Best practices of integration in public libraries: the library systems of Rome and Hamburg

Abstract

Ethnical and cultural diversity is a distinguishing mark of today’s urban communities, where integration is becoming a major challenge, and public libraries could play a key role.
The article examines the results of a qualitative research involving the urban library systems of Rome and Hamburg, and points out – through the libraries’ best practices – the function of public libraries in promoting integration and cultural awareness with a bottom-up approach. In both Rome and Hamburg libraries responded to community needs that the government couldn’t satisfy in the short term, thus gaining the support and trust of the citizens and becoming an urban shelter of cultural diversity. Public libraries are welcoming and unrestricted places that can grant a different kind of citizenship to all the newcomers who haven’t become new citizens yet.