La Biblioteca Universitaria Alessandrina di Roma is a peripheral branch of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, whose activities are coordinated by the Directorate General for Libraries and Cultural Institutes.
Established by Pope Alexander VII Chigi to serve the Studium Urbis of Rome, the Library was designed by the architect Francesco Borromini who planned the large monumental hall, adjacent to the Church of S. Ivo, inside the Palazzo della Sapienza, on the current Corso del Rinascimento. At the end of 1670, when it was opened to the public, the Library possessed about 30,000 volumes and was equipped with an alphabetical catalog by authors and a subject catalog.
In the following centuries, it was enriched by significant purchases and donations, while the logical arrangement of the collections was perfected. In 1810 the Library obtained the printing rights for the entire territory of the Papal State and in 1870, with the transition to the Italian State, those for the province of Rome. When the spaces intended for the book collections became insufficient, the Library was moved in 1935 to the building of the Rectorate of the new university city.
In the eighties of the last century, the original structure was renovated to provide the library with more space for services. The Library was incorporated into the structure of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities at the time of its establishment in 1974. Since 1990 the Library has joined the National Library Service and is responsible for the Pole of the State Public Libraries of Rome RML.
The profile of the Library is currently essentially historical, humanistic, and legal, although, until at least the 19th century, it still had the possibility to offer scientific works and updated fundamental manuals. Consequently, and based on the D.P.R. July 5, 1995, no. 417, the mission and institutional functions of the Library are:
- to collect and preserve what of the Italian and foreign editorial production is relevant to the above-mentioned profile, taking into account the needs of users;
- to oversee the growth of the provincial archive of publications received for legal deposit (L.106/2004 and amendments);
- to preserve and enhance its historical collections;
- to document the holdings, provide bibliographic information, and ensure the circulation of documents;
- to coordinate with the University La Sapienza of Rome in forms deemed most suitable in terms of services and acquisitions;
- to coordinate with local authorities with a view to enhancing its role as a point of reference for the province of Rome.
The Library has a general reading room where it is possible to study with personal books, a multimedia room, a catalog room with exhibition space, a humanistic room, with works available for free consultation, dedicated to the consultation of the Library’s works, a bio-bibliographic room intended for the consultation of ancient, rare, and valuable documents, as well as for the free consultation of works related to bibliography, codicology, the history of publishing and printing, and the history of book illustration.
