The CSBNO special undertaking was founded in 1997 to foster innovation and provide services in the area of cooperation, convergence and integration of libraries, archives, galleries and museums, and to support local cultural and artistic ecosystems. It has celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2017. As Consorzio Sistema Bibliotecario Nord-Ovest, in 2015-2016 CSBNO launched a series of new projects designed to offer personalised services for businesses, local trade and training. The CSBNO acronym is now linked to the new, broader definition “Culture, Socialità, Biblioteche, Network Operativo” (Culture, Social Relations, Libraries, Operating Network) to emphasise the new development of ideas and initiatives.
In figures: 33 municipalities | 800,000 residents | coverage of an over 300 square kilometre geographical area | 60 libraries + 2 theatres | 4 Civic Schools | 3,280 reading stations | 300 PC terminals | 300,000 traced users | 90,000 active users| 70 employees | approximately 1,550,000 total loans (books and multimedia).
