THE MARIA DOLENS PEACE LIBRARY
The Maria Dolens Peace Library is located next to the Archive of the Opera Campana dei Caduti Foundation. Its purpose is to provide students, teachers and researchers with up-to-date and scientifically rigorous documentation on issues of peace for the study of conflict, non-violence and human rights. The Library also constitutes a tool for research and study for the activities of the Foundation itself, in particular for peace education initiatives geared to students.
The Library is open to the public every day and works in collaboration with other libraries in the local area. It is part of the Trentino Library System, and its catalogue can be consulted online on the Trentino Library Catalogue website .The Maria Dolens Peace Library is constantly growing; it currently holds over 300 volumes, mostly in English.
It is the only regional library specialising in issues of peace and the study of conflict
It is the only regional library specialising in issues of peace and the study of conflict and, with its extensive reading room, it is an ideal place of research and consultation for university students preparing theses or doctorates on such topics. The library is also a point of documentary reference for the activities of the International University of People's Institutions for Peace, the Balkan Observatory, NGOs and associations working for peaceful cooperation among peoples.
Topics covered by the books held in the library encompass the entire field of peace studies from a multidisciplinary perspective. Subject include the representation of peace and war in mass media, the psychology of peace and conflict, the role of religions in maintaining peace, the concepts of peace, war and non-violence in politics, history, ethology and sociology, the economic background of global conflict, the ecological consequences of conflict and international crises around the control of natural resources, and the history of major conflicts of the modern age, with particular emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Balkan wars.
The Library has established collaborative relations and exchange of materials with other libraries and institutions such as the Luigi Sturzo Institute, the Lelio Basso Foundation for people's rights and self-determination and the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal.
The Library also contains CDs, DVDs and journals in Italian and English published by international peace research institutes. At the disposal of users is a dossier of files enumerating university departments, foundations, public and private institutions and museums around the world which are undertaking research and study into conflict and the promotion of peace.
