The ABSIDE Project

Pier Giacomo Sola, Amitié, Italy

Bologna, 16-17 January 2003

Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali Direzione Generale per i Beni Librari e gli Istituti Culturali

ABSIDE: Apprendere in Biblioteca: la Società dell’Informazione contro la

Discriminazione e l’Emarginazione

Abside is a project carried out within the framework of the EQUAL Programme, launched by the European Union to facilitate inclusion of disadvantaged population.

The acronym means: “Learning in Libraries: the Information Society facing discrimination

and exclusion”

The Background:The Cremisi Project

The Cremisi Project, promoted in 1997 by Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali Ambientali – Direzione Generale per i Beni Librari e gli Istituti Culturali (the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage), created a network of multimedia halls in National Libraries, focusing on providing training courses either for librarians, workers and citizens. It ended in 2000.

The Idea:Library is an Open Learning Space

Abside starts from the consideration that the library, one of the few structures uniformly distributed in Italy, can be a perfect place for “learning”.

This resource is particularly efficient towards a public who can perceive the library as a “friendly” source,

open and available for the most part of the day, reachable without long journeys, otherwise necessary

to attend courses offered in big cities.

The project, to be ended in November 2004, will develop and test new training models to support people who are in a weak and situation with regards to labour market.

The pedagogical methodologies used in the framework of the project integrate individual training, Open and

Distance Learning and practical activities, in order to create a flexible and useful

fruition for the beneficiaries.

The Objective:Developing New Training Models

The ODL materials developed and used in the framework of the project will provide horizontal knowledge regarding new technologies - their potentialities and their specific applications to telework – and professional competencies, both generic and transversal ones.

The Training Offer

The Beneficiaries:Criteria used to identify them

A) Market opportunities, to promote the development of SMEs on the market;B) Young people, to promote skills for self-employability and entrepreneurships;

C) People living in rural and mountain areas, facing little training and working opportunities forcing them

to move towards cities;D) Social exclusion, especially focusing on people in or

quitting prison, offering training course to promote social inclusion and job opportunities.

E) Linguistic discrimination, to facilitate integration of recent migrants;F) Youngsters, mainly in main cities’ suburbs, to guide them towards new professions;

G) People physically and psychically disabled, increasing experience of pilot libraries and

documentation centres especially set-up for them;H) Gender discrimination, addressing women who encounter difficulties in entering or re-entering the

labour market.

The Beneficiaries:Criteria used to identify them

I) Cultural discrimination, limiting job opportunities to young people with a humanities degree;J) Access to information, to support educational and training systems easily accessible by everybody in each library, wherever located. 

The Beneficiaries:Criteria used to identify them

The Training Offer

1. Creating Learning Spaces within public libraries; training librarians to act as tutors;2. Identification, design, development and purchase of training materials for the ODL;

3. Activation and experimental supply of courses 4. Development of a credits system

5. Support, awareness raising, information and dissemination activities

6. Transnational exchanges with similar experiences

The Multimedia Halls

Each multimedia hall is (will be) equipped for e-learning with PCs, printers, etc., and connected to the Internet so as to promote a collaborative learning environment

Their main role is to be a demonstration centre to facilitate partnership with other organisations

interested in promoting local cultural and economic development.

Research Centres: Amitié Professional associations: Associazione

Italiana Biblioteche Companies: Comerint Higher education: Università della Tuscia Trade Unions: Cisl and CGILSectoral associations: Associazione CDH

(disabled)COSPE (migrants)Lilith (women)

The Project Management:Connecting the Social Actors

The following organisations are supporting the project:Ministero per i Beni e le Attività CulturaliMinistero della Pubblica IstruzioneMinistero di Grazia e GiustiziaRegione Abruzzo, Calabria, Campania,

Emilia-Romagna, Lombardia, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Toscana, Umbria

Comune di RomaProvince di Parma e Salerno

Policy Issues:Impact on Local and National Agenda

Conclusions

- High communication and relational competences are requested to librarians. - He/she does not play only the traditional role of static interface to the fruition of knowledge, but also assumes the role of tutor, consultant, guide for people going to the library. - The approach is flexible, because it adapts modalities, quantity and typology of the services offered, according to the specific local needs.

The librarian/tutor does not substitute other people and organisations already present on his/her area, but becomes the main reference point (one stop shop) of the training needs, providing advice and addressing the users to other offices with more specific competences.

Conclusions

The role played by the national, regional and local administrations in the project is very important, because it guarantees:- the quality of the process of updating the skills of library personnel;- the availability of spaces dedicated to learning, hosted by public libraries;- a close connection with the other organisations working on social issues.

Conclusions

To Know Something More

Tel: ++39.051.27.31.73Fax: ++39.051.65.60.402Email: amitie@amitie.itURL: http://www.abside.net

Pier Giacomo SolaAmitiévia Val d’Aposa, 3I-40123 BOLOGNA