PURPOSE

The BCS is a valuable research and working tool: - for the Salesian General Council in its task of animation and government of the Congregation.
- for members of Departments according to professional requirements.
- for the ISS (Istituto Storico Salesiano) in its research and study of Don Bosco, the Congregation and the Salesian Family.
- for the Salesian Congregation and various groups of the Salesian Family.
- for Salesians at the Generalate in Rome, as a means of theological pastoral, Salesian updating.
- for scholars interested in research into history, pedagogy, spirituality, Salesian culture etc. The BCS collects, orders and preserves books, magazines, newspapers (Osservatore Romano, Civiltà Cattolica, Catechesi, Dimensioni, and others in a variety of languages) and printed documentation of specific interest to the Congregation and the Salesian Family, putting them at the disposition of users, but at the library itself rather than by loan

CONTENT

a) The BCS came about originally through collecting books used by Don Bosco and the early Salesians, and was gradually enriched with everything that could possibly be useful in the Congregation for  formation and mission.
Thus it is a library with a distinctive Salesian character.
b) The patrimony of books and magazines kept in the BCS is divided into three sections:

• The history section which includes:
- the collection which belonged to the Oratory at Valdocco, Turin
- basic works to do with civil and religious history
- some of the most important works of the. 19th and 20th centuries from a social and religious point of view, and especially the Italian Rennaissance
- sources and studies relative to Religious Institutes dedicated to education and teaching

• The Salesianity section,  relating to publications regarding Don Bosco (books by Don Bosco and about Don Bosco): the Salesian Congregation, Salesian Works, Salesian authors, Salesian publishers
- the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
- Salesian Formation
- Salesian Youth Ministry
- Salesian Family
- Salesian Social Communication
- Salesian Missions
- Salesian Periodicals

• The Ongoing Formation section with general works on:
- religious life and Salesian spirituality
- Sacred Scripture and preaching
- theology, moral theology, liturgy, Mariology
- Church's Magisterium
- education, ministry, missions, catechesis, evangelisation, psychology, sociology
- hagiography

RESEARCH: LINK TO UPS LIBRARY

• The BCS  is networked with the UPS (Università Pontificia Salesiana) Library. This in turn is connected to the URBE (Unione Romana Biblioteche Ecclesiastiche) library network.

• Each of these libraries can be consulted via internet with direct access to each library and through them to others.
(Cf. Biblioteca Centrale Salesiana: URL: www.sdb.org
(Cf. Biblioteca della UPS: URL: www.unisal.it)
(Cf. URBE: URL: www.urbe.it)

CLASSIFICATION AND CATALOGUING

• Books have a Dewey classification, adapted to the Salesian section according to need.

•Cataloguing is achieved through a software known as Amicus; an up-to-date integrated library system, built to respond to the needs of single and networked libraries.

•The cataloguing standards in force allow for the overall management of all kinds of document (moderna nd ancient books, periodicals, audiovisuals, graphics, music, sound recordings, cartography, multimedia…)