In 1997 the Italian Ministry of Culture launched a new project, called “Mediateca 2000”. The aim of this project is to create an infrastructure of  multimedia libraries in all Italian regions, with the purpose of satisfy the needs of  knowledge by means of the IT. The Ministry of Culture plans to involve regional and local administrations in the realisation of this project; the central government will have the function of co-ordinate the different initiatives.

The tasks of these multimedia libraries, often realised in connection with  existing libraries, are:

• promote the diffusion of  knowledge about information technologies and multimedia in support of workers and students
• create places where young people can meet
• create places where it’s possible to test innovation in teaching

The first step of the project involved some regions of the South of  Italy: 400 young person have been trained in librarianship and  information technology.

The second step of the project, coming now, plans the creation of some multimedia libraries; most of these new structures will be managed by little companies created by the same young that attended the first step of the project.