Bringing used books back to life by saving them from the pulp, putting authors and stories back into circulation, fishing for out-of-print rarities. Reconnecting a thread between those who have owned, loved, read those pages and new readers. Among the most deeply rooted experiences in Bologna since 2010 is the Equi-libristi association which since then has recovered around 110 thousand titles by distributing them free of charge around the city. From the office in via Curiel, but also with their bookstations – now around thirty – scattered in unusual places, with improvised shelves on the windowsills of bars and clubs, on the trunks of now lifeless trees, even in dog runs, but also in swimming pools and hospital wards. Now, however, the association has taken a step further, inaugurating yesterday a real bookshop with free-to-offer books. Is called SantApp Bookstationa small space of 15m2, in via Sant’Apollonia 23/A with a catalog that mixes classic Italian paperbacks and English-language texts.
The American lady
«The idea of opening a bookshop – he says Fabrizio Corazzapresident and founder of the association – was born thanks to an American lady who lives in the city, her name is Shoshanna Zuckermann and she gave us a thousand titles in English, revealing how her dream had always been to be a bookseller. “I didn’t succeed, you try,” she said, launching the challenge.” And so Corazza and his associates found, thanks to a tender, the space near the American university Johns Hopkins. «Which was therefore perfect for the volumes in English. But then, given that among young people there is this newfound passion for the classics, we thought of broadening the offer by fishing for paperback editions in our warehouse with proposals for Italian and foreign literature, from Oscar Mondadori to Garzanti to the legendary Bur”.
The hope is that the bookshop, open four afternoons a week thanks to volunteers, including the American lady who started it all, will serve to redevelop the street but also to find resources to finance the association (totally non-profit). «We receive many offers of donations per week – continues Corazza – we evaluate them, we choose, because it makes no sense to put everything back into circulation. Most of the books end up in via Curiel or in the warehouse in via Agucchi, which we rented. Overall, at the moment we have 20 thousand titles.”
Grandfather’s library
Bibliophilia also inspired “Books on the sofa”, from an idea of Giorgia, a communication and advertising student in Reggio Emilia, and Paolo, a recent graduate in Romance philology and aspiring writer, both living in the city. «In 2022 my grandfather died – she explains – who a Barberino he owned a library of almost five hundred volumes, mostly on history. I had no way of keeping it and at the same time I didn’t want to throw it away.” So with Paolo he created the Instagram page “Books on the sofa”, a virtual second-hand book market, with posts for each volume, which are very accurate literary cards where criticism, plot, author profile and emotions are mixed. A detailed and poetic catalogue. «After my grandfather’s books, donations started pouring in, we can’t take everything, also due to lack of space. One day we would like to open our own bookshop but we need time and above all money, at the moment we are going around the markets.” You can often meet them at the flea market which is held once a month in Piazza Lucio Dalla, you can recognize them because next to the volumes on display they leave notes where anyone who wants can write requests, suggestions, messages of love for books.
