Orton Memorial Library, administered by IICA and CATIE, is donating coffee-related bibliographic material to the Accademia del Caffè Espresso in Florence with the aim to share good practices for the production chain and to promote a more direct relationship between producers, roasters and consumers.
San Jose, 14 June 2021 (IICA). The Accademia del Caffè Espresso, a cultural center located in Florence, Italy, will receive over 500 monographs and 24 coffee-related periodicals from the library of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE, in Spanish) in an initiative aimed to promote the conscious consumption of coffee in the country and Europe as a whole.
The donation of materials related to coffee as a crop, good practices for production, and the origin of the bean was made by Orton Memorial Library, administered by IICA and CATIE.
The Accademia del Caffè Espresso was founded in Florence in 2019 by La Marzocco, a leading manufacturer of espresso machines, to broaden knowledge of espresso around the world.
“The Accademia is a multipurpose platform that combines a museum on the history of La Marzocco, coffee research labs (green coffee, roasting, cupping and sensory), and classrooms, as well as an indoor greenhouse and coffee bar to fully immerse in the world of coffee as a crop and a drink”, explained Massimo Battaglia, Lead Coffee Researcher at Accademia del Caffè Espresso.
Battaglia explained that the center would receive a collection of books and publications related to the world of coffee in its growing and harvesting stages, supplemented with documents on other products, gender, botany, climate change, and good practices for growing and processing.
“The bibliographic material will allow us to be an ambassador of quality coffee, to promote and share good practices across the supply chain, and to promote a more direct relationship between producers, roasters, and consumers”, stated Battaglia.
He further remarked that the initiative would be beneficial for the coffee sector in Latin America and the Caribbean since “the biggest problem coffee faces is the distance between the plant and the cup”.
“If we’re able to shorten that distance, we’ll bring huge benefits to producers and consumers alike, by increasing communication and information. Consumers will be better able to appreciate coffee and to know the production chain and growing territories”, highlighted the Accademia’s lead coffee researcher.
Donation process
The removal and donation of bibliographic material from Orton Memorial Library was the result of an exchange between IICA and CATIE to optimize the physical collection.
“Removal is a normal process at libraries to open space for new collections or clear out work areas. This project was undertaken by sector professionals along with Orton Memorial Library’s team of librarians, who defined the criteria for evaluation, including obsolescence, age, duplication, deterioration, and language”, explained Matilde Gómez, library coordinator.
The list of physical documents at Orton Memorial Library, located at CATIE in Turrialba, Costa Rica, was sent to institutions specialized in agriculture in the country and shared with technical specialists.
That resulted in the request of the Accademia del Caffé Espresso to receive physical documents on coffee to expand knowledge in Europe and information on this important crop.
Orton Memorial Library is undergoing a renovation of its physical space, information systems, and knowledge management to strengthen the services offered to the technical, scientific, and academic communities related to IICA, CATIE, and the member states.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
