The
National Library of Chile
(
Spanish
:
Biblioteca Nacional de Chile
) is the
national library
of
Chile
. It is located on the
Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins
in
Santiago
, in a building completed in 1925, though its history reaches to the early nineteenth century before it was relocated to its current home.
History
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]
The Biblioteca Nacional is, together with the
Instituto Nacional
and a small number of institutions, one of the first institutions created by the newly formed Republic of Chile in the
Patria Vieja
period. In the newspaper
El Monitor Araucano
, a
Proclama de Fundacion
("Proclamation of Foundation") of the Biblioteca Nacional was published on August 19, 1813. With this vision, a call was made to all the citizens to submit their books for the formation of one great public library.
[2]
As with other republican institutions, the library was closed after the
Disaster of Rancagua
, in which the national troops were defeated by the army of the
realistas
. With the victorious
Battle of Chacabuco
, it was reopened and supported by the government, and started to receive important collections. The
Supreme Director of Chile
,
Bernardo O'Higgins
, named professor
Manuel de Salas
as the first director of the Biblioteca Nacional. In 1822 Friar
Camilo Henriquez
(director of the
Aurora de Chile
newspaper) was named as the second head librarian.
Since its creation, the library had been a dependency of the
Universidad de San Felipe
and its successor, the
Universidad de Chile
, until it gained autonomy in 1852. In 1913, upon its 100th anniversary, the Biblioteca Nacional acquired the
Monasterio de Santa Clara
, located on the Alameda de las Delicias on present-day
Cerro Santa Lucia
. At the creation in 1929, the library was made into a dependency of the
Direccion de Bibliotecas, Archivos y Museos
.
Location
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Since 1925, Biblioteca Nacional has been situated in the centre of
Santiago, Chile
. It was formerly located in the square where now stands the
Teatro Municipal de Santiago
(
Municipal Theater of Santiago
).
Construction of the present building began in 1913. It was commissioned as one of the commemorative public works in honour of the first
centenary
of the independence of Chile. The building boasts an imposing facade of columns and arches, of very pronounced French
neoclassical
influence. The library shares its building with the
Archivo Nacional de Chile
(the National Archive). Adjoining the building is the
Santa Lucia metro station
, and to the east is
Cerro Santa Lucia
.
The interior, spread out over two main levels and a basement, has been embellished and decorated with carved marble staircases, sculptures and paintings from some of the country's classic artists, such as
Alfredo Helsby
and
Arturo Gordon
.
Collections
[
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]
The Biblioteca Nacional has an extensive and valuable collection of books and manuscripts. Several of these were acquired from or donated by their owners, making up an important national historical treasure. The most important collections include:
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
Further reading
[
edit
]
- David H. Stam, ed. (2001).
International Dictionary of Library Histories
. Fitzroy Dearborn.
ISBN
1579582443
.
External links
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]
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