From today in Bergamo, books can also be borrowed from the supermarket: it will happen every Saturday morning, from 9.30 to 11.30, at the Coop Lombardia sales point in Via Autostrada. The “inCoop Librarian” service is part of the “Reading as a cure” project and features the ASD San Paolo in Bianco, the Ser.e.Na. and Coop Lombardy. The project brings into play a “team” made up of one or two people with weaknesses in the association, a professional educator assistant from the Cooperative and – if needed – a volunteer from BergamoXBergamo. Citizens will be able to book, collect and deliver books from the Urban Library System.
inCoop librarian represents a new commitment for the students of Asd San Paolo in Bianco, who will put themselves to the test both in relational activities and in practical tasks such as collecting books from the Tiraboschi Library, setting up the banquet, collecting forms for new library users, registration of the loan on the platform, the story of the project to interested people. San Paolo in Bianco has been collaborating with the municipal administration for some time: from May 2021 it creates La Biblioteca a casa tua, in collaboration with the Bergamo library system and from April 2022 the Due Mani in più project, a home shopping delivery service to people in difficulty on behalf of the Coop point in cia Vela at the corner with via Broseta. “Despite all the difficulties that our kids face on a daily basis, feeling included in activities in the neighborhood and in their own city is an excellent solution to improve their self-esteem but also the relationships between them”, explains Silvia Galimberti, of the San Paolo association blank.
«With the ‘The library at your home’ project, the operators of the association deliver books to the homes of elderly users or those with serious disabilities. Given the positive outcome of this experience, it was decided to extend this collaboration by creating an activity that promotes social inclusion by setting up, one day a week, a book lending point at the Coop supermarket in via Autostrada and entrusting its management to young people from San Paolo in Bianco who will have the task of making the library service known to people who do not usually go to libraries», adds Laura Boni, head of the Bergamo SBU.
The service debuts on the eve of World Autism Awareness Day on April 2: «An important opportunity to draw everyone’s attention to the issue of self-determination, independence and autonomy of people who are on the spectrum autistic. Bergamo has long been involved in the path of social and work integration of children with autism, in building collaborations aimed at strengthening the spirit of resilience of families with autistic children, in promoting the acquisition of that awareness necessary for the creation of an increasingly welcoming. It will be an opportunity for socialization and social inclusion of extraordinary value for the young people of the association, but also for all those who will be able to relate to them», concludes Marcella Messina, councilor for social policies of the city of Bergamo.
Element5 Digital’s photo, Pexels