EDIlibro

The "Associazione italiana per l'EDI nel settore del libro", EDIlibro, was formally established by nearly forty founder members on 28 March 1996 in Milan. With the support of EDItEUR, a preliminary meeting was held on 21 March 1995 at the British Council in Rome. The aim was to co-ordinate the interest in establishing an awareness centre for the EDI standard in the Italian book sector. In the following months numerous meetings ensued with the participation of the three associations AIE (Italian Publishers Association), AIB (Italian Library Association) and ALI (Italian Booksellers Association); the Regione Lombardia, Aster, the publishers Mondadori, Rizzole, Editrice Bibliografica, Informazioni Editoriali as well as the exporter Casalini Libri and the distributor Messaggerie Libri. In these meetings the EDIlibro statute was conceived and the Association's main objectives were defined.

The main objectives of EDIlibro are:

to encourage the knowledge and diffusion of the EDI standard in Italy among all members of the book sector including publishers, distributors, wholesalers, booksellers, libraries
to ensure, as the Italian point of reference, the maintenance and supervision of contacts with and the continuance and updating of the EDI standards
to participate in the work necessary for the national and international standardisation in the sector
to work towards the co-ordination and eventual execution of research in the sector
to prepare, collect and distribute documentation and information to be placed at the disposal of associates
to organise seminars, training and updating courses.

The development of a co-ordinated plan of action with EDItEUR and with parallel associations in other countries will be a determining factor in the rapid and effective diffusion of the EDI standard throughout the book sector within each country.