The delegate of the Government in La Rioja, Beatriz Arraiz Nalda, and the Minister of Culture, Tourism, Sport and Youth, José Luis Pérez Pastor, visited this morning the Library of La Rioja, after completing the remodelling works that have allowed to improve the accessibility of the building and remodel the hall to centralize services.
The project has had an investment of 392,000 euros, assumed by the Ministry of Culture as owner of the building of La Tabacalera in which the library is located, and carried out by the public company TRAGSA. For its part, the amount contributed by the Government of La Rioja amounts to 75,260 euros for this project.
The delegate has valued the importance of investing in the accessibility of libraries, as cultural centers of reference for people. Thus, he pointed out that a more accessible public library that opens its doors to the whole of society becomes an essential point to take advantage of the opportunities it provides for information, learning and growth and cultural entertainment.
In addition, it has valued the collaboration between the national and regional administrations to deal with the necessary works in this library that visit 1,500 people a day.
During the visit, Arraiz Nalda wanted to thank the director of the Library of La Rioja, Josu Rodríguez Ortega, for the work of the library workers during these months of works, who are the true “soul of the East Center”, and the understanding of the users, who have been limited access only in the afternoons, “although the final result has been worthwhile because we have a better Library of La Rioja”.
Likewise, the councilor has highlighted “the value of one of the main cultural resources of the region located in a building that has the declaration of Asset of Cultural Interest, whose ownership corresponds to the State. A Library that offers a fundamental service for society through the team of the Libraries and Museums service of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, Sport and Youth of the Government of La Rioja that, after these works of maintenance and adaptation of the building, continues to attend its management.”
Object of the works
The objective of this project has been to reform the entrance spaces of the library and centralize in the hall the services previously located in the different rooms of the building, in order to rationalize the resources and offer the user a comprehensive attention in a single more accessible point. In this way, loans and attention to the public are centralized in the access hall to the library.
On the other hand, accessibility has been improved through a series of actions such as adapting the toilets, enabling the exits to the patio and signage, as well as other actions such as renovating the toilets of the three floors due to their poor condition and improving the thermal conditions of the circulation spaces by placing another automatic door in the main access to create a thermal damping space.