L’editoria scientifica : Dalle biblioteche utili alle collane internazionali

The article describes the range of publications that were conceived as ways to popularise science at different levels in Italy in the second half of the 19th century. It discusses the role played by publishers in the increase in such publications and the relations with the cultural context, notably the influence of Positivism. It also analyses the Italian version of an international co-publishing operation, that of the International Scientific Series (Biblioteca Scientifica Internazionale in the Italian version), and its specificity in a country with a low level of scientific literacy compared to other European countries involved in the cp-publishing initiative.