The new Lazzerini library has moved to the space vacated by the Campolmi ex-cutting rooms

On the 24th November the new Lazzerini library was opened to the general public in spaces vacated by the Campolmi ex-cutting rooms in Via Puccetti, 3 in the centre of Prato. Pratomigranti had the opportunity of exploring the new space hosting the library with the help of an exceptional guide: the director, Franco Neri.

"The project", says the director, "has a long story behind it. It starts in the mid-1990s when the new premises were first suggested. Then, in 2000, work was started on what were once the Campolmi industrial premises, and in May 2003 the Textile Museum was opened first, following which work was started on the library".

The new library has tripled its services but above all services aimed at migrants. "The strength of the Lazzerini library lies in services offered to minorities - intercultural services for minority groups. In 1999 it created a large reading room with Chinese , Albanian, Arabic collections, and an Urdu collection for Pakistani readers. It was decided to concentrate intercultural resources in a designated space so as to highlight the new service. The message intended was to let new citizens know that the Library is meant to be a means of integrating them into the area by providing a cultural space so as to get to know the area and the opportunities it provides, as well as hosting cultural exchange. Now the area has been radically redesigned so that the multi-cultural section is separated out into a number of zones so as to bring out the idea of integration by offering opportunities for exchange between various groups who are physically close, but enjoying moments of silence and concentrated study, together with spare time activities and learning etc. When thinking about this setup it was important to show that users with a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds could share a number of services. In the large entrance hall for example there is both local information concerning Prato and the rest of the world, with a variety of books in a range of languages. Therefore there is immediately a sense that a variety of languages and cultures can exist side by side".

There are a number of rooms in the library, distributed over the first and second floors, offering literature, non-fiction and art in a range of languages. There is also a multimedia element with internet access in the online newspaper and magazine reading room where readers can access press display.com where 700 online publications are listed and accessible. There is also the possibility of taking part in courses by enrolling in Trio courses. The library is a pass point with full internet resources.