Hospitals in the United States were the first to grasp the importance of the emotional impact a book can make on a person, and in the light of this they started setting up mini-scale libraries in many of their units (especially the oncology and psychiatry sectors, where the course of treatment and recovery is closely linked to the psychological condition of the patient). The libraries in these health-care facilities have been stocked with a wide variety of titles ranging from travel books to novels, literary classics, poetry and religious works.
In Italy, this praiseworthy practice has been imitated and is spreading rapidly. In Brescia, the initiative has been further extended by the local FSP book center, which is promoting an activity entitled Un libro sospeso (A Book Suspended) to accompany Lent this year. The project is being conducted in collaboration with the Health Office of the Diocese of Brescia and the Teresa Camplani Foundation, with La Voce del Popolo and Missione Oggi as media partners. From 2 March (Ash Wednesday) until Easter Sunday (17 April), book center customers who want to participate in this apostolic initiative can purchase a book or books to donate to the residents of the Domus Salutis Home for the Elderly in Brescia.