The Tartar Steppe

Abstract

The paper takes a cue from the report on the new professional profiles required by Italian academic and research libraries, published in the first 2013 issue of «AIB studi». The author wonders if, given the current legislative and economic circumstances, such proposals – even though correct and legitimate – may realistically be taken into due consideration by Italian politicians and academic governance. Even if it is right to contemplate foreign models such as the American one, the Italian situation – despite some undeniable steps forward – is still too different from that of other countries, especially in terms of staff recruitment and of the effective correspondence between the tasks required and what’s really necessary to run academic and research institutions.