Agorateca

What Agorateca does

Agorateca is a municipal media library (bibliomediateca) located in Lugano, Switzerland, founded in June 2006 by the City of Lugano under the Dicastero Giovani e Lavoro. The institution operates as a free public service providing loan and consultation access to more than 40,000 titles across physical media formats including DVDs, VHS tapes, Blu-ray discs, audiobooks, books, CDs, and magazines. It is wholly owned and funded by the municipal government through the Divisione eventi e congressi, with no fees charged to users and no commercial revenue model in place.

The library's core offering centers on a curated catalog with particular emphasis on cinema, including thematic curated paths (Percorsi tematici) that organize film and reading recommendations around specific themes such as cinema history, family viewing, and cultural topics. A notable partnership with the Fonoteca Nazionale Svizzera (Swiss National Sound Archives), inaugurated in November 2006, established Agorateca as the first external listening point of the national archives, giving patrons access to Swiss-produced music and sound recordings in the country's four national languages. Additional service features include a digital catalog (old.agorateca.ch), DVD reservation system, an outdoor reading program called Park & Read, a free newsletter, and an embedded presence of Biblioteca SCILA providing Spanish-language materials.

Agorateca distributes its services exclusively through physical library locations in Lugano, with headquarters at Via Foce 1 (Sede Foce) and a secondary site at Via Trevano 53 (Sede Molino Nuovo), which is currently closed until further notice. The organization has approximately 6 employees and serves as a cultural hub for the population of Lugano and the surrounding Ticino region. There is no proprietary technology platform; operations rely on traditional library catalog systems, a WordPress-based website, and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram) for community engagement.

Name

Agorateca

Legal name

Città di Lugano

Website

https://agorateca.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Agorateca is a municipal media library in Lugano, Switzerland, operated by the City of Lugano as a free public service. It lends over 40,000 titles including DVDs, books, CDs, and audiobooks, plus Swiss National Sound Archives access.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Library / Media Lending Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (519210), Libraries and Archives (51921), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Libraries & Information Services (BPAIACAO)

Keywords

• Public library services
• Media lending library
• DVD film lending
• Municipal cultural services
• Bibliomediateca services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lugano

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Library Service: Agorateca is a free public library service funded by the City of Lugano. The service is provided at no direct cost to users, funded through municipal public budget.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Agorateca is a municipal media library (bibliomediateca) that lends and provides on-site consultation access to more than 40,000 titles spanning DVDs, VHS, Blu-ray, audiobooks, books, CDs, and magazines. It supplements physical lending with curated Thematic Paths, a Swiss National Sound Archives (Fonoteca Nazionale Svizzera) listening point, a digital searchable catalog, DVD reservation, and an outdoor Park & Read program. The service is provided free to the public and is operated by the City of Lugano.

Product overview

Agorateca is a media library (bibliomediateca) operated by the City of Lugano's Division of Events and Congresses, offering more than 40,000 titles for loan and consultation. The service provides a unified portfolio combining physical media lending (DVDs, VHS, Blu-ray) with books, audiobooks, and music CDs. Key products include the DVD/VHS/Blu-ray Lending service, Books Catalog, Audiobooks, CD/Music Collection, and the Fonoteca collaboration with the Swiss National Sound Archives. Additional services include Thematic Paths (curated film and reading collections), DVD Reservation, Park & Read outdoor reading, Newsletter, and a Digital Catalog. The library serves as a gateway to cinema and cultural content for the population of Lugano and surrounding areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DVD/VHS/Blu-ray Lending

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fonoteca Nazionale Svizzera (Swiss National Sound Archives)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 November 2006Collaboration inaugurated November 15, 2006 as 'Play the Archives!' - the first external listening point of the National Sound Archives. Through a dedicated workstation, users can access the latest musical and audio productions from Switzerland in the four national languages.
• Bibliomedia Svizzera (Bibliocentro di Biasca)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2006Bibliomedia Svizzera is a supporting partner of Agorateca, contributing to the library's mission of providing public access to media collections. The partnership helps support the library's operations and collection development.
• Città di Lugano - Divisione Eventi e CongressicoreOthersAgorateca is owned by the City of Lugano and managed by the Divisione eventi e congressi (Events and Congress Division). The library operates under the Dicastero Giovani ed Eventi department.
• Biblioteca SCILA (Società Culturale Ibero-Latino Americana)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe presence of Biblioteca SCILA within Agorateca allows users to consult books and documents in Spanish language, expanding cultural access.
• SOTELLminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with SOTELL as indicated on the website footer, supporting library operations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bibliomedia Svizzera: Swiss public library support organization and Bibliothekarischer Verein. Comparable as a public-sector library service focused on media lending and cultural access, and an existing partner of Agorateca.
• Biblioteca cantonale di Lugano: The cantonal public library serving Lugano with physical lending and reference collections. Most directly comparable peer given shared city, overlapping user base, and similar public-library mission.

Emerging players

• Internet Archive: Nonprofit digital library and archive offering free public access to digitized media. Comparable in mission (free public access to preserved media) and partial overlap with Agorateca's catalog domains.
• OverDrive: Digital lending platform serving public libraries worldwide. Comparable as an enabler of library media lending, though focused on digital rather than physical formats.
• Kanopy: Free streaming service available through public libraries. Comparable as a library-channel film distribution service overlapping with Agorateca's cinema lending domain.
• Hoopla: Digital library platform providing patron access to ebooks, audiobooks, music, and video. Comparable as a library-channel media lending service that competes with the demand for physical formats.

Regional players

• Biblioteca comunale di Mendrisio: Municipal public library serving another Ticino city. Comparable in mission, scale, and Italian-language cultural focus, though operating in a different municipality within the same canton.
• Bibliothèque municipale de Lausanne: Municipal public library system in Lausanne offering physical lending, digital access, and cultural programming. Comparable as a French-speaking Swiss municipal library with a broader operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Swiss National Library: National-level Swiss library institution offering broader collection stewardship and public access. Comparable as a publicly-funded information-services organization, though operating at a much larger national mandate.

Others

• Bibliotheca: Library technology vendor providing RFID, self-service, and library management solutions. Comparable as an enabling supplier to public libraries rather than a direct lending competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/agoratecalugano
• Instagraminstagram.com/foce_lugano
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/agorateca

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Agorateca