Library. I love it! 2013 - 2015

 The Department for Culture, Sport and Leisure Time – Library Network Offices has participated in the European project "Library. I love it!" funded by the Grundtvig programme (in the context of the Lifelong Learning Programme - LLP) [2] for the years 2013 – 2015. The Grundtvig learning partnership is a reference framework in the LLP, for small scale cooperation activities between institutions working through different strategies in the field of adult education and involves undertaking exchange visits by the organizations involved for the exchange of best practices. The partnership network has been set up between local libraries and includes 8 countries including Italy, represented by the Province of Rome- The Metropolitan City of Rome Capital: Poland (Project Leader), Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Spain (Gran Canaria), Turkey. The following libraries are involved:

 

Piekary Slaskie Municipal Library, Poland

Rome Provincial Library, Italy

Stadtbücherei Dornbirn, Austria

Korcula City Library “Ivan Vidali", Croatia

The Library of the City of Olomouc, Czech Republic

Iisalmi City Library, Finland

Arucas Municipal Library, Spain (Gran Canaria)

The Kulutur ve Turizm Mudurlugu – Aydin, Turkey 

 

The stages and activities under way are published on the project blog [3]; the international experience has been disseminated with the publication of the guide "Inspirer of the Modern Librarian" proposing the best practices of the project, identified as some of the possible strategies for the development of local libraries as community centres open to evolution and the exchange of experiences.

 

The working group of Department VIII of the Province of Rome dedicated to the Grundtvig project consists of 12 staff members and avails itself of the collaboration of the Europe Office [4]and Department II Service 2 (Maintenance and refurbishing of assets).

 

PROGRAMME OF THE EVENT "Library. I love it!" in Rome 

The common axes proposed by the Project Leader consist of three lines of action: “Seeing, Learning, Boasting”; the Culture Department has organized the programme on these topics, to take place in Rome on 11 - 13 June 2014:

 

Boasting: in 2014, the Department for Cultural Services will promote the reopening of the Rome Provincial Library in the recently restored "Palazzo della Cultura e della Memoria della Provincia di Roma" at Villa Altieri (second half of the XVII century).

The Provincial Library – which has a rich book collection on the local and institutional history of the Province of Rome – will organize the event "Villa Altieri in festa" (12 June) including the inauguration of an exhibition of rare, antique and valuable books and documents, and the projection of films and images made with the contribution of the Province of Rome. Visitors will be able to listen to readings from the works of the greatest personalities in Italian literature at the Pio Raina Centre for literary, linguistic and philological research. In the evening there will be a theatrical performance with traditional dances and the tasting of typical local products in the setting of the Villa gardens. 

 

Learning: in line with the activities under way, a Seminar on the development of digital resources and services in libraries will be held (11 June) to promote and compare experiences and activities on the local and international level.

 

Seeing: We will visit the Central National Library in Rome, the Central Catalogue Institute for the Italian libraries, and other well-known libraries conserving antique books on the history of Rome and the surrounding area, where important digital collections have been set up. Then we will go on a tour of the city’s major monuments, starting from the visit to the ancient Roman houses in the archaeological excavations under the building of the Province of Rome, together with a suggestive virtual museum. On the last day, we will visit a local civic library and the monuments found in the landscape of the countryside around Rome.