A scientific journal's contribution to the debate on shared cataloging in Italy and the future of SBN, the National Library Service

Nearly 45 years after the birth of the National Library Service (SBN), a highly valuable bibliographic tool, JLIS.it resumes, from its proper academic journal perspective, the debate on cataloging cooperation in Italy, and the national bibliographic services promoted for the benefit of the research community and the broader reading public. The journal wishes to offer a proactive contribution at a time when many bibliographic agencies and libraries are experiencing a long transition period that is forcing them to thoroughly rethink their mission. Therefore, JLIS.it has chosen to focus this issue on a problematic axis, with a critical rather than celebratory dimension, and with an open eye to the innovative global context. It seeks to seize the opportunities offered by the language of the web and to highlight some Italian experiences that are useful for redefining cataloging cooperation in the contemporary context.