It is October 2021 when the Director of the Verona-Trento Majorana Institute of Messina, Professor Simonetta Di Prima, in agreement with the cultural association Terremoti di Carta, starts a project to enhance the library of the Viale complex Carousel. This project, which spans the three-year period of the professional field, will have the aim of highlighting such a vast and precious internal treasure (just think of the books signed by illustrious authors such as Vincenzo Consolo and some valuable texts), a real place for meeting and sharing. The first novelty of this initiative is the new cataloging tools. In fact, through the registration of the Institute on the Qcloud Scuola platform, a new organization of the books present is started. The same school director, on the occasion of one of the book presentations which took place precisely to raise awareness of the enrichment and valorisation of the library, had recalled the importance of a so-called humanistic dimension even in a place which apparently would not seem ideal for this activity. Instead, her words were prophetic because in a year’s time the students will experiment with their teachers the possibility of cataloging with optical reading and will learn to organize a library environment, a skill that can be used and generalizable to other work sectors. Guided to learn about the city’s libraries, students will return to school with the desire to give honor and visibility to “their library”. Here they will organize writing workshops and meetings with illustrious people such as the entrepreneur Francesco Santioli and the illustrator Lelio Bonaccorso. The pride of the library is the “Manga and fantasy – Akira Toriyama” section named after the recently deceased manga author, created from scratch with the contribution of teachers and students and which contains some of the best-known Japanese works among children. But it doesn’t end here. It seems that the one in the Viale Giostra complex is one of the first school libraries in Italy to have a section specifically dedicated to the manga and fantasy sector and is an almost unique case in the South of the peninsula. And this is the greatest satisfaction if we think that it was the kids who wanted it, it was they who suggested it to the Principal and the teachers. The final ambition is to open the library to the territory, making it a driving force of civilization and cultural development, which can start from the centers of interest of the students, the true protagonists of every educational action. “Libraries – explains the head teacher Simonetta Di Prima – are real bastions of culture and hope, especially in difficult contexts where educational and cultural opportunities can be limited! They represent a beacon of knowledge and inclusiveness, offering free access to invaluable resources such as books, magazines, and multimedia materials, comics. In a world where information is power, the library becomes a very powerful weapon against ignorance and marginalization. It provides a safe space where anyone, regardless of their economic or social status, can grow, learn and dream. Libraries are the beating heart of the territory, capable of transforming entire lives and communities, instilling values of curiosity, respect and critical awareness. Without them, the path to a better future becomes dark and uncertain. Long live libraries, fundamental pillars for our society.”
