Libraries as incubators for digital entrepreneurship in Italy

Italy's 7,425 libraries could serve as a powerful network for fostering digital entrepreneurship, offering spaces, infrastructure, and knowledge dissemination. The current model of innovation hubs, supported by investment funds and private investors, has produced successes but also failures. The article proposes leveraging existing library networks, which already have physical spaces, digital infrastructure, and connections to the public sector, to support aspiring entrepreneurs. Missing elements include funding for equipment and connections to investors and industry. These could be addressed through partnerships with chambers of commerce, which are present in every province, and by positioning libraries as a marketplace for digital investment. The author argues that this model is structurally and economically advantageous and worth piloting.