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The paper reflects on La biblioteca pubblica e la sua reputazione, Maria Stella Rasetti's last book, published by Editrice bibliografica. The reflection starts from the reputation as object of study of different disciplines (such as communication, marketing, economics, sociology) and analyzes the importance of library reputation, closely associated with identity and image. Rasetti identifies four classes to place Italian public libraries and proposes a model to measure library reputation, adapted from business models, which uses personalized questionnaires for each class. The paper analyzes model validity and contextualizes it in the field of user satisfaction, performance and libraries impact. The hope is that measuring reputation can help public libraries to build a new narrative that overcomes public administration stereotypes of which they are victims, and to equip citizens with useful skills for work, everyday and social life, making them active and conscious protagonists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents Peter Johan Lor’s book, International and comparative librarianship: concepts and methods for global studies (Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter Saur, 2019). As a result of a long research, the book shows the origins and the evolution of international and comparative librarianship as fields of study and research; it explains professional literature development on the subject; it deals with methodological aspects in terms of approaches, techniques and tools of comparison intended as a research strategy to analyze influences, divergences and consonances between different library contexts. Lor’s book is an opportunity for theoretical study but also a working tool, thanks also to the numerous examples that concern different geographic areas of the world and types of library as well as a variety of themes, functions and services. For its systematic approach, completeness and accuracy it is the most updated reference point for comparative studies, especially for library contexts, such as the Italian one, that are still too poor in reflections and real applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music libraries are public or private institutions that collect a multiplicity of musical sources and materials of musical interest. They are special libraries with a strategic role for the institution, with wide and specialized collections and specialist music librarians that have to satisfy the needs of their own user communities. The article examines and discusses functions, services, requirements of music libraries and music librarians to underline that the interest of professional literature is confined almost exclusive to the collections, mainly to cataloging and conservation, without a solid analysis of the organization and management of library services. This applies to all music libraries and especially for Italian conservatoires and music schools libraries, whose data about service quality are poor. A music library is not just a storage of musical materials; especially in the field of music education, it has at least three functions: the conservation and the enhancement of music materials, the support for teaching and research and, last but not least, the cultural and social function for students, music teachers, researchers, musicians and for all citizens. Through the collection of data and evidences, service assessment then becomes an essential means to prove and increase these functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]