A pioneer of international librarianship: Guido Biagi and his vision of libraries cooperation

Abstract

The idea of the international dimension of the profession has been originated since the beginning of Library Associations in 1876 in the United States and in 1877 in the United Kingdom. In the first phase of international librarianship, the international Conferences spread enthusiasm for a newly organised profession. Guido Biagi participated to some of these International Conferences and affirmed the vision of a library international profession. The paper explains his idea of the internationalisation, in which the cooperation of libraries is needed for document supply, bibliographic standards, preservation and other technical application areas, as photographic and phonographic reproduction of books. Biagi internationalisation idea has had a strong impact abroad, more than in Italy. The international librarianship idea is still based on the same motivations indicated by Biagi, but it is now more important in a global library world and is extended to innovation and education.