Biblioteca Gabriel García Márquez

The Biblioteca Gabriel García Márquez is a public library located in Sant Martí de Provençals, a neighborhood of Barcelona. It was inaugurated on 28 May 2022. It specializes in Latin American literature and is named after the Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez, who lived in the Catalan capital between 1967 and 1975, where he wrote The Autumn of the Patriarch (El otoño del patriarca).

Biblioteca Gabriel García Márquez
Biblioteca Gabriel García Márquez Library building from outside
Biblioteca Gabriel García Márquez Library
41°25′02″N 02°12′00″E
LocationBarcelona, Spain
Established28 May 2022 (2022-05-28)
Architect(s)Suma Arquitectura
Service areaSant Martí de Provençals
Branch ofBiblioteques de Barcelona
Other information
DirectorNeus Castellano
Parent organizationBiblioteques de Barcelona
Affiliationpublic library
Websiteajuntament.barcelona.cat/biblioteques/bibgarciamarquez

Description
Neus Castellano with the award

The building was designed by Suma Arquitectura, a studio led by architects Elena Orte and Guillermo Sevillano.[1] It formally opened on 28 May 2022 with Barcelona's former mayor Ada Colau, minister Joan Subirats and the cartoonist Francisco Ibáñez Talavera in attendance. The library will hold the archives of Francisco Ibáñez Talavera who lived locally.[2]

The building has six floors and with about 4,000 m² of floor it is the third largest library in Barcelona.[3] The use of wood throughout the building stands out, a material that provides a welcoming atmosphere and contributes to the aim of reducing the centre's environmental footprint. Its appearance from the outside resembles a stack of open books.[1][4] The library specialises in Latin American literature and it is named for Gabriel García Márquez, the Colombian Nobel laureate who spent the years 1967 to 1975 in Barcelona.[5]

In August 2023 the library was declared the "best new public library in the world" by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.[3][6][7] No other Spanish library has ever been nominated for the award, which was given in Rotterdam to the library's director Neus Castellano. Castellano believed they had won in part because the new library welcomes people with an atmosphere like their home, complete with sofas.[7]

References
  1. "A great building, friendly to its neighbors. Gabriel García Márquez Library by SUMA Arquitectura | The Strength of Architecture | From 1998". www.metalocus.es. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  2. "La biblioteca García Márquez, un pedazo de Macondo en Barcelona". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  3. "The Gabriel García Márquez Library, among the four best in the world in 2023". Barcelona Ciutat de la Literatura. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  4. Moncloa Allison, Gonzalo (26 May 2022). "Los secretos de Macondo se esconden en Barcelona: nace la Biblioteca García Márquez, especializada en literatura latinoamericana" (in Spanish). El País. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  5. "This is the best public library in the world and it is in Spain | LOS40". Euro.ESEuro. 22 August 2023. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  6. "This year's best new public library is in Spain". Mynewsdesk. 21 August 2023. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  7. Burgen, Stephen (22 August 2023). "Barcelona community resource named world's best new public library". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
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