National Library of Venezuela
Encyclopedia
Biblioteca Nacional de Venezuela (BN) (National Library of Venezuela), is a central repository of books and newspapers
of Venezuela
, has the right to receive a copy of every book printed in Venezuela by a Venezuelan publisher. It collects books and magazines published in the country. It was established in Caracas
in 1833. It has approximately 7.1 million volumes in its collection.
The beginning of the idea of a Venezuelan national library dates from independence times and is associated with the name of Juan Germán Roscio
, a noteworthy Venezuelan ideologist and patriot who had the initiative to promote the opening of a public library for Caracas
. The National Library of Venezuela was officially founded on July 13, 1833 during the government of José Antonio Páez
for the purpose of providing the Venezuelans of that time with the opportunity to gain an education. At present, the National Library and Library Services Autonomous Institute keep their doors open to the national community, so they can be informed, educated and take an active part in their educational process.
During the 19th century, a convulsive time in Venezuela, the national library lacked its own premises and operated in an itinerant way. It was only during the second decade of the 20th century when the first steps were taken to arrange for a home of its own, next door to the University of Caracas and the ex-San Francisco Convent. There, in 1911, the National Library was established in what was going to be its headquarters for some decades.
Throughout the 20th century, the National Library was not foreign to the ups and downs of the country's political instability. This resulted in an uneven period of stagnation in spite of the single-handed efforts of each of its directors which took a long time to be overcome.
In 1937 Enrique Planchart is designated director of the National Library. During the first two years of his administration, an annex of 5 floors with the capacity to store 175,000 volumes was constructed next to the headquarters of the San Francisco Convent. Planchart started the modernization of the institution, introducing the cataloging system according to the rules of the Library of Congress
in Washington D.C.. As a result, it was revealed that the Venezuelan Library had 115,000 volumes in its collection.
By 1952, it had increased its collection to about 200,000 volumes, including pamphlets and newspapers, and had a workforce of 68 employees. The same year Enrique Planchart retired, Lucila Pérez Díaz assumed direction of the library. The Newspapers section was organized in accordance with the rules of the National Library of Spain, and a counselling service was launched to support the users. Also initiated were exhibitions, concerts, recitals, and cultural performances.
During the mid-1970s when, in the light of a favorable political and economic reality, the conditions are given for the reappearance of the early Utopia, with unusual vitality and enthusiasm. The crusade for the collective reinvention of the national library began in 1974 when president Carlos Andrés Pérez
appointed a commission integrated by several personalities, among them Pedro Grases
, Tomás Sanabria and Virginia Betancourt, the latter then Executive Secretary of the Banco del Libro, The objective of the commission was to propose ideas and opine about where the library should go, its legal context, where its headquarters could be sited and what kind of construction it would require.
In 1975, the Ministry of Public Works accepted the commission's recommendation and proposed the construction of a new building within the context of a more ambitious urban development project, the so-called Foro Libertador (Liberator Forum). In 1976, the architectural project was entrusted to the architectural firm Sanabria Arquitectos, S.A. On July 27, 1977 the National Library and Library Services Autonomous Institute was created.
The main Headquarters of the National Library of Venezuela are located in Caracas
, were designed by Architect Tomás Sanabria, being started in 1981, and occupied in 1989. This building of 80,000 sq.m. gross. In this building, an assorted range of design determinants, specialized construction techniques, environmental features of a state of the art library construction and sophisticated operating and control system are brought together. It was designed to house up to 5,800,000 volumes and sit up to 1,700 users in 11 reading rooms. Together with the National Pantheon
, the National Archives, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice
, the San Carlos Barracks, and other government buildings, conforms the Liberator Forum.
This service is responsible for the preservation and conservation of documents of great value to the national memoir, using alternate supports such as microfilm and facsimiles in order to preserve for the future fragile and unstable materials which require special care to guarantee their permanence through time for future generations. Additionally, it offers advice on conservation matters to public and private institutions in Venezuela, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Legal Deposit
number is the national number which identifies each work, product or production. The request of same is mandatory for works published or produced in Venezuela on any format or support. Said number must be printed on a visible place on the work published or produced.
At the Center of Documentation, Information and Library Science (CEDINBI) we find Venezuela's most complete library and information Sciences specialized collection. It eases access to the sources for pre and post-graduate students, professionals and specialists on the matter. The acknowledge of a library and archives organization, conservation, professional training, information services management and Library Architecture is available here.
and the Caribbean
, for everyone's consultation.
Divulging Publications are educational-formative materials, aimed to guide citizens on priority issues and presented in an easy-comprehension language in order to improve the quality of life of readers in general. They are prepared by a multidisciplinary theam whose members belong to several public and private organizations, under the coordination of the National Library.
s and magazine
s in Venezuela
, from the 19th century through our days. National and International milestones through time are available to those interested.
This service is a unique heritage of the national and universal culture, its collection is based on Venezuelan and foreign works from the 15th through the 17th centuries. It also includes works and collections on subsequent centuries from prominent Venezuelan and foreign people, such as Francisco de Miranda
, José María Vargas
, Arístides Rojas, Pedro Manuel Arcaya (With more than 170,000 volumes), Alexander Humboldt, Pablo Neruda
, the Tratatus domini of Nicolai de Ubaldis, an Italian 1471 manuscript, considered as an Inquisitors' Manual, the Calendario manual y guía universal de forasteros en Venezuela, first book printed in Venezuela in 1810 attributed to Andrés Bello
, the natural studies collection of Mayeul Grisol, the original rough draft of Memorias de Mamá Blanca of Teresa de la Parra
, a collection of autographed works of different authors, among other things.
It is the depositary center for Venezuela's documental and audio-visual patrimony, composed by the following collections:
, the Public Libraries National System is integrated by 685 library services distributed over the whole national territory. The Metropolitan Network of Public Libraries embraces the Great Caracas
Area and has 41 library services. At the Tulio Febres Cordero Reading Room in Mérida
, it is possible to consult Venezuelan newspapers from the early days of the 19th century which spread the renewing ideas that set off Emancipation from Spain
.
National library
A national library is a library specifically established by the government of a country to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books...
of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, has the right to receive a copy of every book printed in Venezuela by a Venezuelan publisher. It collects books and magazines published in the country. It was established in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
in 1833. It has approximately 7.1 million volumes in its collection.
History
Juan Germán Roscio
Juan Germán Roscio , was a Venezuelan lawyer and politician of Italian background, served as the secretary of foreign affairs for the Junta of Caracas, and the main editor of the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence,. Roscio was also the chief architect of the Venezuelan Constitution of 1811.-...
, a noteworthy Venezuelan ideologist and patriot who had the initiative to promote the opening of a public library for Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
. The National Library of Venezuela was officially founded on July 13, 1833 during the government of José Antonio Páez
José Antonio Páez
José Antonio Páez Herrera was General in Chief of the army fighting Spain during the Venezuelan Wars of Independence, in addition to becoming the President of Venezuela once it was independent of the Gran Colombia...
for the purpose of providing the Venezuelans of that time with the opportunity to gain an education. At present, the National Library and Library Services Autonomous Institute keep their doors open to the national community, so they can be informed, educated and take an active part in their educational process.
During the 19th century, a convulsive time in Venezuela, the national library lacked its own premises and operated in an itinerant way. It was only during the second decade of the 20th century when the first steps were taken to arrange for a home of its own, next door to the University of Caracas and the ex-San Francisco Convent. There, in 1911, the National Library was established in what was going to be its headquarters for some decades.
Throughout the 20th century, the National Library was not foreign to the ups and downs of the country's political instability. This resulted in an uneven period of stagnation in spite of the single-handed efforts of each of its directors which took a long time to be overcome.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in Washington D.C.. As a result, it was revealed that the Venezuelan Library had 115,000 volumes in its collection.
By 1952, it had increased its collection to about 200,000 volumes, including pamphlets and newspapers, and had a workforce of 68 employees. The same year Enrique Planchart retired, Lucila Pérez Díaz assumed direction of the library. The Newspapers section was organized in accordance with the rules of the National Library of Spain, and a counselling service was launched to support the users. Also initiated were exhibitions, concerts, recitals, and cultural performances.
During the mid-1970s when, in the light of a favorable political and economic reality, the conditions are given for the reappearance of the early Utopia, with unusual vitality and enthusiasm. The crusade for the collective reinvention of the national library began in 1974 when president Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to...
appointed a commission integrated by several personalities, among them Pedro Grases
Pedro Grases
Pedro Grases, , was a Venezuelan writer, historian and literary critic. He won the National Prize for Literature in 1993.- See also :*Literature of Venezuela...
, Tomás Sanabria and Virginia Betancourt, the latter then Executive Secretary of the Banco del Libro, The objective of the commission was to propose ideas and opine about where the library should go, its legal context, where its headquarters could be sited and what kind of construction it would require.
In 1975, the Ministry of Public Works accepted the commission's recommendation and proposed the construction of a new building within the context of a more ambitious urban development project, the so-called Foro Libertador (Liberator Forum). In 1976, the architectural project was entrusted to the architectural firm Sanabria Arquitectos, S.A. On July 27, 1977 the National Library and Library Services Autonomous Institute was created.
Headquarters
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, were designed by Architect Tomás Sanabria, being started in 1981, and occupied in 1989. This building of 80,000 sq.m. gross. In this building, an assorted range of design determinants, specialized construction techniques, environmental features of a state of the art library construction and sophisticated operating and control system are brought together. It was designed to house up to 5,800,000 volumes and sit up to 1,700 users in 11 reading rooms. Together with the National Pantheon
Panteón Nacional
The Panthéon is a building in the northern edge of the old town of Caracas, Venezuela. It was originally built as a church, but is now used as a famous burial place...
, the National Archives, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice
Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Venezuela)
The Supreme Tribunal of Justice is the highest court of law in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and is the head of the judicial branch.The Supreme Tribunal may meet either in specialized chambers or in plenary session...
, the San Carlos Barracks, and other government buildings, conforms the Liberator Forum.
Design features (flexibility and modular design)
- Floor loading of 750 kg/sq.m. or 1,200 kg/sq.m
- Air-conditioning system capable of the range of adjustments necessary for both the comfort of people and the conservation and preservation of the collections.
- Triple underfloor duct systems to permit easy access to power lines, telephone lines, computer cables, etc.
- Luminous ceiling and lighting fixtures with linear and diffuser.
- Fire protection system in accordance with the programmed uses of the building.
- Workshops and laboratories for conservation, microfilming, book binding and photography; coolers and freezers.
- Central Security and Control Console whereby all systems operating in the building can be controlled from a single post.
Multi-use rooms
They are spaces available in the National Library of Venezuela for the community, equipped with acoustics and technical conditioning which result for the cultural action and diffusion activities.- Juan Bautista PlazaJuan Bautista PlazaJuan Bautista Plaza Alfonso was a classical composer. He began studies in medicine at the Central University of Venezuela but, with time, left in order to dedicate himself to music. His first teacher was Jesus Maria Suárez. He studied in Rome from 1920 and 1923 and obtained the title of...
Room: With a capacity of 451 seats, totally equipped for the carrying out of several activities and shows, this room has security personnel and private parking lot. - Manuel Segundo Sánchez Room: With a capacity of 70 persons, is an ideal space for the carrying out of several activities such as seminaries, conferences and concerts, among others.
- Enrique Planchart Room: With capacity of 50 persons, it constitutes an ideal space for board meetings and internal events of institutions which may require it. Independent space for sanitary services and snacks.
Mission and vision
- To coordinate, assist and regulate the national system for libraries and information.
- To compile, organize, preserve and divulge the bibliographic, the non-bibliographic and the audio-visual patrimony documenting the collective memory of the nation and the relevant wider sources of information, in order to facilitate universal access to information by all the population, and so contributing to the upbringing of creative, critically minded, citizens committed to the productive and democratic development of Venezuela.
- To be the State organization, a leader in the standardization and application of information and documentation policies, charged with an efficient techno-functional structural platform, which encourages information and documentation organizations and the development and consolidation of the aforesaid services, backed by a highly trained staff, with a solid education in the areas of its competence, capable of developing financial strategies, to promote human creativity and the education of readers to be critical, selective, informed, free and productive citizens as an agent of personal development and social change.
Librarian Technical Services
This service coordinates the technical processes required in order to guarantee the complete operation of the National Library and the Public Libraries National System. It selects, acquires, classifies, catalogues and distributes bibliographical and non-bibliographical materials. It develops and maintains the National Library Automated Information Service (SAIBIN) to which sixteen public and private institutions are connected.Documental Preservation National Center
Legal Deposit Service
It is ruled by the law on Legal Deposit and its Regulation, a Juridical Norm of the Venezuelan State. Its mission is to ensure the rescue and preservation of bibliographical, nonbibliographical and audio-visual materials produced or abroad with circulation in Venezuela, for the purpose of preserving the national memoir and guaranteeing free access to information.The Legal Deposit
Legal deposit
Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The requirement is mostly limited to books and periodicals. The number of copies varies and can range from one to 19 . Typically, the national library is one of the...
number is the national number which identifies each work, product or production. The request of same is mandatory for works published or produced in Venezuela on any format or support. Said number must be printed on a visible place on the work published or produced.
Reference and information service
It welcomes users and guides them to those collections and services which allow them to obtain the information they need. In this collection the user can find, Dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, indexes, library directories and catalogues, yearbooks, almanacs, atlas, biographies, chronologies, all organized to facilitate their consultation.CEDINBI Service
Bibliographical collection service
It offers the user a wide collection of Venezuelan and foreign books and brochures kept by the National Library. Books on multiple topics, of universal interest, as well as special materials on Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, for everyone's consultation.
Exchange and Donations Service
This service constitutes the way to enrich the collections of the National Library and the Public Libraries National System.- Donations: The National Library collects a significant display of the universal culture intellectual production in all kinds of support. Specially, any type of information, divulgation or recreational materials directed to youngsters and children, who are the primary users of Public Libraries.
- Exchange: The National Library offers the option of exchanging materials with other institutions in Venezuela and the rest of the world, in all kind of support.
Divulging publications coordination
Serial Publication Collection Service (National Newspaper Library)
It presents users with the largest collection of domestic and foreign newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s and magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, from the 19th century through our days. National and International milestones through time are available to those interested.
Official Publications Service
It provides readers with publications prepared by the National and State Governments, from the 19th century to the present, such as official gazettes, presidential messages and speeches, census, yearbooks, reports and accounts, among others. Additionally, foreign government's official publications can also be consulted, especially from Latin America and the Caribbean.Old Documental Collection
Francisco de Miranda
Sebastián Francisco de Miranda Ravelo y Rodríguez de Espinoza , commonly known as Francisco de Miranda , was a Venezuelan revolutionary...
, José María Vargas
José María Vargas
José María Vargas was the 4th President of Venezuela from 1835–1836.-Life and career:...
, Arístides Rojas, Pedro Manuel Arcaya (With more than 170,000 volumes), Alexander Humboldt, Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
, the Tratatus domini of Nicolai de Ubaldis, an Italian 1471 manuscript, considered as an Inquisitors' Manual, the Calendario manual y guía universal de forasteros en Venezuela, first book printed in Venezuela in 1810 attributed to Andrés Bello
Andrés Bello
Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López was a Venezuelan humanist, poet, lawmaker, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose political and literary works constitute an important part of Spanish American culture...
, the natural studies collection of Mayeul Grisol, the original rough draft of Memorias de Mamá Blanca of Teresa de la Parra
Teresa de la Parra
-Life:She was born Ana Teresa Parra Sanojo in Paris, the daughter of Rafael Parra Hernáiz, Venezuelan Ambassador in Berlin, and Isabel Sanojo de Parra.As a member of a wealthy family, Ana Teresa spent part of her childhood at her father's hacienda, Tazón...
, a collection of autographed works of different authors, among other things.
Manuscripts and Documental Archives Service
It embraces four centuries of testimonies of the Venezuelan and Latin American written memoirs, constituted by original sketches from authors which reflect the diversity of human taught. It is a collection integrated by unique pieces from every day notes, inventories which portray our past realities, the historical and cultural processes of various periods. It is composed of a patrimony exceeding the half a million original typewritten and holograph manuscripts and over 500,000 duplicated in microforms and paper.Audio Visual Archive of Venezuela
- Cartography ans Graphic Works service: It covers all that regarding to cartographic materials of and about Venezuela, as well as the various expressions of graphic designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
. Users have access to maps from the 16th century through our days and to graphic works from the end of the 19th century, such as posterPosterA poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
s, stampsPostage stampA postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
, post cards, almanacAlmanacAn almanac is an annual publication that includes information such as weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, and tide tables, containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar etc...
s, diaries, stationary and logoLogoA logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
s. - Motion Pictures and Video: In this service we find the national memoir of images in movement organized in five thematic areas: newscasts, institutional cinema, Venezuelan cinema, advertising cinema and foreign cinema. Here the user has access to the video graphic, film graphic and bibliographic specialized information.
- Music and Sound Service: This service makes available to users the sound legacy both musical and oral of Venezuela. It includes recordings of academic, popular, folk and ethnic music, as well as the voices registered in various audio formats, hand programs, original scores of all times from Venezuela and Latin America, in addition to the Venezuelan musical publishing activity and over 3,000 score titles from foreign authors.
- Photography Service: This service offers users the most complete photographic archive of Venezuela with images since the end of the 19th century. The photograph collection is divided into three major areas, Contemporary Authors, Documental and Historical. The latter includes the 19th century Latin America Photograph Collection and due to its universal value, amplitude and richness, it has been by UNESCO's World Memoir Committee in the world inventory of documental patrimonies of humanity.
Public Libraries National System
Public libraries are information centers which timely make available to their users all kinds of knowlodge and information. They are a permanent source of support to integra education and to the achievement of more and better knowledge by the various sectors of the population in order to promote social equity, free access to information and, at the same time, to promote the quality of life of all citizens. They assist communities spreading information for the purpose of forming critical, selective and creative readers, simultaneously developing their motivations for reading and their skills to obtain gratifying experiences from such a fact. Public libraries constitute the privileged space for the formation of an autonomous and independent reader, since it is in public libraries where they can actually have the option of building a relationship with reading, books and materials which cover and satisfy their users various needs. Furthermore, they work as centers for meeting, participating and carrying out different events. In VenezuelaVenezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, the Public Libraries National System is integrated by 685 library services distributed over the whole national territory. The Metropolitan Network of Public Libraries embraces the Great Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
Area and has 41 library services. At the Tulio Febres Cordero Reading Room in Mérida
Mérida, Mérida
Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, Venezuela, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes...
, it is possible to consult Venezuelan newspapers from the early days of the 19th century which spread the renewing ideas that set off Emancipation from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
See also
- Literature of Venezuela
- Culture of VenezuelaCulture of VenezuelaThe Venezuelan people have a rich cultural heritage. From the original American Indians to the Spanish and Africans who arrived after the Spanish conquest, the twentieth century waves of immigration brought many Italians, Portuguese, Arabs, Germans, Moroccan Jews, and others from the bordering...
- Rómulo Gallegos Center for Latin American StudiesRómulo Gallegos Center for Latin American StudiesRómulo Gallegos Center for Latin American Studies , is a foundation of the Venezuelan government for the study and promotion of Latin American culture, with emphasis on the life and work of Rómulo Gallegos.Created on July 30, 1974, by decree of the President of the National Institute of Culture and...
- National libraryNational libraryA national library is a library specifically established by the government of a country to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books...
- List of national libraries