During the academic year 1961-1962, when the Institute was in the Bari University Agronomic Faculty, in Via Amendola, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari library-documentation centre was started to offer materials to students and lecturers of the first irrigation course.
The new Institute site was inaugurated on October 27th 1972 in Valenzano, where it still is. At that time the library was located into two rooms on the ground floor of building A. One room held the books and the other for customers.
In the 1980’s Eng. Nicola Fatic, worked hard to expand the library, and to make its resources available to Institute researchers and students. Towards the end of the 1980’s the library was moved to building B.
On April 10th 2002 the current seat of the Documentation Centre was inaugurated in building E behind the Great Hall, with CIHEAM Secretary General Enzo Chioccioli, cutting the ribbon.
Now, CIHEAM Bari Documentation Centre (DC) is a multimedia library specialised in Sustainable Water & Land Management in Agriculture, Innovative Approaches to IPM of Mediterranean Fruit and Vegetable Crops, Mediterranean Organic Agriculture, Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Resilience (SARe) and Open Innovation and Youth Entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean Agrifood sector.
Besides providing a vital service for MAIB students and for research, the DC is designed to be the ideal place to meet, discuss and have intercultural exchanges.
The library is entirely computerised via the SEBINA Open Library software and has around 6,400 volumes (over 11,000 titles).
FAO Depository Library: the CIHEAM Bari Library, as official designation held in Rome in 2013, gathers FAO publications and make a vital contribution to FAO’s goal of maximizing access to its publications and advancing knowledge in the Organization’s fields of expertise.
In addition, the DC edits:
• the Options Méditerranéennes issued by CIHEAM Bari (the complete series is available on the CIHEAM web site).
The DC services for users are:
• on-the-spot consultation of their own documentary sources
• document research, acquisition and provision
• internal document lending
• interlibrary lending.
including citational databases:
for data on Impact Factor (since 1999).
More than a thousand international scientific journals mostly in full-text format via:
CIHEAM Bari Documentation Centre aims to:
It is in charge of:
All users can access to the documentary information, directly via the catalogues or by asking the library staff.
The library updates its own collections and also collaborates with:
• Students regularly logged in can propose the acquisition of documentary material useful for their study course to their tutor or supervisor, who will validate the purchase.
• The Institute personnel, lecturers, researchers and consultants can directly forward their request to the Documentation centre staff.
People allowed to ask for a bibliographic search
Whoever needs to do research for study, thesis writing, updated or retrospective bibliographic searches, can use the bibliographic advice service and assistance in consulting catalogues as well as research on local or remote database available at the library simply by asking the authorized staff.
How to ask for a bibliographic search
• Go to the library during opening hours
• Call or send an e-mail to
- Wanda Occhialini - 080 4606266 - occhialini@iamb.it
- Nuray Baser - 080 4606340 - baser@iamb.it
Internal lending
Lending is authorized for students regularly enrolled on the courses and for the Institute personnel.
Lending is suspended during the second and third week of August.
External lending
Documentary material can be lent to an external authorized user if authorized by the library director, Wanda Occhialini (080 4606266 – occhialini@iamb.it).
Interlibrary lending
The library offers its users the interlibrary lending service. If document mailing is requested, a reimbursement of expenses will be demanded.
Personal data treatment of library users, acquired by the Sebina/Produx bibliographic management programme, ensures privacy protection according to Law 675 of December 31st 1996. Personal data, course title and office are uploaded onto the programme. Data are not transmitted to others.
The service is free and is based on mutual exchange. Documents are currently sent via mail. Hard or digital copies are sent for study purposes and the use is strictly personal. The user will only keep a hard copy of the received document and must cancel the electronic copy (Italian Law N. 633 /1941 and further amendments and integrations).
Document delivery is suspended during the second and the third week of August.
Photocopy reproduction is allowed according to the current copyright law. Photocopies can be done using the photocopy machine inside the Documentation Centre. The library declines all responsibility for breach of the law on photo reproduction (Italian Law N. 633 /1941 and further amendments and integrations). Other kinds of reproduction (scanner, camera, etc.) should be agreed in advance with the Documentation Centre staff.
Users who do not return books within the determined term receive a notice from the library director and in the case of loss or damage, will repay the entire cost of the book.
Users should behave ethically.
