State libraries risk collapse: need to invest in their revitalization

The situation of Italy’s state libraries remains in critical condition despite the easing of the Covid-19 coronavirus emergency: this is what the board of directors of the Italian Society of Bibliographic and Library Science (SISBB) denounces. The sector, which was already very weak before the pandemic as it was affected by resource shortages and serious staffing gaps, already knew a reality made of reductions in hours and services, as well as inattention and penalization due to improvident political choices.

Covid-19 thus risks giving state libraries a further blow from which it will be difficult to rise again. “The impression,” the SISBB board writes in a note, “is that in the cultural heritage sector, libraries are in essence perceived as a cost rather than a resource, which also contributes to their social visibility to no small degree.” Libraries represent not only a heritage of memory and history, but also an indispensable resource for access to knowledge and epr the advancement of studies: they therefore have a significant impact on communities, meet the needs of many (scholars, students, families, citizens), constitute a strength for the reduction of inequalities and the growth of the country’s competitiveness in terms of “knowledge, continuing education, growth of skills, exercise of critical spirit, development of research.” The SISBB writes that these are all “indispensable prerequisites for a good restart, to enable Italy to best emerge from the devastating crisis that the pandemic has triggered.” Therefore, “effective and sustainable economic and social measures are needed, but we also need awareness of the strategic role, which libraries play for the benefit of the country’s civic identity, and clarity of purpose in supporting them.”

“Libraries,” the SISBB note continues, “become only a cost, on the other hand, if we look the other way, if we interpret the space of culture from the prevailing perspective of tourism, sometimes declining this relationship (although important, if well articulated) in a reductively economic key. One aims, then, at some immediate profitability of cultural institutions, in the name of which everything else is often sacrificed, even those medium- to long-term returns on investment that libraries have proven to be able to guarantee. This is also why there has been no investment in them in terms of employment: the quota reserved for librarians in the last competitive round a few years ago (the first nationwide since the 1980s) was derisory, especially when compared to other cultural heritage sectors. In the meantime, the workforce has been emptied by the retirement of many librarians: a wealth of professional knowledge and skills has been largely lost, outsourcing has been rampant, at all levels of the profession, creating a (unwanted) widespread precariat, which with the virus has become new poverty.”

The country, according to SISBB, has done the exact opposite of what is needed: that is, it has isolated libraries, depowered their reference bodies, let many institutions rich in potential, prestige and scholarly heritage perish, and limited their governance. “We believe it is necessary to radically and courageously change course, before it is really too late,” says the SISBB board, “there is a need to invest rationally and forward-lookingly in the revitalization of state libraries. There is no vision or program for development and digital culture, for example, or for the economy of culture, that can do without the sector’s proven commitment and expertise in producing high-quality digital content and services. There is a need for a prompt injection of confidence, a lively signal of attention, and then a plan for appropriate reforms and investment for the medium term, which not only restores oxygen to MIBACT libraries, but also boosts their staff with qualified personnel and enables them to expand their’service offerings, so that they can work profitably for the cultural growth of the country, can return to growth themselves, including as laboratories and research venues, can reposition themselves in an organic and fruitful network of relationships and collaborations with other libraries and with other players in the world of culture and education.”

“It would be useful, to this end,” the SISBB note concludes, “to create new opportunities for confrontation, an open seminar of ideas and proposals, involving the many actors in play: political and ministerial leadership, parliamentary commissions, professionals in the field, the Italian Library Association, the University and School, and cultural and art organizations. The Italian Society of Bibliographic and Library Science is ready to offer its contribution, strong in the specific expertise it can make available and in the deep conviction that at stake is something important for the present and the future of this country.”

In the photo: Milan, the Braidense National Library

State libraries risk collapse: need to invest in their revitalization

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