For a systemic vision of the library digital lending

Abstract

The article will discuss the library digital lending of e-books according to three points of view: as a part of the library seen as platform of knowledge, as a way of reading, as a way to circulate books and promote reading. It will examine the technological and distributive aspects of digital lending and those connected to it, together with the relational aspects related to digital reading and digital lending.
We are going to focus on the concepts of disintermediation (and new mediation) and digital platform; then on the concept of library as a platform and on the paradigm of social librarianship, that is essential for interpreting the phenomena in depth. After that, the focus will be on some aspects concerning the new book system, increasingly marked by the integration between the physical and digital dimensions.
The core part of the article is entirely dedicated to digital lending. In particular, it highlights the connection between the features of the service and the various aspects concerning the digital lending platform, the digital publishing and the libraries. Thanks to the social librarianship approach, it is also possible to enhance the digital lending relational aspects linked to the perceptions of librarians and the needs of library patrons. Therefore, we must analyze the digital lending service from different points of view, paying particular attention to the way the library patrons use the service and the vision of librarians. All these aspects are fundamental for the development of a new library service in constant evolution such as the digital lending service.