Public Library Francesco Petrarca of Vernio

Presentation of the library

The Library was established in 1916 on the initiative of the Florentine University student Ferdinando Ricci. For its purposes, which are those of the wider dissemination of the culture, it is worthy continuer of the work begun by Antonio Bruni, who has founded the first Italian public library in 1861, a company working for reading.

The prerogatives of the library "Petrarca" are the three principles describe in its charter “public, independent and free".

The management of the Library, the constitution and the nature of the collections reflect this character for cooperation and participation: the “Petrarca”, private property until 1971, is currently administrate by a popular council, consisting of seven “loyalists” and two “readers”, renewable with regular elections every three yeas.

The first group of books arrived following a public appeal launched by Ricci, to which answered authorities, agencies, publisher companies, libraries and private persons.

There are books for all taste and for all needs, from essays to fiction, history, science, art, philosophy and sociology. A special section is dedicated to children’s literature and it is rich in editions of the early twentieth century. The pride of the Library is a precious collection of the newspaper “Il Telegrafo”, for the years 1933/1943.

Resources

Owned books: 15.000

Reading places

15

Service

• Information and bibliographic counselling;
• local and interlibrary loan;
• free internet access (4 workstations).