The Spoleto “G. Carducci” Public Library was founded in 1861, has returned to its historical location of Palazzo Mauri in April, 2009.
The spaces open to the public are on three levels, for 2,200 sq. m. overall:
◽ 13 reading halls
◽ 2 loan offices
◽ 1 hall for animations
◽ 1 game room
◽ 1 office for the Informagiovani service
◽ 2 convention halls
◽ 1 exhibition hall
offering:
◽ 209 reading posts
◽ 90 posts in the convention halls
◽ 30 computer workstations (two of which for challenged people)
◽ 2 recreational stations (play station and Wii)
Radio-frequency technology (RFID) has been adopted for both the anti-shoplifting system and the new Library membership cards: a single smart card (with a magnetic strip and a contact microchip) allows user authentication for Internet access, semi-automated book lending and payment of prints and photocopies.
The covered courtyard is the most evocative feature of Palazzo Mauri and has the greatest impact on visitors. Making it the “covered square” of Spoleto and turning it into a newspaper and periodicals library – that is to say, an “information square” – is an emblematic synthesis of the cultural policy aimed at making a modern library for the third millennium which, strong and aware of its traditions, is open to new languages, welcomes citizens and offers them tools, spaces and opportunities to meet, express themselves, learn and grow. This area houses the Literary Café and the Emeroteca, open throughout the day, where 10 daily newspapers and 100 magazines are freely available for consultation.
The rest of the ground floor is occupied by the Kids’ Section and the Game Room, which offer the youngest visitors a variety of stimuli and suggestions: talking and pop-up books, comic strips and educational games, encyclopaedias and novels in paper and multimedia format, areas for workshops, theatre and play activities. One room is dedicated to the youngest children (from 0 to 5 years old): it is the soft corner with carpets and cushions that welcomes them to “play” with nursery rhymes, fairy tales and stories from tactile, sound and hardback books.
On the upper floors are the lending and reference points and the reading and study rooms, all of which are equipped with networked computer stations where part of the modern book heritage is stored on open shelves, sorted and divided into subject areas or themes, as well as areas for young adults where they can make music with a keyboard and guitar, explore topics related to their hobbies and use of their free time.
The following have also been activated
◽Multimedia documentation centre of the city of Spoleto which aims at documenting the artistic, cultural, economic and social events of the recent history of the city: around the central nucleus constituted by the photo library, audio, video and photographic documents selected from various sources are being added, among which those acquired thanks to the agreement with RAI-Teche;
◽Extreme Events and Disasters: Euro-Mediterranean Documentation Centre, born of the collaboration between the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and the City of Spoleto.