Shifting Shelves, Shifting Paradigms

A subtle and almost imperceptible change has been taking place in libraries for some years now. Going away or gone is the traditional notion that libraries are confined to book collections. Instead, libraries refer to what they have in terms of print and electronic collections, the latter being retrieved by machines on site, off-site, or through mobile devices, such as smart phones. Another development among various types of libraries, including academic ones, is that their space is no longer used exclusively for quiet reading. The Monastero San Benedetto library and its collections are not exempt from changes in both what they hold and how their resources are used.

When the handsome bookshelves were constructed in time for the library’s inauguration and blessing in 2003, they seemed perfectly adequate for the need at hand. In fact, the books owned by the monastery at the time were too few to fill the shelves. Over time, of course, the holdings grew and there were various discussions and proposals offered on how to alleviate the overcrowded shelves and the backlog of books waiting for a permanent spot. Today, as in the beginning, priority has been given to the “sub-collections”: works on liturgy, monasticism, and patristics. This focus on formative texts has put perspective on the disposition of books containing all other subjects. For now at least, prioritization has helped to solve the issue of shelf space. The purchase of some very nice portable shelving, too, has both given additional space for books and helped carve out a new location for community and individual activities such as classes, recreation, meetings, and reading.

One of the more interesting developments noted on this author’s visit in 2011 was a small digitization project which reflects, in microcosm, a broader societal trend toward ubiquitous mobile communications. One of the monks of the community who needs to travel frequently has found a way to observe the monastic orario while away from the community through use of a digitized Antiphonale Monasticum placed on his iPhone. A future possibility is that he may have the Breviary digitized for his phone as well. Although the books used for the liturgy of the hours are not technically part of the library collections, it is worthwhile to note that these two highly valued texts are in the process of going mobile. This may have profound implications for library resources, particularly if older, heavily used texts become digitized and used, while bypassing the library’s physical space.

As a result of this development locally, and a proliferation of this pattern in libraries worldwide, we can say that the word “library” has been redefined or that “collections” are a more adequate substitute for the former term. The monastery’s most important texts will always be those selected for its sub-collections and it is certainly conceivable that some of these will qualify for digitization and access from anywhere, any time. However, necessity and the transitional states of publishing, technology, and the monastery’s existing library holdings will all play a part in what will redefine the “library” for the monks of Norcia.