Free culture from the mud (flood in Romagna, 2023): libraries to be saved

Abstract

This paper offers an overview of what happened after the Romagna flood of 2023 in four libraries (Trisi in Lugo, Manfrediana in Faenza, Borghi in Castel Bolognese and Forli’s Seminary). It focuses on the work of the volunteers which aimed to recovery the institutions as soon as possible. In particular,
the point of view of the authors is that of students of the Library and Archive science master’s degree at the University of Bologna. They acted to support the libraries offering a qualified intervention; in fact, they managed saved books and the related catalogues. After the narration of what happened during and after the flood, there are some interviews at the librarians the authors worked with. These surveys allow to put the student’s work into a wider context which evolved and is still evolving.