Biblioteca Nacional
Posted on March 14, 2007
Filed Under Culture |
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The Uruguayan Biblioteca Nacional (BN) has a dual role as the guardian of all books and materials published in Uruguay as well as that of a public library. The BN holds about 900,000 volumes, which for South American standards is pretty impressive , especially when you consider that the country has a population of only 3 million. Regrettably, a large percentage of Uruguayan publishers do not send them a copy of all new publications, as required by law. This will certainly create shortcomings in the historical record of the country in times to come. In spite of its many limitations, the library has an important collection of unique material related to the history of Uruguay, the gaucho culture and the War with Paraguay.
Unfortunately, the BN is underfunded to the point of neglect. According to this source, the 2003 budget for operations (excluding salaries) was only US$60,000. This is the total amount available for the upkeep of facilities, equipment, supplies, book cleaning, restoration etc. And because of it, some of the existing equipment is no longer operational and most of the materials is at risk, stored in rooms without climate control. Also, in the last 10 years, staff was cut down from 209 to 130 employees. Astonishingly, but not surprisingly, many of the library processes are in a pre-computer, pre-digital age. The plan to modernize the library systems ran into bureaucratic difficulties and is currently on hold.
Due to the severe shortage of personnel and the long hours of public access, the service to the public suffers. The users have no access to the stacks and require the assistance of the understaffed personnel. Also a large part of the materials available are not accessible to the general public and require special permission. Access to the material that is available to the general public requires time and patience.
In 2000, the library received a large donation from Japan in the form of microfilming equipment. Many of the newspapers, magazine collection and manuscripts were microfilmed and moved to storage. This material is now accessible to users through microfilm.
Although there are many other libraries in Montevideo, anyone coming from North America will quickly notice that in this aspect the Uruguayan reality is dramatically different than what you’ll find in richer countries. After all, books are expensive and modern libraries incredibly expensive. For example, the city of Minneapolis recently spent 140 million dollars just to replace the old main library building with a new one designed by César Pelli. Also, look here for a ranking of the top Academic libraries and here for some interesting statistics regarding libraries.
Other posts in Culture- Usufruct and Inheritance Issues
- Tipping Custom in Uruguay
- Things I Find Puzzling About Uruguay
- Personal Account of a Bribery in Uruguay
- Telenovelas in Latin America
- Learning Spanish Through Uruguayan Radio
- Family Structure in Uruguay
- Beach Customs in Uruguay
- A Dispassionate View of Punta del Este
- Uruguayan Mate Custom
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2 Responses to “Biblioteca Nacional”
Brazzie… since I always mix up libreria (thinking I am saying library) and biblioteca (thinking I’m saying book store. Your article has made me curious about bookstores in MVD. Are there many? books/novels in spanish reasonably priced? used bookstores?
Uruguay is a very literate country and bookstores are a common sight. There are many excellent bookstores in the Ciudad Vieja. A few of the good ones sell used books as well as new ones and have a charming decor. On 18 de Julio, Centro, is one of my favorites, Puro Verso, where you can drink Illy coffee and read the paper in a lovely atmosphere. Here’s a list of the main bookstores http://www.recorriendouruguay.com.uy/venta.php