Abstract
The Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale (SBN) is a network connecting more than 1,000 Italian libraries in different sectors, whose combined records constitute a physical union catalogue with 9 million holdings. Since May 1997 users have had free access to this catalogue on the Internet as an OPAC; the average daily number of users is now more than 100,000. In 2000 the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico delle biblioteche italiane (ICCU), which manages the SBN, activated a portal to simplify searching and provide a view of SBN's services and databases; these include integrated search and retrieval services from various Italian and foreign archives (of libraries, museums, digital databases). It is also possible to request interlibrary loans and document delivery (if available, in electronic format), and to access records of the Register of Italian Libraries and of the Census of 16th Century Italian Printed Books. The portal offers new public services on the cultural heritage that are user-friendly and that incorporate technological developments that are compliant with international standards for the Internet and tested in the framework of European projects.
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