• With this space, whose investment amounts to 5.8 million euros, the BNE will have a headquarters specialized in the conservation and digitization of the legal deposit, especially of press and periodicals
• This will be the third seat of the BNE, which currently has two properties in use, in Madrid and Alcalá de Henares
The Ministry of Culture has acquired a property with the aim of making it the repository of collections of the National Library of Spain (BNE). The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, together with the director of the BNE, Óscar Arroyo, visited today the property, located in the municipality of Tres Cantos in Madrid, which is located on a plot of more than 10,000 m2 and has more than 6,800 m2 built.
The Ministry of Culture has acquired this property for an amount greater than 5.8 million euros, and will be destined for the deposit and conservation of documentary collections, especially of periodicals already digitalized, in accordance with the mandate of the National Library of Spain to guard the legal deposit of publications. With this new headquarters, the BNE is guaranteed the physical space to house these funds for at least the next two decades.
The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, explained that this acquisition is “a strategic action that will strengthen the capacity for conservation, digitalization and custody of our documentary heritage. The National Library preserves the written memory of our country: every book, every newspaper, every magazine and every publication is part of a collective history that we have an obligation to preserve.” He added that “when we talk about expanding the National Library we are not just talking about gaining square meters, but about protecting our collective memory, preserving the documentary heritage that explains who we are and ensuring that future generations can continue to access it.”
In addition, the property will host part of the digitization equipment of the BNE, as well as other technical services that do not involve attention to the public. After this acquisition, the BNE is studying its specific needs to be able to adapt the property to the use to which it will be destined. Once these needs are defined, the Ministry of Culture will tender for the drafting of the reform project, which will include tasks of adaptation of spaces, air conditioning and renovation of the electrical system, among others.
Specialized headquarters
With the acquisition of this third site, the National Library of Spain is moving towards a model of specialization in the conservation of its funds, as is happening in the large heritage libraries of other European countries.
Thus, the headquarters of Recoletos in Madrid will be reserved to preserve the funds of greater patrimonial value and the offer of face-to-face services aimed at the research and general public; the headquarters of Alcalá de Henares will be dedicated to the deposit of general funds, and the headquarters of Tres Cantos for deposit preferably of press collections and periodicals already digitized that do not require a consultation of the physical copies in a habitual way.
Once this new headquarters becomes operational, the BNE’s Recoletos headquarters will be able to reorganize part of its spaces and collections, and will have a larger storage area for the preservation and custody of its high-value heritage collections.