As academics, we often forget on whose giants’ shoulders we stand as well: librarians 📚! My new article with Federica Olivotto, librarian of ISMEO (International Association of Mediterranean and Eastern Studies) at the African and Oriental Collections Room of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma pays tribute to those who catalogue, enter historically useful data into digital systems, assist us in our bibliographic research, and welcome us in their special collections, a quiet space – sometimes even backstage.
Our article is about a collection of items that remained largely unused “on the shelf” of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, covered with dust, until….
“Giovanni Vacca’s Oriental studies library on the shelf” not only reveals the historical value of the items in the collection, our research also led to cataloguing them in the Union catalogue of the National Library Service (OPAC SBN).
Thank you 🙏 to all librarians out there! Without your support, where would we stand?
👉 A. Bréard, F. Olivotto, “Giovanni Vacca’s Oriental Studies Library on the Shelf”, in: East and West VOL. N.S. 6 (65) – NO. 2, DECEMBER 2025
New Publication: Giovanni Vacca’s Oriental Studies Library on the Shelf
