Between autonomy and centralism: Renato Papò and the popular libraries in Sardinia (1947-1954)

Abstract

The article focuses on some unknown aspects of Sardinia’s library history and in particular on the realization of the public reading system in the aftermath of the Second World War. The activity of Renato Papò and his commitment to the popular libraries are examined, at a time when they were strongly criticized by the librarian community because they were far from the modern idea of public library ‘for everyone’. His initiatives must however be interpreted taking into account the political, economic and social situation of the island: the many popular libraries present in Sardinia, although weak and poor, were considered by Papò as an expression of the needs of the territory against solutions imposed from above. This local connotation attenuates the opposition of the popular libraries with the ‘modern’ public libraries. To facilitate their development, Papò promoted a regional law that entrusted to the coordination of the Region both the municipal and the popular libraries scattered throughout the territory. The failure of this legislative initiative also marked the failure of the project by Papò that left Sardinia for the Superintendency of Veneto.