As our academic partners are aware, for many years now ISI Florence and the prestigious Biblioteca Riccardiana (one of the oldest public libraries in the world) have been working together on a number of initiatives. When this partnership started, Dr. Giovanna Lazzi was at the helm of the Riccardiana. Our collaboration with the Riccardiana continued when Fulvio Stacchetti first and then Francesca Gallori were put in charge. Earlier this summer, Dr. Gallori became “Direttrice” of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, just a few steps away from her previous office in Palazzo Medici Riccardi. Dr. Roberta Masini was then appointed to run the Riccardiana, leaving the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze after serving there for many years in various important capacities. Also under this new directorship,  ISI Florence will continue to provide valuable volunteers to the Riccardiana. And so, just two days ago,  Dr. Stefano Baldassarri (ISI Florence director), Serena Giorgi (ISI Florence coordinator for internships and volunteer activities), and our current student Parker Banks Sutliff (University of Texas, Austin) met with Dr. Masini in her wonderful eighteenth-century office at the Riccardiana to discuss the next steps that our two institutions wish to take together. A student of Professor Maurizio Viroli at UT Austin, Parker is eager to translate texts from Italian into English for the Riccardiana and — if necessary — serve as a tour guide for English-speaking visitors. We’ll keep you posted on his “endeavors” during the semester!