The events, the projects and the figures of a year of reading promotion

The enlargement of the library patrimony with new acquisitions and donations, the confirmation of Spoleto’s qualification as “City that reads”, the new columns on social networks to make the patrimony known to a wider, more varied public, the continuation of the “Gioca Libro” experience for children and of the reading group #spoletolegge, the promotion of MLOL digital services, the fourth year of “Note Lettere”, the exhibition on historical posters: these are the main initiatives and projects that have characterised the reading promotion activities of the city’s two public libraries, the “Giosuè Carducci” at Palazzo Mauri and the “Giovanni Carandente” at Palazzo Collicola.

“These are all actions and projects,” said culture councillor Ada Urbani, “that have contributed to raising awareness on our extraordinary library heritage, which has been substantially increased this year with 1,400 new books, with funding of €36,000, €20,000 of which from external resources. Thanks to social networks, we have intercepted a large section of users with columns on library “treasures” that have led to more than 180,000 thousand views and 7000 interactions. We have seen the confirmation for the two-year period 2020/2021 of the qualification of “City that reads” by the Centre for Books and Reading of MiBACT, a sign that Spoleto is recognised for its vocation and ability to protect and promote the inalienable cultural dimension that characterises it.”

With regard to assets, thanks to new acquisitions made in 2020, the Carducci library exceeded 126,000 inventory units and the Carandente library exceeded 31,000 units. Cataloguing activities also continued and reached over 6,000 volumes (of which 1,900 in smart working mode) between new purchases and existing heritage. New donations, such as the Matilde Tortora Fund on cinema and the Lamberto Gentili Donation, also enlarged the library heritage. There were 2,200 new volumes for school libraries – worth over 21,000 euro – purchased by customers of the Giunti bookshops in Trevi and Foligno through the “Help us grow. Give us a book” project, coordinated by the Carducci Library.

For the “CITTÀ CHE LEGGE” project – of which Spoleto is the leader – 10 initiatives were carried out for 43 meetings, 6 of which online, with 1,200 participants.
In order to continue, even during the emergency phase, to spread and promote reading, the Library – which was the first cultural institution in the city to reopen its services to the public after the first lockdown phase – continued its activities also using new methods, for example by resorting to social media and pursuing new forms of cultural enjoyment through three sections: Accadde a Spoleto, Inventa una storia and Il Sasso Nello Stagno.

In addition, the promotion and dissemination of the MLOL digital lending platform (ebooks, audiobooks, etc.) was stepped up, resulting in the registration of 330 users. 28 classes were involved in the continuation of the experience of the “Gioca Libro” didactic project. More than 1,800 items including documents, notices, ordinances, posters of Spoleto between 1895 and 1915 were transcribed into a computer document, a selection of which was presented to the public for the first time at Palazzo Mauri during an exhibition on the occasion of the European Heritage Days. For the fourth year, the public’s affection for the “Note Lettere” recital was confirmed and the experience of the #spoletolegge reading group continued weekly on digital platforms.

For those who want to know the details, please see the link to the library’s page: https://bit.ly/3og3b5Z