La Spezia, over 62 thousand people attended the civic libraries in 2023. A great success for a quality service
In 2023 over 62 thousand people they frequented the civic libraries of the Urban Library System which boasts over 16.200 members, an increase of approximately 25% compared to 2022: data that continues to grow compared to previous years both for the quality of the services offered, in particular the extraordinary opening hours, the loan including inter-library loans, the possibility of reading books and newspapers without having to register, and for the increasingly heterogeneous offer across the whole throughout the year of events also in collaboration with the cultural fabric of La Spezia, educational workshops, shared reading events, film viewing and guided tours. Libraries are a real organism with life and growth of the continuously expanding documentary heritage with significant demand from users: compared to 2022, in fact, loan requests increased by approximately 23%, going from 12.551 to 15.488.
“Libraries play a crucial role in promoting cultural enrichment and social relations – declares the Mayor of La Spezia Pierluigi Peracchini – and the strong turnout testifies to the appreciation of the users. As an Administration we have worked to constantly raise the quality and variety of services offered, expand the book and documentary heritage and propose a very rich calendar of initiatives capable of making them spaces to experience for an increasingly heterogeneous public."
The library that dominates the 2023 ranking is the Beghi which, in line with its role as a public reading library, has alone been frequented for over 53.700 users, over 700 people present at the promoted events, 138 children at educational workshops, discovery by 772 pupils from nursery school, primary and middle school for guided tours and around a hundred people fond of The Book Lovers Club, the monthly event of the Beghi Book Club. This library also has another boast strongly desired by the Peracchini Administration: is one of the very few Italian civic libraries that is open to the public daily non-stop, from Monday to Sunday inclusive from 8.15am to 19pm, and extraordinary openings on holidays: a civic library with great ambitions that continues to grow even in its book heritage, which currently stands at around 39.022 volumes.
The Mazzini Library, which in 2023 was at the center of the celebrations of the centenary of the death of the first director whose name it bears, Ubaldo Mazzini, was frequented by 5.534 users, with over 350 people taking part in the events promoted during the year such as guided tours monthly, the event on Giovanni Sforza, the exhibition on Ubaldo Mazzini, the visits organized on the occasion of Spetialis. La Spezia Antica Festival and concerts organized together with the La Spezia Conservatory "Giacomo Puccini". The Mazzini is the historic library of the city, founded in 1898, home to the municipal historical archive, it holds the record for the heritage of books preserved in the entire Province of La Spezia, exceeding the threshold of 143.400 volumes. It is the leading library of the entire Urban Library System and is home to the legal deposit of the area's printed materials, in fact it collects all the material published in the province of La Spezia and preserves a large number of ancient book collections from past centuries.
The third most frequented library is the Ligurian Regional Media Library “Sergio Fregoso”, in the heart of the Umbertino district, now a multifunctional center that acts as a civic library, historical sound, audio and photographic archive and, a big news in the last two years, cinema with the reactivation of the Cinema Odeon. The Media Library is a fundamental cultural center in the neighborhood and boasts, in 2023, 2.344 users, the participation of almost 100 children in the workshops offered in the structure and has been chosen over 80 times as a venue for conferences, photographic exhibitions, courses and events high-level cultural events such as Libriamoci and the Exodus Prize. It has a very heterogeneous heritage, boasting in fact 23.464 documents including 10.341 volumes, 320 DVDs, 1.545 VHS, 736 CDs, 103 audiovisual films and an impressive historical photographic archive with over 10.439 photographs. One of the great drivers of the Media Library is the Odeon cinema: in 2023, over 365 days, there were 288 screening days with 47 films and 8.598 attendances.
The Special Library of Art and Archaeology it is the fourth of the Urban Library System: located in the Palazzina delle Arti, it not only performs library functions but is also an important space for workshops organized by the cultural sector. The Art Library in 2023 had approx 500 attendees and 80 children have participated in the workshops organized by the Library System, and boasts a heritage of books equal to 13.149 volumes.
INFO URBAN LIBRARY SYSTEM – MUNICIPALITY OFLA SPEZIA
- PM BEGHI CIVIC LIBRARY Tel. 0187.727885 biblioteca.beghi@comune.sp.it Facebook – Ig @biblioteca_beghi Via del Canaletto, 100 – La Spezia;
- UBALDO MAZZINI CIVIC LIBRARY Tel. 0187.727515 biblioteca.mazzini@comune.sp.it Facebook – Ig @biblioteca.mazzini Corso Cavour, 251 – La Spezia;
- LIGURIAN REGIONAL MEDIA LIBRARY “S. FREGOSO” Tel. 0187.745630 mediateca@comune.sp.it Facebook – Ig @mediateca.laspezia Via Firenze, 37 – La Spezia:
- SPECIAL LIBRARY OF ART AND ARCHEOLOGY Tel. 0187.727918 biblioteca.arte@comune.sp.it - Facebook – Ig @biblioteca.arte.archeo Via del Prione, 238 – La Spezia.
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