For a Treasure of the Italian librarianship

Abstract

It has been proposed that the Italian Library Association should create a "Treasure" of the Italian librarianship, that is an historical glossary of this subject. This would be the mirror of the profession, which covers its history and verifies its maturity.

The essential characteristic of the proposal lies in the indication of a Treasure as an historical instrument, founded on an illustrative historical system, that would differentiate it from what little has existed in Italy up to now. For this reason it is worth briefly examining the most famous Italian work in this field, the Vocabolario bibliografico (Bibliographic Vocabulary) (1940) by Giuseppe Fumagalli, and noting its obsoleteness and inadequacy, due above all to the lack of historical knowledge. The criteria by which the work should be inspired are then presented (while offering them for discussion):

1. the disciplinary limits to be covered (with the exclusion of palaeography and codicology);
2. the limits of the testimonies to be accepted;
3. the limits of time (the beginning of the 19th century is proposed;
4. what to do for the terms not testified to (the possibility of an appendix is suggested);
5. the sources to be used (questions regarding serials, monographs, texts translated from other languages);
6. the methods of sorting (complete for certain categories of texts, and selective for others);
7. the structure that the various items should have;
8. the ways of presenting and arranging the material (if printed, the possible publication in loose sheets);
9. the operational system that the Association should create within itself to begin and carry out the job.

For this system, it has been thought to form a work group, composed of professionals with historical interests, with the possible contribution of external assistants and, above all, the presence of one or more linguists with lexicographical experience.