Why visit Italian Libraries?
Italian Libraries Overview
Stacks and Call Numbers
National and State Libraries
Online Services
SBN
MAI
AIB-WEB
Computer Commands
Library Terms
Archives
Bookstores
Internet Cafes
If you are familiar with Italy's history as a group of relatively autonomous city-states, than you can probably appreciate the unique traditions that have shaped Italy's many libraries. Even today, the organization of materials, library procedures, and use of technology varies from place to place. Historically, Italian libraries have operated independent of each other, and the move towards interlibrary lending and other cooperative efforts is only a few decades old.
Like the United States, Italy has different types of libraries and different ways of organizing them. Some of the major types of Italian libraries include:
State or national libraries
Public or local/regional libraries
University libraries
School libraries
Ecclesiastic/monastic libraries
