The Endowed Municipal Public LibrariesAuthor(s): Ennio Sandal, Rino Pizzi and Prentiss MooreSource: Libraries & Culture, Vol. 25, No. 3, Libraries and Librarianship in Italy (Summer,1990), pp. 358-371Published by: University of Texas PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25542275 .
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The Endowed Municipal Public Libraries
Ennio Sandal
There can be no doubt that to a foreign observer?an observer of dif
ferent cultural background used to situations different from the Italian one
?the Italian library scene would appear extremely complex, and it would
hardly be exaggerating to add that in certain ways such a scene would seem
incomprehensible. Among the factors that might give rise to such impres sions and even certain judgments is the existence of a remarkable number
of large libraries whose functions and structures are similar to those owned
by the state, but with different ownership. The designation "public" car
ried by many of these libraries adds even more to this confusion, when we
consider that the term's meaning appears so distant from its English homo
nym, which is specific to the Anglo-Saxon and northern European library experience.
Italy finds itself, in fact, provided with numerous library institutions
endowed with a considerable and rich bibliographic patrimony made up of
manuscripts, old printed editions, and historical municipal archives pre
viously owned by noble families: such library and documentary collections,
enriched with more recent book acquisitions, represent a kind of compro
mise between a conservation library and a more general library of historical
origin. They are open to everybody and in most cases belong to local public
administrations: from this comes their frequent designation as "civic,"
"municipal," and "public," where such modifiers do not refer to the type
of service and content of the collection so much as to the institution's public
ownership.
At the origin of this unique situation lies a historical coincidence. The
period when the institution of libraries intended for public use was being
pursued was also that of the political situation preceding the founding of
the Italian state, with the proclamation of the Italian Kingdom in 1861.
Translation by Rino Pizzi and Prentiss Moore.
Libraries and Culture, Vol. 25, No. 3, Summer 1990 ?1990 by (he University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713
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359
Prior to this date the Italian national territory was fragmented into many
regional states, and such a political reality?which arose from diverse histori
cal events and administrative realities and itself created diverse circumstances
?had a decisive influence on the founding and formation of the libraries that arose within those circumstances, which in turn gave these libraries their
unique qualities even though they
were unified in many other ways.
The history of the ancient Italian states before their unification is, as a
matter of fact, the determining factor in the founding, development, and
number of these nonstate libraries; they often represent the intention of
those local administrations, which reflects their origin in the medieval city state. Confirming this point to a certain extent is their greater number in
the northern and central regions of Italy, whereas they are scarce in the
territories that were previously part of the Kingdoms of Sicily and Naples. Around the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the urban realities of northern
and central Italy were structured around the political phenomenon of the
city communes, whose rise and development were favored by particular
juridical circumstances; such regions constituted the Regnum Italiae whose crown belonged to the Holy Roman Emperor. The fact that the emperor
usually resided beyond the Alps helped smooth the way for broader forms of autonomy in those cities, which had thrived thanks to commerce and
financial and entrepreneurial activities. Through the centuries and the
disintegration of the signories and principalities, several states of regional dimension established themselves in the Regnum Italiae, political entities
that, however, lacked that strong centralization characterizing the modern
state; they were, rather, federations centered on urban structures recog
nizing the preeminence of a prince or of the capital city, but jealously defending their autonomy in the administrative functions of taxation and
planning, though still acknowledging control from the central administra
tion in matters of foreign policy. The meaning of this historical digression is crucial to understanding the
facts discussed here, considering that such relative autonomy characterized
the civic and administrative life of many northern and central Italian cities
that were not capitals of the states they belonged to, an autonomy invariably
persisting until the end of the ancient regime. Such autonomy constituted
a favorable terrain for the birth and development of the library institutions considered here.
Some Data
So far I have advanced?although not in formal fashion?the question of the origin of these libraries; to arrive at a
simple answer, however, will
not be possible. Still, I can make three hypothetical statements concerning the founding of these libraries by referring to available data:
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360 L&C/Endowed Municipal Public Libraries
(a) The intention of a patron bibliophile to turn his private book collec
tion into public domain is joined by the interest of the commune's public officials;
(b) The municipal administration takes the initiative to found a civic
library for public use or to acquire one already established;
(c) The administrative authorities, through the reallotment of library funds previously earmarked for institutions either discontinued or with
drawn from public administration, amalgamate these funds to found a
library and guarantee its operation.
It does not seem necessary to insist on establishing in all three cases in
what ways the component of public administrators is a determining element
in the founding, the institutional consolidation, the public aim, and the
functioning of these large libraries that are the subject of this discussion.
I have already described the complexity and lack of homogeneity in the
Italian library scene; providing some significant data regarding these insti
tutions is therefore relevant. The following analysis is based essentially on
a quasi-official report, the third edition of the Annuario delle Biblioteche
Italiane,l which, though needing a substantial periodic updating, can be
considered reliable regarding these libraries. In five substantial volumes it
provides data on the location and census, history, and situation of over
4,500 library institutions of diverse size, ranging from small basic libraries
to the national libraries, municipal, school, university, private, church,
and so forth. In such a varied scene, not always easy to access for purposes
of reference, the large public nonstate libraries constitute a small fraction
numerically, since they barely exceed fifty. But isolating them from the
other library institutions confirms that most lie in the northern and central
regions of Italy?Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and Friuli, Liguria, Emilia
and Romagna, Tuscany, Marche, Umbria, and northern Lazio.
Even though such libraries are not representative numerically, their
importance is significant when considering more than the purely quantita
tive peculiarities of their patrimonies, lying mostly in ancient sources of
importance primary to the study of classical, medieval, and humanistic
culture. Using relatively recent if partial data makes it possible to evaluate
the accuracy of the previous statement in a particular
case showing all the
relevant factors; in Lombardy there are 1,223 municipal libraries, only 7 of which seem to show the characteristics we are investigating?Bergamo,
Brescia and Lodi (Milan), the Biblioteca Trivulziana of Milan, and Man
tua, Monza (Milan), and Pavia. The library patrimony of the municipal libraries in Lombardy, made up primarily of modern editions, contains
around 9 million volumes; the seven general historical libraries contribute
only 20 percent of that. But as soon as we move from that undifferentiated
figure to more specific investigations, we see, for example, that the collec
tion of ancient printed texts contained in those libraries makes up 53 percent
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361
of the entire regional patrimony, and that the manuscripts make up 65
percent.2 This modest number of institutions plays a decisive role?through
the uniqueness and importance of their collections?in the overall existence
and fragmentary character of Italian libraries.
Origins
For a fair number of the large municipal libraries?more than half?
their origin is historically associated, from the moment of their founding, with the figure of a wealthy patron able to acquire a significant library col
lection, whether for reasons of personal erudition or mere bibliophilic
passion. It is not difficult to gather from the various examples mentioned
so far the evidence that allows us to sketch in such a patron's character.
Often enough the patron was a clergyman?in particular a prelate?al
though cases exist of laymen, nobles, and intellectuals. The patrons were
variously scholars able to amass a considerable quantity of books for study or interested collectors who accumulated rare and valuable ancient texts
using the most divergent criteria?ranging from focus on the history of a
particular place or
discipline to purely antiquarian motives.
Among the prelates who can be linked to the origins of several libraries,
especially noteworthy are Cardinal Nicola Forteguerri (Pistoia, 1473), Cardinal Nicola Antonelli (Senigallia, 1767), Bishop Francesco Cini
(Osimo, 1667), Monsignor Guarnacci (Volterra, 1786), Canon Giuseppe Bocchi (Treviso, 1769), Bishop Alessandro Sperelli (Gubbio, second half of the seventeenth century), Cardinal Decio Azzolini, Jr. (Fermo, 1688), Cardinal Angelo Maria Querini (Brescia, 1747), and Cardinal Giuseppe Furietti (Bergamo, 1760). But lay patrons also contributed decisively to the constitution of some libraries: Count Giovanni Maria Bertolo (Vicenza,
1696), Francesco Maria II della Rovere (Urbania, 1607), Count Giovanni Antonio Ruggiero (Municipal Library of Turin, 1687), Guarnerio d'Ar te gna (San Daniele del Friuli, 1466), Girolamo Tartarotti (Rovereto, 1746), Jurisconsult Alessandro Gambalunga (Rimini, 1619), the nobleman
Prospero Podiana (Perugia, 1582), and Luciano and Eleonora Benincasa
(Ancona, 1669 and 1749). Hence, if there was the potential patron wanting to make a
library col
lection open to the public and of general value, it was equally necessary to
have municipal authorities willing to accept the donation and guarantee its proper function. It is from the combination of these two indispensable
preconditions that these libraries arose and developed. The patron there
fore implicitly granted complete trust to the municipal administration and its ability to assume responsibility for the library's operation. Emphasizing these circumstances is not superfluous. It was
precisely the awareness of
public authorities' fastidiousness?at times due to several patrons' active
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362 L&C/Endowed Municipal Public Libraries
involvement?that provided an incentive to such gestures of magnanimity.
Under Spanish rule, when the authority of Milan's Senate was reduced to
formalities, Cardinal Federico Borromeo, lacking a suitable counterpart
from the Madrid government, was nevertheless able to open to Milan's
citizenry the Ambrosian Library, even though it remained technically under the archepiscopal curia's ownership.
The juridical procedures for the transfer of the library collections from
private ownership to public administration in the instances given here are
of two fundamental types. There was the testamentary bequest, as in the
cases of Guarnacci, Count Ottaviano Tartagna (Udine, 1856), Bocchi,
Antonelli, Count Fabrizio Rilli Orsini (Poppi, 1825), the priest Marc'An
tonio Maldotti (Guastalla, 1817), Furietti, and the Benincasas. Or the
transfer occurred titulo et causa donationis inter vivos, as in the cases of Querini,
Monsignor Andrea Zannoni (Faenza, 1804), Canon Giovanni Chelli
(Grosseto, 1860), Sperelli, the priest Gaetano Zucchi (Monza, 1862), Cini,
Marquis Luigi Malaspina di Sannazzaro (Municipal Library of Pavia,
1833), Podiani, Forteguerri, and Gambarotta.
According to circumstances, the bequest might also involve different
terms. In most cases the patron simply transferred his library collection in
its entirety without further condition to the municipality, leaving the matter
of location and operation to the public administrators. In others, the donor
committed himself to providing management and operating services be
yond the initial bequest. The bishop of Gubbio, Alessandro Sperelli, added
to the donation of his library collection real estate, whose rent was in part
devoted to financing the library's daily operation. After Bishop Francesco
Cini left his library to Osimo, the nobleman Ottaviano Guarnieri provided it with a custodian and an annuity for operating expenses. Francesco Maria
della Rovere provided the construction of a special building for the Urbania
Library, as Querini was to do at that same time for Brescia's library.
Among the various municipal libraries, some originated with the city
officials' desire to provide a service to their own community. In such cases,
the commune's commitment was decisive, the patron's donation being the
opportunity for the administration to assume a share in financial responsi
bility for making the original core library donation available and for later
additions to it. If such a private instigation was lacking, administrators
could directly take the initiative to provide this service "as a public utility to
the citizens." Most often the municipality would take over a private library
and make it available to the public, especially in the sixteenth and seven
teenth centuries, in those cases where there were good relations between
the academies and the public magistrates, thus facilitating the transfer of
academic libraries to the communes. The library of the Accademia Etrusca
of Cortona, founded in 1727, was acquired in this way by the commune
in 1788, as was the library of the Accademia dell'Arcadia of Trieste in 1793.
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363
In more recent times there have been similar transferals. In Mondovi a
few citizens founded a private library open to the interested public in 1844, which became municipal in 1870; in 1935 Milan purchased the prestigious Trivulzio family collection, which goes back to the fifteenth century and
had been further expanded in the seventeenth century. There are other
cases of anomalous transfers of private libraries to the public domain: the
library of Forli was left by Count Antonio Albicini to the Priests of the
Mission, whose refusal of the inheritance allowed it to be taken over by the city administration. The library of the Accademia dei Concordi of
Rovigo, founded in 1580, was transferred in 1835 to the commune in a
joint ownership that lasts to this day. There are still other city libraries that
have arisen out of the independent initiative of the municipality, like
Velletri's library, whose existence was already documented in 1734;
Ferrari's, whose origins go back to judicial decrees in 1750; and, more
recently, Vercelli's, founded by the city administration in 1850.
The founding of other city libraries was due to the historical vicissitudes
of the Napoleonic conquest: it became customary in the republics formed
under the occupation of the French army to suppress monasteries and
convents. Their estates were often transferred to institutions of charity,
whereas the chattels were ordinarily sold. Of the latter only the books?with
different criteria from place to place?were disposed of either in part or in their entirety among already existing libraries, which thereby saw their
own holdings greatly increased. In some cases, however, libraries of re
ligious orders or congregations were
simply converted into municipal libraries: the library of the Fathers of the Oratory of Lodi, founded in 1645
and open to the public since 1791, became municipal at the proclamation of the Italian Republic in 1802. An analogous situation distinguishes the
library of Lugo, first owned by the Collegio Trisi, then assigned to the city after the suppression of the collegio in 1802. Elsewhere, in Bologna (Biblioteca Comunale dell'Archiginnasio), Ravenna (Biblioteca Classense), and Verona (Biblioteca Civica), the library holdings of the suppressed religious institutions were added to libraries founded ex novo.
A similar phenomenon occurred again after the proclamation of the
kingdom in 1861, when the church politics of the new state once more
brought about the suppression of religious institutions. Large library patri
monies, reconstituted by monasteries and convents during the Restoration,
were dispersed again into public ownership. During this period some new
libraries were established, such as the one at Fano, founded at the begin
ning of the 1700s and belonging to the Fathers of the Oratory, which later became a
municipal library. Another famous suppression, preceding both
the Napoleonic and the one carried out by the Italian state, lies at the origin of a number of large Italian libraries?the suppression of the Society of
Jesus ordered in 1733 by Pope Clement XIV; the library funds of the Jesuit
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364 L&C/Endowed Municipal Public Libraries
colleges were used to found the libraries of Macerata and Piacenza, besides
the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense of Milan and the Biblioteca Governa
tiva of Cremona.
The Times
The period that saw the founding and consolidation of these libraries can be easily framed between the beginning of the 1500s and the end of the 1700s?that is, the last two centuries preceding the disintegration of
the old regime, such libraries remaining one of its finest achievements. If
we have to find reasons for the formation and character of this phenomenon, we must search for them in the characteristics of that society, where the
concepts and the practices of the modern state were still in gestation in
Italy.
It is true that there exists a previous tradition of founding libraries a
pubblica utilitd dei cittadini (for the citizens' public use), but their foundation
depended on either a prince's munificence (this provided many of the early national libraries) or liberality of the monks, as in the library of the Fran
ciscans of Cesena, opened in 1452 and modeled in its structure and mission on the Dominican library of San Marco in Florence.
The most favorable centuries for the appearance of these libraries seem
to have been the seventeenth and the eighteenth, periods of the greatest
progress in the dissemination and preservation of the written word, thanks
to the press.3 Those were consequently the times when intellectuals sensed
the need both to organize themselves and to collect the mnemonic and
cognitive means to set down what had been codified until that time, before
taking on the unexplored
avenues in the printed word. Libraries obviously
constituted a necessary means for a growing population of scholars and
literati, although most would not shine for originality, their efforts being
limited to the straightforward tasks of erudition. It was almost a spirit of
participation that motivated the patron as he became aware of and co
operated in those efforts leading to compilation and synthesis. The patron
was able to share the interests and motivations of those around him or at
least able to sympathize with their scholarly needs and would put at their
disposal his own library sources or finance other endeavors relevant to the
scholar's needs. This is, in fact, the reason for the founding of so many
distinguished libraries during these centuries. Those that have survived
until now and that are still fulfilling vitally the aim of their founders repre sent more than 64 percent of the institutions of their kind. A chronological list here might be useful.
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365
Year of Year in which
foundation Place Notations it became public
1452 Cesena Already belonged to 1792 the Franciscans and
to the Malatesta
family
1466 S. Dainele del Guarnerio d'Artegna 1763 Friuli donates his 172 codes
1473 Pistoia Forteguerri wills his 1473
books and properties
Fifteenth Milan (Biblio- Already owned by the 1935
century teca Trivulziana) Trivulzio family
1580 Rovigo Accademia dei 1835
Concordi
1582 Perugia Founded by P. 1582 Podiani
1607 Urbania Founded by Francesco 1607
Maria II della Rovere
1608 Imola Founded by Cesare 1747
Lippi 1619 Rimini Founded by Alessan- 1619
dro Gambalunga
1645 Lodi Fathers of the Oratory 1802
1648 Ventimiglia Angelico Aprosio nineteenth
opens it to the public century
Seven- Gubbio Founded by Allesan- seventeenth teenth century dro Sperelli century
1667 Osimo Founded by Francesco 1667 Cini
1669 Ancona Founded by Luciano 1749 Benincasa
1674 Lugo Previously owned by 1802 the Collegio Trisi
1687 Turin (Munici- Founded by Count 1687
pal Library) Giovanni Antonio
Ruggiero
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366 L&C/Endowed Municipal Public Libraries
Year of Year in which
foundation Place Notations it became public
1688 Fermo Founded by Decio 1688
Azzolini, Jr.
1696 Vicenza Founded by Count 1696
Giovanni M. Bertolo
Eighteenth Fano Previously belonged 1861
century to the Order of the
Oratory
1725 Trento Founded by the heirs 1725
of Prince-bishop Gentilotti
1727 Cortona Previously owned by 1788
the Accademia Etrusca
1734 Velletri 1734
1747 Brescia Founded by A. M. 1750
Querini
1750 Fori! A. Albicini wills the 1750
library to the Priests
of the Mission, who renounce
1758 Siena Founded by Sallustio 1810
Bandini
1760 Bergamo Founded by Furietti 1760
1764 Rovereto Founded by Tartarotti 1764
1767 Senigallia Founded by Antonelli 1767
1769 Treviso Founded by Bocchi 1769
? Macerata Previously owned by 1773
the Jesuits
Eighteenth Piacenza Previously owned by 1773
century the Jesuits
1775 Genoa Founded by Berio, 1775
donated to Victor
Emmanuel I, who
willed it to the
commune
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367
Year of Year in which
foundation Place Notations it became public
1780 Mantua Founded by Empress 1881
Maria Teresa, trans
ferred to the commune
1786 Volterra Founded by Guarnacci 1786
1792 Ravenna 1792
1792 Verona 1792
1793 Trieste Previously owned by 1793
the Accademia dell'
Arcadia
1795 Faenza Founded by Annibale 1795
degli Abati Olivieri
1796 Reggio Emilia 1801
1801 Bologna 1801
(Archigginasio)
1804 Faenza Founded by Andrea 1804
Zannoni
1810 Viterbo Founded by the 1810
Accademici Ardenti
1816 Livorno Previously owned by 1852 the Accademia
Labronica
1817 Guastalla Founded by Maldotti 1817
1825 Poppi Founded by Rilli 1825 Orsini
1830 Venice Founded by T. Correr 1830
(Correr Museum)
1833 Pavia Founded by Malaspina 1833
di Sannazaro
1839 Padua Founded by G 1839
Polcastro
1840 Savona Founded by the 1840
Societa Economica
Savonese
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368 L&C/Endowed Municipal Public Libraries
Year of Year in which
foundation Place Notations it became public
1844 Mondovi Founded by private 1870
citizens
1856 Udine Founded by Tartagna 1856
1860 Grosseto Founded by Chelli 1860
1862 Monza Founded by Zucchi 1862
1875 Vercelli 1875
Two Exemplary Cases
It is appropriate here to give the parallel histories of two exemplary libraries, the Biblioteca Augusta of Perugia and the Biblioteca Queriniana
of Brescia.
The first one was founded during that fortunate period that saw the
flourishing of libraries of this kind. In fact it dates back to 1582 and the
agreement between Prospero Podiana, a citizen of Perugia, and the city
priors that established the library. The second goes back to 1747 during the height of initiatives that made such libraries possible?times that also
presaged the end of those fortunate circumstances. Founded through the
will of the bishop of Brescia, Cardinal Angelo Maria Querini, this library
was furnished with a library patrimony and a splendid building especially
designed for it; three years later, in 1750, it was opened to public use.
Though founded more than 150 years apart, these libraries are still similar.
But one could not imagine two more dissimilar founders.
Podiani, a layman, belonged to Perugia's wealthy bourgeoisie. Although
he did not have extensive funds at his disposal?he was tied to family
obligations?he still put together, little by little, a sizable collection of both
manuscripts and printed books. As a bibliophile without any particular
specialization (it would be more appropriate to call him a collector), he
amassed many volumes by using all of his inheritance, keeping himself
up-to-date on the book market and prices and often resorting to question
able means to get the greatest number of books possible?his passion took
on the proportions of a mania.4 He was an original and bizarre character,
who seemed to prefer by far being in the company of his books to fulfilling his family obligations?even to the point of neglecting food and proper
grooming.
Querini, on the other hand, belonged to that nobility of wealth, power,
and intelligence that in previous centuries had made the Republic of Venice
glorious, but that was at this point moving toward its inevitable decline.
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369
He took Benedictine vows in the Abbey of Fiesole near Florence and had a
brilliant ecclesiastic career. He was bishop of Brescia, then made cardinal, and was librarian (or protector) of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana for
over twenty-five years. His intellectual abilities were typical of eighteenth
century scholars; he was a fluent reader of ancient Greek and the editor of
Byzantine liturgical books and the letters of Cardinal Pole. In spite of his
various ministerial duties, such as traveling or holding clerical offices, he
found the time to cultivate correspondence, reading, and study. The library
he put together served his own interests, and its collections were both dis
criminating and comprehensive. In 1731 Querini, just appointed cardinale
prefetto, gave his private collection to Pope Clement XII to be placed in the
Vatican Library. Fifteen years later, when he was planning in Brescia "a
public Library ... for the benefit of all citizens of Brescia and eventually of all scholars," he asked Pope Benedetto XIV to return the books he had
previously given to his predecessor.5 Querini had begun construction on
a new wing of the Episcopal Palace for the new city library "to be devoted to a public library that will be divided into two floors, each one with a large lounge and three rather capacious rooms." In a public statement on 28
January 1747 he made known his intention to endow his own episcopal seat with the library, and the public deputies accepted his donation the same day. In 1750 the library, named after its founder, was opened to
the public.6
Podiani's relationship with the regents of his city seems to have been on
different terms. Whereas Querini's gesture was seen as an act of munifi
cence, so that the deputies of Brescia granted public recognition to him,
the relationship between Podiani and the priors of Perugia was one of
peers. Thus the public chancellor recorded on 23 December 1582 that Podiani's donation of his "maxima ornatissimaque bibliotheca ... ad
publicam tarn civium quam exterorum, qui ad hanc civitatem ratione
Studii confluunt, utilitatem'' was carried out with solemnity in the presence of the city priors. Whereas in Brescia Querini took care of the construction
of the library building, Perugia's administrators committed themselves to build a home for the library and provide a subsidy. In the case of Perugia's Biblioteca Augusta, the date of its founding is noteworthy, showing it to be one of the earliest Italian public libraries. More importantly, it still functions according to its original mission. Another important fact about this institution is an inventory of its acquisitions, available as the council
records, manuscript number 3081, in the Biblioteca Augusta.7
Hypotheses and Perspectives
These libraries, centuries after their origins?especially after World War
II?are increasingly inadequate given the rapid growth of Italian society.
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370 L&CI Endowed Municipal Public Libraries
Although they arose and developed in most cases as "public libraries"?as
the term is used in Italy, that is, as publicly owned libraries open to all?
they were in actuality reserved to a narrow spectrum of users, because of
both the nature of their holdings and the particular services they offered
to patrons, who were?and still are?generally scholars and researchers
in historical and humanistic disciplines. The events surrounding these
libraries are in many cases similar: initially endowed with a library patri
mony notable for its antiquity, rarity, and value, they grew through acqui
sitions resulting either from the religious suppressions or from the donations
of scholars and generous citizens, and also due to careful and intelligent
acquisitions policies. These libraries for decades have offered their privi
leged visitors services equal to their expectations. Nevertheless, Italian
society's evolution has provoked a crisis in the libraries devoted to humanistic
studies, with the divergence between the services they have offered and
new emerging demands becoming more visible and profound.
A new kind of library, suitable for a modern society with its diverse and
broader needs in both knowledge and information?exemplified by the
"public library" [in English in the original text]?was and still is rare in
Italy and little known, except to those who work in that specific area.
During the last decades, however, a growing portion of society has?un
consciously?felt the need for such institutions, and the establishment of
general libraries outside previous library traditions has confirmed the
validity of these initiatives.
Such a demand, most frequent in centers already possessing large general
historical libraries, has created intense pressure for these changes and has
led general historical libraries into an undeniable identity crisis. These
two library models, responding to different demands, have found them
selves on a collision course and are faced with either a clear-cut separation
or the problems of an ill-conceived integration. In the first case the general
historical library would be reduced to a book museum; in the second it
would face the loss of its original identity. At the root of these tormenting doubts lie difficulties in isolating and articulating the peculiarities of both
kinds of services within a more or less conceptual framework and the in
adequacy of already existing structures, which are not suitable to the proper
function of a "public library" [in English in the original text]. The solution
to these complications, even so, should not be difficult: it would be a matter
of recognizing, in both models, specific characteristics and their precise
divergent aims, when looking for practical solutions.
Obviously, historical libraries should not only continue in their functions
as conservation and research institutions open to the public?in which
case their patrons would be not only local but national and international
as well?but should also grow and develop along the lines of their initial
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371
mandate and identity. And in this case their unique holdings would select
their users, preserving them as libraries reserved for scholars.
The task of public administrators, along with executives in the public sector, should be to create, in addition to the historical libraries, general libraries for the public, whose functions would be information, documen
tation, study, updating, and reading, to be used without distinction of age or intellectual endeavor.
In the present crisis, which is affecting in different ways almost all of the
old library institutions arising from the former Italian city communes, the most courageous solution would be to make the above theoretical distinc
tion and then apply it in practice. This would ensure the continuity of these libraries' identity and function along historical lines.
Notes
1. Annuario delle Biblioteche Italiane (Roma: Palombi, 1969-1981). 2. About these data, updated to 1983, see Annuario delle Biblioteche Lombarde:
Biblioteche Comunali, Dati Relativi al 1983 (Milano: Editrice Bibliografica, 1985). 3. Bacon had already sensed the sudden and headlong flood of writing that
followed the invention of the press, which naturally converged on library shelves; his judgment on the content of the work of his contemporaries and predecessors seems too severe: "Quod si quis ab officinis ad bibliothecas se converterit, immensam
quam videmus librorum varietatem in admiratione habuerit, is examinatis et dili
gentius introspectis ipsorum librorum materiis et contentis, obstupescet certe in
contrarium; et posquam nullum dari finem repetitionibus observaverit, quumque homines eadem agant et loquantur, ab admiratione varietatis transibit ad miraculum
indigentiae et paucitatis earum rerum, quae hominum mentes adhuc tenuerunt et
occuparunt" (F. Bacon, Novum Organum, 1, aphor. LXXXV). 4. On the figure of Podiani, see the accurate and broad portrait that his con
temporary Giovanni Rossi (Janus Nicius Erythraeus) gives in the third part of his
work Pinacoteca imaginum illustrium, doctrinae vel ingenii laude, virorum, qui, auctore super stite diem suum obierunt (Coloniae Agrippinae, apud Jodocum Kalcovium et socios,
1612-1648), pp. 269-274.
5. On Querini and the entire episode, see the ample essay by V. Peri, "Querini e la Vaticana,'' in Cultura, religione e poUtica nelV eta di Angelo Maria Querini: Atti del con
vegeno di studi (Brescia, 1982), pp. 33-190.
6. See Atti spetanti alia fondazione e dotazione della Biblioteca Queriniana a pubblico
beneficio eretta in Brescia pubblicati per decreto degli illustrissimi Signori Deputati Bresciani
(Brescia: from the press of G. M. Rizzardi, 1747). 7. About the events concerning the Biblioteca Augusta of Perugia, see G. Cecchini,
La Biblioteca Augusta del Comune di Perugia (Roma, 1978). On the partial dispersal of
the biblioteca's most valuable manuscripts by Pope Paul V, who transferred them
to the Biblioteca Vaticana, see J. Bignami Odier, "Des manuscrits de Propero Podiani a la Biblioteque Vaticane," in Studi di bibliografia a storia in onore di T De
Marinis (Citta del Vaticano, 1964), vol. 1, pp. 91-134.
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