Academic and Research Libraries in Italy from Past to Future

Abstract In Italy academic and research libraries were invigorated in the 1990s and again in the 2000s. These years include the automation of catalogues, the development of the National Library Service (SBN), the birth of consortia to deal with organizational and management needs introduced by the digital library with the birth of the World Wide Web and the paradigm shift from ownership to access. The article outlines the main stages of this path at a technological, organizational, legislative, and professional development level up to more recent times in which the vitality of those years seems increasingly more difficult to achieve, despite being crucial to face the challenges raised by the growing complexity of the digital information context.