

Libraries throughout Italy have been closed since the dpcm of last November 3, but there are institutions that will not cease their services. It is happening in Florence, where municipal libraries have organized themselves with a “take-home” and “take-away” book service that will be active starting Monday, Nov. 16. It is a completely free service, which will be active until next December 3, the expiration date of the latest Dpcm that decreed the closure of cultural spaces.

The home loan service is available to all residents and domiciled in the City of Florence. Up to 10 materials can be requested at once including books, magazines and multimedia, and the loan will have a maximum duration of 30 days. To request the service, it is necessary to be registered with the Municipal Libraries, while those who are not registered can pre-register online through the “Online User” service.

To request books at home, you must contact your library by phone, email (except BiblioteCaNova Isolotto, which accepts reservations by phone only) or through the online User service to arrange an appointment. After the 30-day period has passed, loans will be picked up at home or can be returned directly to the library if it is open again or by appointment at the nearest take-out lending library. The home loan service is also available for the return of previously borrowed books only. Materials undergo the quarantine required by current regulations, and preparation and delivery of materials also take place in accordance with current security measures. To check the availability of favorite titles from home, simply log on to the online catalog. Also always available is the DigiToscana MediaLibraryOnLine digital library, which provides free access via the Internet to newspapers, magazines, ebooks, music, databases, films, images, audiobooks and distance learning courses.

“Even if closed,” says Culture Councilor Tommaso Sacchi, “the civic libraries want to continue to provide an essential service of knowledge, education, recreation and study. If citizens, due to the ongoing health emergency, cannot go to the library then we go to them not interrupting a valuable flow of books and cultural enrichment.”

Image: a room of the Oblate Library, Florence

Florence, libraries set up home and takeaway book service

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