Libraries and the health of adolescents: reading as an agent of well-being

Abstract

This paper discusses the themes and reflections emerging from the conference "Libraries and health humanities: young people, reading and new forms of welfare for health", promoted by the Italian National Institute of Health, Sapienza University of Rome, the Italian Library Association, and the Cultural Welfare Center. Through contributions from scholars, librarians, psychologists, cultural practitioners, and young participants, the paper examines the role of libraries as community cultural infrastructures and agents of social, emotional, and relational well-being. Particular attention is devoted to the relationship between reading, adolescent identity formation, and mental health, highlighting the transformative potential of cultural practices in a contemporary context marked by relational fragility, digital overexposure, and difficulty in imagining the future. Libraries emerge as inclusive ‘third places’ capable of fostering connections, care practices, and forms of social prescribing through reading groups, storytelling laboratories, and participatory projects. Reading is therefore interpreted not only as an individual experience, but also as a shared practice that nurtures meaning-making, empathy, and cultural citizenship.