La Biblioteca Regionale Universitaria

(If you are not interested in Italian libraries/doing research in Italy this post may seem a bit boring. Ok, you’ve been warned.)

I mentioned a bit of this in my previous post, but I’ll risk repetition for a complete story:

I began research on Monday by taking a trip to the main library of the University of Catania (a whole 3 blocks from home), La Biblioteca Regionale, in Piazza Università. I then explained my project, showed my presentation letter from Chicago, and a woman, Geraldina, began to help me with finding books, and showing me around the library in general.

I first noticed how small the place is. There are a series of 3 small rooms, maybe each about 10’x15’ – the first has a small desk where you receive an entry number and have to put your bag in a “security bag” that only the staff can open and close. The second room is where the entire catalog is – rows of filing cabinets organized by author and subject, with drawers full of notecards. You fill out a request by hand including the catalog number, and wait for it to be retrieved for you. The last room is for photocopying and checking out books (I haven’t figured out which ones can be checked out – apparently none of the ones I need.) Off the last two rooms is a larger reading room with some reference books. There are eight large tables, which are never full, where you’re supposed to do all your reading.

What baffles me the most isn’t the lack of air conditioning, technology, or people, but how they handle their older books. In Chicago, requesting a rare book requires going online and requesting it maybe a day in advance, then going to the rare books collection, signing in after locking everything but a pencil and a notebook in a locker, signing a form, and then sitting in a glass room supervised by the staff. Here, requesting a book from the 18^th century is as easy as requesting one from the 21^st – submit that same form, and then get it 10 minutes later.

What was even more incredible is that one of the books I was reading, Vito Amico’s Lexicon Siculum Topographicum pub. 1757, was categorized as a dictionary, and therefore shelved with the reference books. Nothing needs to be submitted – you can just walk in and pick up a centuries-old book off the shelf.

Some of these older books I’m looking at have folded up maps on the inside – which to me seems crazy. I am almost certain that at the Reg they would remove these and then carefully unfold them, trying to cause as little damage as possible. Here, they are torn, missing pieces, and usually illegible along the folded lines. On one hand, I’m shocked that they would treat these books in this way. On another, I’m kind of pleased that they are kept like this – after all, they were meant to be read as books with map inserts and handled in this way.

Overall, I’m pleased with the amount of books – especially books containing 18^th century prints! – I’ve found in this library, but there are so many other libraries and archives I need to see! I feel as though I could drown in all the information I could potentially unearth – the task now is to narrow down so Geraldina will stop telling me how vague my topic is.