Contacts

Michele Casalini was born in Florence in 1965. Following secondary studies in Information Technology and electronics, he continued to further education with studies in modern languages and literature, publishing, library sciences, computer sciences and business management. He became involved in the family business at an early age and currently holds the role of managing director.
Michele is board member of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and in the audit committee of the Associazione Amici della Musica di Firenze ONLUS.
His knowledge of, and experience in the library sector have earned him invitations to join the Database and new indicators Working Group established by the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research Institutes (ANVUR) and the Coordination Committee established by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities for the Italian translation of the RDA international cataloguing standard - Resource Description and Access.
Michele's experience and professionalism extends to the publishing sector, where he has held positions on the board of directors of the Nuova Italia publishing house, as administrator of Cadmo Edizioni and as member of the board of directors of the Giovanni Michelucci Foundation. Thanks to his keen interest in, and enthusiasm for research and innovation in relation to books and libraries, during the 1990s he was a promoter of the UN/EDIFACT standard for the book sector in Europe and in Italy, contributing both to the European EDILIBE project and to the establishment of the EDILIBRO association.
Since 1999, Michele has been one of the main organising forces behind the Fiesole Retreat, a series of international annual conferences on the future of academic information in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and STM.
He is the author of a number of essays on academic publishing, collection development in academic libraries and information science. He has held training seminars on topics ranging from digital libraries and electronic publishing to international standards in the library sector. Recently, Michele has participated in the National Strategy for Shareable Local Name Authorities National Forum, a project led by the Institute of Museum and Library Service (IMLS), and is promoter of the international Share Virtual Discovery Environment in Linked Data (Share-VDE) initiative.
Michele is affiliated to several professional and trade organisations, including the American Library Association and the Society for Scholarly Publishing.
In May 2019, Michele Casalini was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Florence in recognition of his dedication and contribution to the field of Library and Information Science.