City library's Decentralized service in the Western District of Prato

Presentation of the library

The Library of the District West belongs to the Urban Library Network of the City of Prato, and is coordinate by the Library “A. Lazzerini". It is situated in the building that houses the civic centre, that occupies the entire left wing of the ground floor (155 sq m), that is surrounded on three sides by a garden. It was created according to the concepts of public library use in the more advanced European countries, in terms of features, furnishings and lighting system, it has differentiated reading areas and a garden for reading and outdoor activities.

Service

Reading seats: 56

Heritage: about 12.000 volumes (books, videos, DVDs) for adults and children..

Navigating the Internet

The library is completely wireless, you can navigate without a time limit, and there are also 6 public internet terminals, on which the navigation is limited to one hour. You must register by presenting an identity document, to use this service. Minors must be authorized by a parent. The service is free.

Collections

In the library there are novels, books, romantics and crimes, comics, humour, computer books and astrology, books in English, French, Spanish, play books an handbooks, movies, cartoons and documentaries…
All the material e of the library is positioned in a way that users may access it directly. The consultation and search of books or material is facilitated by descriptions posted on the shelves.
The librarians are available to help in the search, to give reading tips, to inform about cultural events in the District and in the city, provide opening hours and current addresses on the public offices. The online catalogue can be consulted also from home, an if a book is on loan determines the date when it will return to the library.

The loan

Nearby all material can be borrowed. The service is open to all and is free.
The library card is valid for all public libraries in the province of Prato.
You can sign up showing a identity document (for minors under 18 years must be shown the one of a parent to act as a guarantor). You can borrow up to six books at a time and up to 3 videos. The loan lasts a month and is renewable for other 15 days; for videos it last 7 days and is not renewable.

Interlibrary loan

If the library does not have the book you want, it can be asked for you in another library within the province or region. When the book arrives, the user will be notified by phone to collect it.
It is also possible to make proposals for the purchase of books not owned by the library.

Activities

The basket of books: books donated by citizens, but not useful for the library are collected in a basket an who wants can take them freely.

For children: guided tours of the library, reading lists, workshops and research , in collaboration with the schools.

The fairy tale of Saturday: Saturday morning animated reading and dramatization of fairy tales for children.

A little bit of history

The Library of the District West has grown and has taken root tank to experimenting with new ways of promoting access to books and libraries by citizens: since 1989 and for over a decade it has create the Prestito Stellare, which consist in deploying a certain number of books from the library to other spaces – hairdressers, bars, clubs, gyms and schools – where the access is more direct and spontaneous.

In 2001 was set up the Bibliobus (see “Useful links”), a travelling loan service done by a van load of books, that represented continuity and innovation to the project Prestito Stellare. The first years, the mobile library was mainly aimed at school children, then gradually it was extended to local markets and to public gardens. The experience was completed in 2007 and has contributed to the growth and settlement on the territory of the library of the District West.

In April 2005 the library moved to the premises of the new civic centre and was completely renovated in its furnishing and collections.