Among the FSCIRE libraries are the famous Giuseppe Dossetti Library, the Giorgio La Pira Library in Palermo, and the FSCIRE Archives.
The Giuseppe Dossetti Library, constantly enriched by new acquisitions, has become over the decades an essential point of reference for those who wish to deepen their knowledge of historical-religious sciences. In the library, scholars have at their disposal a patrimony of books that embraces the entire panorama of religious sciences, from the historical, exegetical and theological point of view. Over 300,000 volumes in the library’s possession are arranged on 5,323 meters of shelves, occupying an area of 2,100 square meters; an equally large area is dedicated to a newspaper and periodicals library that has 2,565 journals, either printed or in electronic format, which occupies 900 square meters, with 2,759 meters of compact shelves. The patrimony of the libraries of books and of newspapers and journals is included in the SBN and ACNP cataloguing and research systems.
The Giorgio La Pira Library is a specialized library for researchers and represents the linguistic, doctrinal and cultural diversity of Islamic history. Modeled on FSCIRE’s sixty years of experience, it was born to become the Dossetti Library’s “twin”. The first stage in the creation of the library’s patrimony centered around a nucleus consisting in the Islam section of the Dossetti Library (which is at present being digitized and transferred), the highly esteemed Noja Library (whose transfer is being requested from the commissioners of the Noja Foundation of Lesa, now inert), the Bori Library and other digital funds. Talks are also underway to host the offices of TIMA – The Islamic Manuscript Association, one of the most accredited networks of philologists. Since 2018, librarians and researchers have established, and continue to establish, collaborations and relationships with major institutions in numerous countries aimed at the acquisition of duplicates, rare items and gifts, following in the footsteps of the great libraries of Islamic tradition. Future partnerships with the European DG Devco are also nearing conclusion.
FSCIRE Libraries are open five days a week and provide scholars with reading and reference rooms extending 900 square meters with circa 50,000 reference volumes and common use sources. The libraries make their online catalogs available to all scholars.
The FSCIRE Archives are a tool and a service for the internal and external scientific community. The Archives, which consist of materials collected over the years by researchers working at FSCIRE and through donations and acquisitions from private individuals, are composed of numerous fonds pertaining to personalities who animated the History of the Catholic Church in the XIX and XX centuries, including Giuseppe Dossetti, Giacomo Lercaro, Lorenzo Milani, and Giuseppe Roncalli. One of the most important collections preserved at FSCIRE is the archive group on Vatican II, which contains 230 folders of direct sources relating to the conciliar sessions, documents and statements produced by the Council, as well as personal papers of the Council periti.
Archival resources include textual documents, on paper, like correspondences, reports, notes, and notebooks; 600 microfilm reels pertaining to several of the FSCIRE fonds; photographs; sound and video recordings. Finding aids are available for consultation at our center.