Reading Societies and their Social Exclusivity: Dalmatia in the First Half of the 19th century Jelena Lakuš,
[email protected] University J. J. Strossmayer in Osijek, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Information Sciences Libellarium, I, 1 (2008): 51 — 74. UDK: 027.9:930.85(497.58)”18” Izvorni znanstveni rad Received: April 10, 2007. Summary Reading societies, known as the gabinetto di lettura, or the casino, appeared in Dalmatia in the middle of the 18th century modelled on their Western European, North Italian and Austrian counterparts. They became centres of social and cultural life in the region. However, their number was very small in comparison with other Central and Western European countries. In spite of that, their statutes can serve a historian as very fertile and useful historical sources. First of all, they can reveal the importance given to books and reading as well as changing attitude towards reading in the course of time. They can also indicate social structure of the reading circles as well as the interaction and communication among the members. In addition, they can reveal the participation of women in social and cultural life, internal functioning of the society, etc. Based on the statutes of several reading societies of the 19th century, this work suggests several important issues. First, it shows that in the first half of the 19th century the membership of these societies was still select and prestigious, acquired by position on the social scale. In other words, reading societies were still confined to very narrow social circles of the educated. Although in Western parts of Europe the reading public became more heterogeneous and open, in Dalmatia reading still preserved its exclusive features.