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If you visit the British Library you will see it is chock full of people making use of a free space to work, learn and research. It’s an incubator of scholarship. London already has plenty of fancy commercial co-working spaces but nothing else like the BL. www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/st...

THE COMMUNITY LIBRARY AND DICTIONARY "NICOLA ZINGARELLI" ON THE PRESTIGIOUS "GLOBAL CAMPUS OF HUMAN RIGHTS" And if the health of a community began not in a clinic, but among the shelves of a library? Cerignola, March 13, 2026. A chain of hands crosses the city. From the old municipal library to the new home, built in the renovated schools, books pass from hand to hand. A man hands a volume, a little girl receives it, an elderly person passes it on. It’s not a move but a declaration. The new Community Library, in a city of 57,700 inhabitants in the heart of Puglia, bears the name of Nicola Zingarelli, the founder of one of Italy's most beloved dictionaries. And to every user, it offers the use of that very dictionary. As the “Community Dictionary”. Here lies the point that questions us, as jurists and as citizens. In Italy, many elderly people in the South and many migrants live daily in another language: dialect, mother tongue, Romance varieties. Law 482/1999 protects historical linguistic minorities, not these varieties. When a leaflet, an informed consent, a prescription remains only partially understood, the quality and safety of care are compromised. Not due to negligence. Due to linguistic distance. The dictionary of the great philologist and purist Nicola Zingarelli does not translate dialects and does not replace interpreters and cultural mediators. Let it be clear: it is a monolingual dictionary of standard Italian. Its strength, in terms of human rights, lies elsewhere. It removes economic and symbolic barriers to access to standard language and creates what we have called a “linguistic common resource”: a common space where anyone, regardless of income and education, can check the meaning of a diagnosis, a prescription, an administrative form. This is what we mean by “public bibliotherapy”. The right to health, as interpreted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in General Comment No. 14, includes the right to health information. General Comment No. 21 recalls that libraries are cultural institutions whose accessibility is a priority. Article 32 of the Constitution protects health as a fundamental right and collective interest. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights obliges states to ensure services that are available, accessible, acceptable, and of good quality, with accessibility expressly including information. Yet almost half of Europeans, according to a 2024 Council of Europe report, have limited health literacy. In Chisinau, on March 26, 2026, it was reiterated that this is a major obstacle to the implementation of Article 11 of the European Social Charter. Reading, understanding, choosing: without these abilities, the right to health remains an abstract promise. Cerignola responds concretely. And the first three months tell this story with numbers, not slogans: more than 7,500 new visitors, 526 new members, 1,293 participants in workshops. A study from Yale University in 2016, on 3,635 participants over 50 followed for 12 years, observed that those who read books died on average 20 percent less frequently than those who did not read. It is not proof that reading extends life but a strong hint that reading contributes to health. Not every library is a clinic, nor do we want it to become one. But a boxed collection, in transit, cannot be borrowed, consulted, shared. And an inaccessible collection does not benefit anyone's health. The human chain in Cerignola has restored availability and accessibility, transforming a stored inventory into a vibrant public service. England has integrated social prescribing into its National Health Service since 2019. The UNESCO Manifesto for Public Libraries promotes them as social and health hubs. When a library is forced to close, the issue is not just the cost. It is the legitimacy of a regressive measure, for which the state must bear the burden of proof. From here, four steps to ensure Cerignola is not an exception. First: integrate health literacy into national planning, with information in clear language and, where appropriate, in dialects and migrant languages, disseminated through libraries. Second: recognize public libraries as relevant infrastructure for the right to health, with stable funding and a human rights impact assessment before any closure. Third: support the Coalition for Health Literacy and Human Rights and the Rome Declaration, which the Council of Europe will discuss in Rome on December 4, 2026, and measure health literacy with ISTAT data disaggregated by language and age. Fourth: rigorously assess community libraries, not for attendance but for health literacy and access to services. Rights, like the books of Cerignola, if left boxed do not heal anyone. They must come out of boxes, pass from hand to hand, become comprehensible words. If you believe that a library can also be a health hub, spread this story. Cerignola has shown the way. Now it is up to the institutions to follow it. (translated)

What if the health of a community began not in a clinic, but among the shelves of a library? Cerignola, 13 March 2026. A chain of hands crosses the town. From the old municipal library to the new home, created in renovated schools, the books pass from hand to hand. A man hands over a volume, a child receives it, an older person passes it on. It is not a move. It is a statement. The new Community Library, in a town of 57,700 people in the heart of Puglia, bears the name of Nicola Zingarelli, the founder of one of Italy’s best loved dictionaries. And it offers every user the use of that very dictionary. As a “Community Dictionary”. Here is the point that questions us, as lawyers and as citizens. In Italy many older people in the South and many migrants live every day in another language: dialect, language of origin, Romance variety. Law 482/1999 protects historic linguistic minorities, not these varieties. When a patient leaflet, an informed consent form, a prescription remain only half understood, the quality and safety of care suffer. Not through negligence. Through linguistic distance. The dictionary of the great philologist and member of the Accademia della Crusca from Cerignola, Nicola Zingarelli, does not translate dialects and does not replace interpreters and cultural mediators. To be clear: it is a monolingual dictionary of standard Italian. Its strength, in human rights terms, lies elsewhere. It removes economic and symbolic barriers to access to the standard language and creates what we have called a “common linguistic resource”: a common space where anyone, whatever their income and schooling, can check the meaning of a diagnosis, a prescription, an administrative form. This is what we mean by “public bibliotherapy”. The right to health, as interpreted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in General Comment №14, includes the right to health information. General Comment №21 recalls that libraries are cultural institutions whose accessibility is a priority. Article 32 of the Constitution protects health as a fundamental right and a collective interest. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights obliges States to guarantee services that are available, accessible, acceptable and of good quality, with accessibility expressly including information. Yet almost half of Europeans, according to a Council of Europe report of 2024, have limited health literacy. In Chisinau, on 26 March 2026, it was restated that this is a major obstacle to the implementation of Article 11 of the European Social Charter. To read, to understand, to choose: without these abilities, the right to health remains an abstract promise. Cerignola responds in a concrete way. And the first three months tell it with numbers, not with slogans: more than 7,500 new visitors, 526 new members, 1,293 participants in workshops. A Yale University study of 2016, on 3,635 participants over 50 followed for 12 years, observed that those who read books died on average 20 per cent less often than those who did not read. It is not proof that reading lengthens life. It is a powerful sign that reading contributes to health. Not every library is a clinic, nor do we want it to become one. But a boxed up collection, in transit, cannot be borrowed, consulted, shared. And an inaccessible collection does no good to anyone’s health. The human chain of Cerignola restored availability and accessibility, turning a stored inventory into a living public service. England has integrated social prescribing into its National Health Service since 2019. The UNESCO Manifesto for Public Libraries promotes them as social and health posts. When a library is forced to close, the question is not only cost. It is the legitimacy of a regressive measure, for which the State must bear the burden of proof. From here, four steps to ensure Cerignola does not remain an exception. First: integrate health literacy into national planning, with information in plain language and, where appropriate, in dialects and migrant languages, spread with the libraries. Second: recognize public libraries as infrastructure relevant to the right to health, with stable funding and a human rights impact assessment before every closure. Third: support the Coalition for Health Literacy and Human Rights and the Rome Declaration, which the Council of Europe will discuss in Rome on 4 December 2026, and measure health literacy with ISTAT data broken down by language and age. Fourth: evaluate community libraries with rigour, not by attendance but by health literacy and access to services. Rights, like the books of Cerignola, if they stay boxed up cure no one. They must come out of the boxes, pass from hand to hand, become an understood word. If you believe that a library can also be a health post, share this story. Cerignola has shown the way. Now it is up to the institutions to follow it. (translated)

Antoine Léaument described the stock shortages of the LFI program in hundreds of bookstores as a success. He estimated that the Insoumis would win with Mélenchon and called for participation in the big meeting scheduled for the next day at Le Bourget. #LFI #Mélenchon #Bourget (translated)

please sign these petition, started by British Library workers, demanding that the okans to privatise reading rooms and outsource security services are halted. (I for one had not realised the plan included the latter: the security staff at the BL are lovely and it would be awful to see them lost)

The Budget Commission of the Chamber proposed to remove three provisions from the Budget Law, including the one on digital books at reduced prices, due to criticism received from publishers and booksellers who considered it unnecessary and harmful. #LeggeDiBilancio #LibriDigitali #Editoria (translated)

‘Plans to turn British Library’s science and social sciences reading rooms into pay-to-use co-working spaces have divided those who use the space’ As a regular BL user, gonna say this hasn’t ‘divided’ anyone. It’s an awful idea that shouldn’t come to pass But that it’s even mooted speaks volumes

The publication accused its interlocutor of lying about the Angrois case and stated that it had been warned of the danger of transitioning from a straight high-speed track to a very dangerous curve, which, it claimed, was built that way to save on compensation. It also criticized attributing the accident to the human factor of the train driver while, as it wrote, others involved had been let off. (translated)

DOD: "Sailors aboard USS George Washington voted during a voting rodeo event held in the ship's library last month. Navy Chaplain (Lt.) Matkins, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command's voting assistance officer, organized the event for sailors currently deployed to 5th Fleet area of operations."

Since the ban on the distribution of Sally Rooney's novels in the UK due to her support for Palestine Action, Irish bookstores are facilitating access to her works for British readers, resulting in renewed interest in her writings. #SallyRooney #LibrairieIrlandaise #LibresDeVendre (translated)

The author stated that his book continues to spark debate and attract new readers every day despite what he described as a boycott from public services, a press he deemed conformist, and some booksellers, as well as insults on social media. He thanked those who, in his opinion, ignored the directives of his opponents. (translated)

Scipion announced the release of his book *Passion Foot*, which he stated is available in bookstores, at Fnac and Cultura, as well as online on Amazon. He also offered to give away three signed copies to those who would tell him which memorable Ligue 1 player they were thinking of. https://t.co/JMCVqk47Va #PassionFoot #Ligue1 #Concours (translated)

Charles Alloncle indicated that the tour to present his book was set to continue in Marseille on Friday, October 30, with a signing session scheduled from 5:30 PM at the bookstore Les Arcenaulx, in the presence of MPs Franck Allisio and Olivier Fayssat. He thanked his supporters and stated that his book, "I Swear to Tell the Whole Truth," was among the bestsellers in France for the fourth consecutive week, despite what he termed a media boycott. #Littérature #Dédicace #TourDeFrance (translated)

The author described the manuscript as the oldest complete copy of the Hebrew Bible, dating it to 1008–1009 CE and saying it was written in Cairo by the scribe Samuel ben Jacob. They said it was held by the National Library of Russia in St Petersburg under shelfmark Firkovich B 19 A, and that it formed the basis of the main modern scholarly work. https://t.co/yKYJJ4duVt #HebrewBible #Manuscript #History #IL #RU #EG