Vatican Brick-and-Mortar Library: Still Reopening This Fall

I wrote, back in July, about the Vatican Library upgrade - and why libraries in general are special for me. Both of my parents being librarians was a factor, I'm pretty sure.

The Vatican Apostolic Library is back in the news today. Part of the Vatican Information Service article is just a confirmation that restoration work is on-schedule, and that the reopening date is September 20, 2010. Part of it explains why the work was necessary. Here's an excerpt:

"REOPENING OF THE VATICAN APOSTOLIC LIBRARY"
Vatican Information Service (English) (September 13, 2010)

"Following three years of restoration work, the Vatican Apostolic Library is due to reopen its doors on 20 September....

"The wing in which the collections are kept was in need of structural repair work including strengthening the floor which was showing signs of subsiding, bringing large areas of the building into line with safety norms, and moving a number of sectors in order to rationalise access to the works.

"During the course of the press conference it was announced that an exhibition entitled 'Knowing the Vatican Apostolic Library: a story open to the future' will open in the Vatican's Charlemagne Wing on 10 November. It was further announced that a congress will be held from 11 to 13 November on the theme: 'The Vatican Apostolic Library as a place of research and an institution at the service of scholars'."

As I pointed out in that July post, those 'secret Vatican documents' you hear about from time to time have been available online at vatican.va, even when the brick-and-mortar research library was closed. Good thing, too, since I'm not likely to ever visit Rome in person.

Related posts:

• "Art, Catholic Teachings, and This Catholic"
  (August 9, 2010)
• "Vatican Brick-and-Mortar Library Reopening This Fall"
  (July 26, 2010)