History of libraries in Puerto Rico

anything but a crit It whkh sat)sfied Illt

ce at P i incelonyas denmiddot t of g~owtb~ro)Vth 1n fust~rate middotlibraryspJol

e growth inperc~plioUI a closely knif aaademit itSmiddotprobleffisofinstru bull arch anel fiially growtb friendshipsjnil acquaint e and family reiP6n~bil r elementso~IV8li~ intO )ok backmiddotori theseyearsa a sincere affection for II with a recognition of aU

MWRENCE S THOiingtSON

nmiddot begiDl)jn~sof hDt~ries~i~middotPue~o RI~ go Jaclo fjU InW Spap lsh mlonial times butcircuri)stances

liave notJ~9red a prrtiU~g ~fltlditipn01 boo~s arid readeison tliiShl1icaneshySepr~a ~glected ~or fouc~nturi~s by th~ Spamards Numerouspnvateand pubTImiddotc ~ol1e(lin~ of consid~rable hnshy

portl)ce haye b~)Qst or damaged io ~Iorms middot and earthquakes and middotthe almost perpetual economic distreslt ~cr1 rather tQlforable to cultuiU oltop ment ofanyOOrt

As eadyasI523 themiddotmiddotflrst library was

organiZed middot ip the tonventomiddot de Santo Pomingo (at the entrance to Fort Brooke o~~EI Mono- SanJuan) but it ~ltestro)led by the Dutcli ~ 102$ It liasmiddotfurhr been intimatedthat-- a

lt - bull shy

muyenc Fbiaryo( ilaquoIIle propoiti9ns eiisted middot in the Cathedralof SiI)ulo Jlricir tp 1598 1~Wr(Heolge ClilIprd Eaf9f Cumbiifudcaiiitdaway the1gt$tnaod bells ot t1ie cahie4rill afterlotin$ the citY It i$ defu1ite1y~own that a mu~ic i835i TIiefe are oilefiniterecords of

middot

middotAND JORGE RIVE11A RIDpound

l~tfio)imiddotsan~ th~~t~i~es 01 ~ ~iscQshypateEspeCially [~grettabJcent was tAe (1

stwcron of theiibii otBiShQ~Be~ miid9 de V41b)leIia( is6Sr(i27)~~iil~op or Puertl~dUto fr0Jn 620 until h~ dea14L9pe~1~lir~t~d tliis fayjou~ Colc middotkctlonmiddotjI) verse bull

YSiempr~ dulce~tiJ merhQria sea G~rbs6 pIeladQ middot ~ I

P6lttlsimo Sornardo de Valbtle~bull Tcnias tu oi cayado De Puerto Rico cuando el fiero Enrique

olandes rehlado ROb6 tU librcna j Pero tu ipgenio ~ queno podgt

- iunque las fuerzas del ~Ivido aplique Que bien cantaste al espaftol Bernardo

Quebiw~lsiglomiddot~Or1 nl fuist~~Ii p~~laijo y su tesoro

y tesorpjn ric5 elIfur~o Rico bull _Qile middot-nUD~Buert() ~co f~ tan ricobull

Mt~the diSastrousattack oS the Dutch the FranciScapS otg~niUd a library in about t6$01)1It the~ 11oiiks disapp~ when the tOimilliriimiddott)o was dissolved in

Iib~ry wfls r~lill51ed in 166p when the church created the p6siti9P of orshygauist and choirlealtjerior the Cathedral

of ~nJuan J

TheDutch invasionof 1625 destroyed not only the library of ithe Eonyento de Santo DomiJigo but also oihertbook col-

I Writers

work is ~ comshymiddot1 -

atsmpan)r1a prosshy-bears tlemiddottiije of EJ

Ifliyenfeilbriies ~eignteenth-ciilltury P~tto ~~orbut $i~ i~ is)ltnown that ~plmll)wa)1~7 ~WiM1J1S$e FIaIlC)sshy

Tom4s middotBlanCo P~Onluarjp~IAJ~ M Puerw middotR middotded (San Juan Bib~Otca d~ auto puershytorriquefios 943) PPmiddot middot 32-33 ~~5alvedra and JuliO Fiol Negron His IIlt Plltrlo 11 (San]uanbullI944)-Pmiddot 22PedreiriJ~cil )

bull Laurel de A~ SiJvan SPedrWa- 1laquo

6 Writers Program 0J dil p rn

1Luis ONeill de M~n HBiJiliotecas p6bli~s ~emiddotmiddotmiddotmiddotPucrto Riro -in EugfniQ fFefllJldez Gama and Eugenio Adol (ods) IJ libiodep J( (San Jui1n El tibio azul Pub1i~ Qo 1gt23) p~ 451

THE LIBRARY QUARTERLY

cans were teaclting courses in theology law and Latin it is most probable that this instruction was supported by lishybraries of SQme sort

Far more significant the

1843 was movshying toward the foundation of a library In this year the cleric ilJr_ n 0

F t a

-CeO ttl ry il)liDteCa

bull Ibid

9 Ten tativa del Prebendado Dr D Rufo Manushyel Ferniodez de fundar eo la capital una biblioteca ptiblica BoleUn kistOrico de Puerlo Rito X (1923) 62

10 I (1863) 1Q-24- There is a copy of this exshytremely rare periodical in the private library of Proshyfessor Rafael W Ramirez de Arellano of Rio Piedras Professor Ramirez is Asenjcs grandson

II Writers Program opfltit p 122

n Emilio del Toro Cuevas InRuencia de 1

biblioteca p6blica modema en 1a familia y en 1 cultura social Confa-encias dominicdes dGdes fII

la BibJiqUw Inswar de Puerto Rico I (19(3) 51 Manuel Fernandez Juncos BibUotecas publicas III Puerto Rico ConjerfJtllWs dominuaks dadas en Bibliotua lnmlar de Puerto Rico I (1913) 122 and Bibliotecas antillanas Puerto Rico Revlsta de 1 1

A ntiUas M agazine hispana-americana I (Ml) 1913) 39 (The two articles by Fernandez Junc are almost identicaL) The Writers Program is ill error when it states (op cit p 123) that the Mly1 gtiez Municipal Library was founded in I87Smiddot

be nineteenth cent urY ~up waid he Biblioteca eyagiiez founded ~ r 13 873 the ConseJO t city ordered the inshy1j~ilnlmiddot $JianiShipesetaS I onmiddotJanuary l i 1814 i1Jg1lleIltl oj 3250 h 1$ 1874 ~is fust y middotinFieito RicO was j states that the fus( 1 F~~~ d~ ~ 10UoRuiz an oldreslmiddot says that ooe Alfredo iodian of the collectioD ltte in the libilY ortlgte n at presentcan Supply 0 darify this point At library prospered and iumes in 1874 to 3860 )eT 12ltJ918 the deva+ e which roclcentdMaya sti ocid tlie coi)ecBon etion lt)fae Bfbii6LeQ saidto be~ new i ibrary IUrpOseS

Femluidez JI1Ic6~ for arian of middottIe C~rnegie an and an outst 3ilding used to tell a middot rather of the beginnings of

ilunicipal of San J uan n tMs collection dates a group of friends meetmiddot lence of Don Manuel r of the Ateneo Puertomiddot o Cuevas InO~enciamp de la adema en laofamilia y en middoter~~ dgntilticpks JaMs PI

tk P~t6 RicD t (1913) S2~ rocogt BjbliotecaA p6blicu cIr mcias dominiC4lu dGdiJ$ eM shy

PiWO Jato (J915) JUt and S Puerto Rico RIrtisUJ dt 1M msIPrUrtlmetUarw 1 (Mat article by Femindez middot JujTbe Writers Program i~ )p ~iJbull p Ymiddot~3) that thelttllyamiddotMy was f~ded in 1875middot

THE LIBRARIES Oil puERTo RICO

niquetiil expressed a good ~eaJ of conmiddot pal libraries of Ponce and MayagUez the cern over tbelilck of a popular library to Bibliotcca Municipal of San Juan was a supplemlaquont the education81 activities of circulating library wben it was fi rst th Ateneo founded but today the situation is reshy

and others con ut-versed San Juan l~ndsno books whereas ~ e mannerto p rlt)lllo te the foun~- Ponce and Ma~ do

mg of the new library In one sen1~selb~~~~=~~JJ even

t ougn it opened its doors only in I~

and other contemporary literary figures In t890 this gabiMk WlIi comshy

wi some ve hundred v UrrieS b1n~ wi~_yenif~ from Ii siinificant commentarY ohthebilckshy

wardlless of librarks durffig tlieSpal1ish Biblio eca regimeiiti Puelt6 RiltdJifay beJollnd in ship o~middot~~liIfampiiiiiipoundliiit lIui early history of the San juan had access to figures showing that the Bibliote~ Municipal An0~g tnlI-b-i~ 1l~blioteca Municipal of Ponce started bought WIth Don Venanclo s m~n~y was a completesetof JoveIJat~s When a list of the libllJYs h6Iding~ wilsp~b~hed in the 10calmiddotIir-Qs a cl~rlcal penQcilcitJ at- tempteH to ih~yene tlte set of ]ovcJllJ1os purged from the library FQrtunately the at1mpt was unsuccessfuL Again

the Ayuntamiento oj San Juan alaIltled by the contents of seme o the books given to the municipal li~rary initiated a sort Gf whicli acshycording to coilteroporalY opinion lacked the proper attributes fqrcarrying out its

his PUrsUIt ot gift material as

deli task At all events

~rni1ina raco~teur and re

he WaS scornful of conventional librarymethods Beginning vii th some four hundred volumesin880 DeW

I acshycording to Pedrerra Unlike the rnuriicimiddot

Q Fern4ndez Jtfntos ~IBib1ioteca51 p6bHcaS ~t Puerto Ricomiddot p 1311 and uiiibliotecas uullanas puerto Rico p 37

fPedreira 4gt citi P42

~~~~

WIth lkgt9 books and 669 pamphlets and cordig to P el Toro had

~

Olt~r municipal libraries have ~n founded from time to time in various toowns ofFuerto RiooMost of them were just on the borderline of beiQg gabineles ltk ecllura

but a recent visit to t at town revealed that the b~ilding has been demoliShed and not eyen a picture of it is available tOday When Arthur E Gropp s~rveyoot1te libraries of Puerto Rico in ~o lie reportedlUmors of a niunicip~l libr1ry in Sjlll GermAn but

~~k1 -

fatiIIo

Del 1oro Cueva5o pp ril p Sj ONeill de MilAn 1 p -tSJ

bullIFemAnnu J1pl~ Bl66pieias pGblicas de PUerto Rico ppl i14-3S t4 G Nin supervising principal of public schooll iti the Yauco Dutrict

wilS saja tolthave ~ tlie mOVing spirit behind thi~ pto~

228 THE LIBRARY QUARTERLY

this allegation could not be substantiated after exhaustive inquiries in that ancient city Ca ey Fajardo Guayama and other towns are said to have had municishypal libraries at one time or another but if they did they have urered the same fate as the one at Yauco A few collecshytions along the lines of the old-fashioned Sunday-school library in the United States and never containing more than a couple of hundred tracts and religiously inspired novels have been established by the energetic Redemptorist Fathers a North American order active in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is not the most fertile ground for the municipal public library of the North American ~pe Above all else there is the overwhlinmg-problem of

-=illitenq Ismael Rodriguez Bou seereshylary of the Consejo Superior de Enshysefianza in Rio Piedras cites figures to show that Puerto Ricos illiteracy is but 315 per cent putting Puerto Rico beshyhind only Chile Uruguay and Argentina among the L~tin Am~rican urisdicshy B fl J bull I d

hons19 ut onna statIstICS are miS ea - V ing For example it was found in an inshyformal private survey that out of a group of 162 selective service registrants only 5 r were listed as illiterate Actually it was found that 63 others had signed their registration cards after a fashion claimed two or three years of school but otherwise were unable to write and able to read only the most elementary signs

I~ Arthur E Gropp GuitU to Libraries and Archives in CenJramp Arne-ricil Ilnd the West Indies Panama Bermuda and Bitish G~ianll (MiddJ~ American Research Series No 10) (New Orleans MiddJe American Research Institute Tulane Unishyversity of Louisiana 1941) pp 61~36

19 El AnoJjobelismo en Puerto Rico (Rio Piedras University of Puerto Rico Consejo Superior de Enseiianza 1945) p 53middot A large proportion of Puerto Ricos illiterates are undoubtedly adults but tlIe exact figure is not available

Nevertheless the latter group as carshyried as literate by the various boards

A truer tale of Puerto Rican literacy and reading habits was revealed by Charles C Rogier in his study of Puerto Ricos Middletown Comeno When Rogier made his study he found that only seventy-eight copies of El Mundo leading Puerto Rican daily newspaper were sold in Comeno daily although the poputation of this typical hill town was 6715 in 930 There are no local publishycations Except for two priests and a few school teachers in the town nobody reads much Private libraries are re~

stricted to a few dusty collections of fourth-rate subscription books in the back rooms of upper middle-class homes

The late Antonio S Pedreira perhaps the most penetrating analyst of puerto Rican culture who has ever studied the islands history critically stated frankly

Rarfsimos son los municipios que en--5US

presupuestos demuetran arnOr al libro Es ademasJ muy cuesta arriba hacerles comprender que una biblioteca municipal es tan importantc como una plaza de mercado a un rnataderolI

When Gropp mvesllgated the mumelshypal hbranes of Puerto Rco Just pnor to the war he fo~nd a total of 2527 volu~esm P~nce s Blbhoteca Mumclpal d It was estlmated that th~rewere some nme t~ousand III San Juan Blbhoteca Mumclpai Nelther at that tIme nor subshysequentiy has It been posSlble to detershymine the numerical statistics of Mayashygliez holdings Thus with the exception of the Carnegie Library in San Juan he could report less than twenty thousand books available to the two million peopk of Puerto Rico and these small collecshy

lQ Comerlo A Study oj a Puerlo Rican TO-dill

(Social Science Series) (Lawrence University of Kansas 1940) p 177

u I nsulorismo Ensoyos de inlerprtttUi6J putfshytOffigUefio 2d ed (San Juan Biblioteea de au torr pllertorriqueiios 1942) p 109

ltter group was ~ tPe various ~gtards Puerto RipoundlIll~telacy bits was reveal~ ~y r inhis study of Puerto wn Comerlo~lO~ wilierr study he found that itCgtPies of EhMuniJo ~icandaily newspaper edo daily although the s typical hill town was hereare no local pu~lishylr two priestsand a fey in the townnQ~()dy lltateli~rariesre reshyr dusty collectionS of cription books in tile perD)iddiedass homeS lio S Pedreira perhaps ting analyst of Juerto to has ever studied the riticaJly stated frankly os - IDllIpcentipios ~ tiue-en slS estran amOl- til -Hbto EsJ

arribagtl~~ltxles cQmprendtt uUnlcipal-es timimportanie oercado 0 un matadero-Z

nvestigated the murilcl uerto Rico justprigtr to und a total of 1527_ s Biblioteca Municipli ted that therewere wine San Juans Biblioteca er at that time nOr srJ) been possible to detei~ cal statistics 01 Mayashyhus with the exCeption Library in Sanluap he than twentythollsan

o the two millionpeoJle and these smallmiddotcollec dy of aPmrw -Rkan Pbwn ~es_) (Lawr~nce Unlversitj 77middot ~ayos de inkrjtreJait4n ~shyJ) Juan Biblioteia deautor-es p log_

donS y~reconcentrated in metropoll- ~) cente~ containing barely- ~ per rentqft~e pGPlllation bull Appareq~y $i Bibllateca Municipal

ijf San J1lan has hli-unilt consiPltraJgtly since GioPPma(e )iis suFYey As 1gtf the summer of rg4$ it middotwas reported to middotcon-tail 566r vo]JJjres mostly of historical religious and~terIY(c~ntentVeyfew

The Carnegie-JiitDrary of San Juan sVpplements tAe f4th~r feeble work of fJlemUldcip Library tb soll)~ d~gtee but its p05~tion is somewhaldifferent owing to j~istriGaJ backgtltlUpd and its ipshyteJidltlifllnctionsJiis SlppoSed to be the insularlibrary$ditmiddotwasknown as-such until July 27 ~9J6 when the n~w Carnegie building waS openea Ii has

bave a recentimpril1t dltteand there isdevelbpeda parcel-pust delivery serVIce litQe uptodateref~rel1Ge materiakThe trttvelinglibraries (o)i iatber middotd~posifS boolisareltndtclassilied and the catalog su)JjeCt tb transIer) iild a few ot her atshylocatesmiddotthe bo(~sbYIDeans ofa slieH tributes ot a stateilibt~Y ampil iehlity mirkI11 1945-4Qt ~I6j680 wasapmiddothowever~ theuniversityllbraiy atRia priipriatedJ9r th~ library but only Fi~dra~iliifarJjetterquii~~di1gt serre ~ $3oo6middotlas fnr the purchase of booksbull as a state(ornatlgtI1ltJIJ ribrary and AJlP9intment~ middott(j the library staff are gen~rallyal)egedtobe madeonthebasismiddot o politicalafliliations aid tbere are no employees with any technical -Iihrary training There are two branchesondii Plierta de Tiert (~hont 81 mileaway) ana one in Santurce (about twomUes awayv

t oday the Bgtiqlioteca MunIcipalof P once iSiOfficiallyknown asmiddotthe Biblioshy[eca P6blicilIt is maintamed iit)der the jointauspieesof thedions Cluh and the lQflceseeuoriftbe Asociaci6n BiDli-middot otecariadePuertoRic6 (a ki~d ofa friends of me ljbraiy orglin1zation rather than i trueprofessional associashy

there IS no r~awnwbY frcolllil not Ie operated iiimiddot the ~ riaIfiier as theOsl or Helsingfors university lishyhrariesect servingboth the acdemic comshymunity andJhe island middota5 iL wnole

The C~rn~eti~rarys togtiio jck to r899the year after-the QCcupaUpn -oi

the islapd by the lJhiteE States when thecollections- oi middotthemiddotampgtCiedad Ecori6shymkadeAmigosdeIRals-the old sPinfsh Mrmitland (proe~ionat scboolsthe iotnierJ Intcentrvenciph de HacieridaY ia Tes6Fcentt)fgt ~e Diputaci6h PiOYinclal and ( ~nstitilt)Civil de Se~uiilla

E~s~fiMzaJclOSed ~ thereafter) were put to~e~eras theijlsularlibrary ~twas

tion) Hsreyenlicentsatederived fr_omthe firsfkWgt~ lis the Biblioteca PUblica Lions t~einSular goverrnnent(wllich Pliert()rriqpefili or the-SaIi Jl1anFree contrihlltep ~)~84 in r94s) anilfees levier onrelJyenr~E$r3r secure~ from this SQUi~jnI94i The coll~Ctionis said to amollnt to 9648 yolll1I1eS of a general character and the books are completely cataloged anddassmoo by the Dewey middotdeclmlJ system In the sum_ mer of 1945 a limiwn system of h()me loan Becured bmiddoty deposits was inaugushyrated Both in Ponce and in SanJuan the majOlityOftbe readers are schOOl chi dren -

Lihrary ndit ~LSitl ~e cQt~ydfthe lelJrnedantiqu)Iillp R udolpn Adalns vluIM~Qdclay6k Iii Nfarch 9a this

ins(itution was iormy cottu~d as the BibliQtecalnsulanie Puerto Rico by an act of the insular legislatnte aboard of truste~ junta de sfudicost wasqeatshyed the library was-made a depository ior insulargIlvernment p)1blicatiOIiS and a patt of the library Va middotdesignated as amiddot- middot drcu1atingCOUectiQnDhe budglaquot was

2amiddotWntetsmiddot-ptO~ioicit p 2I $

23deg THE LIBRARY QUARTERLY

increased and the library prospered unshyder the administration of Don Manuel Fernandez Juncos the vigorous interest of the great historian Dr Cayetano Coil y Toste (editor of the Boletin historico de Puerto Rico) and the philanthropy of North American residents who knew and admired the public library then coming into its own in the United States

By 93 the collection numbered twenty-five thousand volumes together with valuable archives relating to Puerto Rican history By 1923 there were thirty thousand books in the library but it is significant that even then not all the rooms in the spacious new building were devoted to the use of the library By the late 1930S the collection exceeded the fifty thousand mark and the circulation amounted to some eighty-five thousand volumes annually Today there are some sixtymiddot six thousand volumes in the library but the annual report (unpubshylished except in sketchy excerpts in the annual report of the governor of Puerto Rico) for 944-45 recorded a circulation of only 38265 issues exclusive of the circulation of traveling libraries and the parcel-post service Annual acquisitions were slightly under two thousand of which about a fourth was gift material Over two hundred popular periodicals are currently received of which 129 are in English 78 in Spanish 3 in French and 2 in Portuguese Fifteen daily papers from the United States Mexico Cuba the Dominican Republic Venezuela Uruguay and Argentina are available to readers The traveling library program is limited by funds and equipment Intendshyed to stimulate group reading it had 2530 volumes in circulation in thirty different places in 944-45 The parcelshypost service intended for individuals

1 ONeill de Milin op cit p 4SII Writers Program op cit p 215

rather than groups calculated its servshyices in 944-45 in terms of 121 parce] holding a total of 392 books Of course ill the case of both of these extramural services almost all the books circulaterl are in Spanish

Another general collection of a semishypublic character is the library of the Ateneo Puertorriqueno next door to thl Carnegie Library in San Juan The Ateneo an institution for the promotion of popular culture by such activities as lectures and art exhibits has a library of some two thousand uncataloged books about six hundred of which are Puerto Rican items The collection is in tended to be a library of general literature with a few basic reference works It receive~

some fifty popular magazines from all parts of North and South America but only a few are bound A full-time lishybrarian is in charge but he is handishycapped by extremely limited funds

The University of Puerto Rico Lishybrary at Rio Piedras a half hours drive through a continuous urban area from the center of San Juan is by far the outshystanding collection on the island but it suffers from many handicaps principally youth This library cannot be said to have existed prior to 1924 inasmuch as between that date and the universitys founding in 1903 the library was merely a neglected uncataloged amorphous collection which would have shamed a nineteenth-century American denominamiddot tional college -During the twenty years prior to 943 during which Mr Dubois Mitchell was librarian the collection grew from this embryonic state to that of a fairly good college library which gave reasonably adequate support to undershygraduate instruction Today it contains ninety-five thousand volumes with ten to twenty thousand additional middoturcatashyloged items

231

ps lculated it~ servshyo terms of 121 parcels 392 books Of course in I of these extramural U the books ciiculated

I collection of a semi raquo~i the library ~f the lueild middotnext door til the ltin Sall litan The ltion fdr the promotion ~ by such activitils as (hjlji~ has a librlUY of td llncUa1ogm bexgtks del Yhieh ale Puerto o1Jection isintendecHo peral I i terature with a Ire willh It rteeeivlS r ~~lLzines from (all d South America but )ouod A full-time limiddot llIe but he is haodishyelyJiDiited ful)9s of puert6 iRiCb Iishyras afticlf~iQprs~diiye mus urh ~dfom [uan is Qy aHihe outshyI on tbe i$landbut 1~ handicaps pr$cipaly ry cannot be said to to 1924 inl1iTlluclt as

and the univer-sitys he library was m erely ataloged amorphous vould have shamed a American denomila ring the twenty years ng which Mr Dubois carlan the collection gtryonic state to that of ge library which gave Ite support to undermiddot an Todity it contains ad volumes wi$ en ~d Idditional~camiddotta-

THE LIBRARIES )F llUERTO RI~(5

The univemty Jibmry is not a Tesearch Puerto Ricanmaterial was made in 1932 library in any sense of the word Its wilen the university purchased the prishyperiodical collection is particularly wk vate library of Sr Vicente Rodriguez (some three hundred and fiftY are cur- middot Rivera of CampyllY containing some six rently received with ~tively fe~ comshyplete sets) ~d thel~rardocument eolshylectiOn is ra~er disorgan~ 8Ild inshycompl~e owiIjg to the lack of persolUlelc trainei to hltJnrlk dwwn~ts Recenl anshynual llports (typewrit~ Qlly) ~ow some ~amiddottlel s)Ow pTOgx~as m acqulllog periodical sets but atiilie present ~te many student generatiQlls will pass beo

thol1S8lld velumes In ~936 the univrshy~tybougbt the erceptiona1ly handsome colJ~ction of P uerto Rican books which had beenmiddot btought together by Mt

Ruber-i L ]unglianns 01 Bayam60 Mr jimamphanns a New Yorker was graduatshyed hom Cornell around the turn of the ltcentntury and went to PuertO Rico with JtIlemiddotintention ollearnlng enough Spanish

fore tPe u~iveJity ~bra has aferiltgtlti9 ~o pe~ithiln ~~ 9JiQuct enlQ1Dolqgical cal collection lIdequate eYen f)r the reshyquireiirents or undeg-railuate Jemt pashypelS T~JOllec(jblis Cannqt bedescr-iJiJed as

s troniinany field not evenin-Spanish Qr Latin-American literature and li~torymiddot However the Puerto Rican Cdlectionis quite remarkable and i tla-snot without justiticatjpntha the Iibtuian ~tediD 1Ill ~briD3 te~rf t~he chiui)Wor in 943 ~t tlf~ehoRcaA c611etfi)n is the sOle r~n we amp~atpe preScentnt

lDVeslg~tlOnsm South Amenca Howmiddot aver be became a permanent residen~ Qf

the islald and ltIeY9~~ much time to colshyleGtiilgjiiSec~s~ middotroltiksibookS and periodishycalsHi~ libr~rY_consisted of more than

Jive thousand bOoks periodicals pamshypblets and other material r~ative to the hi~tory of the island and it was particushy)ili strong in local newspapers and perigtdicals When Redreira then bead of themiiversitys itistory department died in r939 his collection of about fifteen

time fbr gradu1~Work T~scoll~ctipn hundred carefully selected tiUes dealing is barely nlt~n years oJlI and it was not with Puerto Rican history also passed tQ opened ofJillly until 1940 Neverthe- the lib~ary The last important acquisishyless itconWn~lillnost twelye thousand tion of Puerto Rican material was made books among which are clrhrally all the important titles in the bihliogr-phy of Pueito Rico It originllted in W9 wh the u liiversity reCeiVed a small donation of firrty titles of Puerto Rican literary works In the rgtllowin~ yearthe _b~1is which were later ttr fqrm the nucleus of tlte PUllrto Rican l3oIlection were sepa-rateHrom the reSt of tlumiddotlibrary _

The first mrge-sdjle middotacquisition 01 The bbrary o( the Institufo Ibero-Amerioaoo

reported by Gropp has be aboorhel by tbe unimiddot yennty h~

DatA on tile Puerto Rican COllection ha btt (urnished by Sr Gonzalo VelUquez oate li- brari at tbe university 00 has devoted much lime aDd _rgytlt builaing it up

-

in 945 when the -imiversity purchased the lldmirable private lihmry of the late Don Eitrique Adsuar Don Enrique had the meanS to acquire whatever he wantshyeq but he exerciscid great discrimination in the _t itles he adnijtted to his shelves including ~ch~ gems asAbbad y Lasieshyrras H~Keograflea tivi y poWica tk la i$q tkmiddot S Juan Bautista tk P_lo RUo (l1adrjd 1788) and the DiMilJ li4eral y u varidatks iJe Puerlo Rico (I82~22) the first daily Ilewspaper on the isliutd

The Puerto Rican Collection of the bull

uDlversity- contatns many other rare titles duplicated in ftw other collections

23 2 THE UllRARY QUARTERLY

Sucb items as an anthology known as the Aguinaldo Puerto-Riqueiio (San Juan 1843) and the long runs of the Gacela de Puerto Rlaquoo (from 1812 to 902 when it ceased publication) and the BoleUn mercanlil de Puerto Rico (1839-1918) offer the student of Puerto Rican history ample opportunity for research At presshysent the collection is housed in a special room wbich although beautifully apshypointed is entirely too small for it Plans have been made to give it considerably more space in the new library building wbich is being contemplated

During the war years the University of Puerto Rico like the rest of the island has enjoyed the most prosperous period in its history thanks to the unprecedentshyed revenues from rum taxes enjoyed by the insular government That the library shared in this general prosperity is witshynessed by the fact that a count of its colshylections in 939 revealed 56670 volumes increasing to 66995 in ]94 74054 in 943 and 90000 in 1944 Unfortunately there is no reason to believe that the present prosperity will continue and there have already been indications of a tendency to reduce appropriations for the university The future financial posishytion of the university library might possishybly be improved somewhat if the library were given the functions and the preshyrogatives of a state or national library thus justifying additional appropriations over and above the amounts allotted to

~j Until recently supposed to be the first book (nol item) published in Puerto Rico However a few year~ ago a litle by Fray Manuel Marfa de SanLucar Qmulernito tk VaNas especies de copas muy derxJtas (Impreso en PuerlO Rico ana de )8 12 En go) was discovered in a 1924 catalog issued by Victoria Vindel a Madrid dealer VindeJ was unable to remember to whom the book was Old and no copy has been located thus far If the 18r2 date is correct the Capuchin missionary SanLucar will enjoy the honor of being the first person to write a oook published in Puerto Rico

it by the university from its total apshypropriation

The University of Puerto Rico Library will probably never develop outstanding research collections in any field bUl every effort should be made to strengthshyen the collections to a point where they will be adequate to support graduate work for a Masters degree in a few significant fields such as Spanish philoloshygy and Latin-American history In the foreseeable future it will be better for Puerto Rican aspiran ts for the doctorate to do their advanced study in North America rather than for the university to attempt to provide graduate study programs at home The developmen t of photographic facilities (at least microshyfilm readers) and the proposed new building for the university library if its construction is actually realized would contribute substantially to increasing the effectiveness of library service in Rio Piedras

Special libraries in Puerto Rico have been rather weak until quite recently Pedreira commented La falta de arshycbivos bibliotecas y museos que orienten con aportaciones iniciales la tarea del investigador ba sido una barrera formishydable para ordenar y valorar nuestra inviolada produccion literariaJl18 The first special library was a legal collection in San Juan established by royal order on June 9 183I This library subsequently became tbe property of the Puerto Rican Bar Association (Colegio de Aboshygados) and after a brief sojourn during the 930s in the universitys law library came to rest stored in boxes in the capitol building in San Juan No officials of tbe Colegio de Abogados are familiar with tbe specific contents of this library but it is said to have suffered heavily from losses due to constant moving and

~ I11S11larisllw p 52

1

233

tylrorn its total apmiddot

I Puerto Rico Library rdevelop outstanding IS in any field -bU be made to strengthmiddot

to a point where they to support gradualf

ers degree in a i~w lch as Spanish philo]oshyiean history Inmiddot the it will be beUermiddotibr

rants for the doctgtr~te mced study in NQrl Lall for the university ov-ide graduate stlrd~ Ihe developmen t 01 lities (at least microshyd tbe proposed 10 niversi~y libraw if iUl tually realized would ltially toincreasing tht ibrary service in Rio

s in Puerto Rico blYC until quite recently ted La falta de IIrmiddot Y IDuseos que oriept-en

iniciales la tarea del ido una barrera fonnimiddot nar y valorar nJlestra ci60 literariaa The y was a legal colleGtion lisbed by royal ordefilll us library subseque1tlymiddot )perty of the Pljerto iation (Colegio de Abomiddot a briefSOjOllID during universitys law library xl in bOlOes in the capitol [uan No officials of th ados are familiar wi Ih ~nts of this library but esuffered beavily from constant moving and

negligenb borlt()Wers of anpthergenera lion

The best legal library of PlIertoRico is thlc6llection oNhe insUlanillpr~e aout-t Its beginnings can betracea middotbacJlt to middotl)12 and today it is -ia to bold SQme twenty thousapd volumesaJmosUotally uncatlogedexcept for SOme informal checking cards on Ute various reporting oystIS There are fairly complete sets of neaBy all federal reports a large number of state rePorts twelve complete law reo vie1l~ abltpoundve hundred textbooks a1a ampOllIe Spaitish and middot British works but notWtg from other countries An annual appropriation of $2500 is available for the purchase of reports and books tbere is no trained librarian but the Puerto Rican insular marshal devotes ampOl11eof rusmiddottUne tocaring for the collecshytion While it is prinIa~i1y for the Fefershyn~ useof the supreme court justices it is also open to local attorneys for consulmiddot tation and borrowing

lheJibrary of the attorneygeneral of Pl)etto Rico is sewnd in inIportance to that of the supreme court among legal coUetions of government agencies It is only about fifteen years old but it is reasqnably complete in federal reports It bas ~few middotstate reports a halfdozen law reviCW$ inNarious states of completeness d atxlut a thousand textbooks middotand mongtgrap~c works Total holdings run to aboutmiddotten thou5alamiddotvolumes There is IrttlemiddotQldermiddotmaterialand virtually nothing frommiddotoutside the United States The colshylection is fairly well cataloged ana it is available middotfor C01sultation by local atshytorn~ys

In 944 and1945 a vigorous campaign was conducted at the university to build up the law-schoollibraryPrlor to 1944 thismiddot collection contained oniy some fortyfivehundred uncataloged volwnes

administeredmiddot withextreme inshy

f6nmltlity and was subject only tollIe noJlinal jlrisqiction of the univeiity librarilUl ~ la order- for tbeJ aw scqoo t(gt

be a~credited and in order -to prOVIde adequate facilities for stlldy SOmeseven Ihousana volumes were added in 944shy45 and Ute administrative conditins were radically changed Today the university s law middotlibrary is well cataloged has a trained librarian in charge and has an adequate buaget for thepumiddotrchase of curre1treports and law reviewS It has nearly all federal reports state reports from forty-four states and a representashytive collection of middottptbooks including works by European authors The few sets of law reviews are nearly all Inshycomplete bu t efforts are being made to fillmiddotthem out

At present it is being advo~ted tliat the libraries of the aHomey-general ana tbe slPreme court becombmedin one to be housed in a proposed new Pacio de Justicia to be constructed in Munoz Rivera Park in San Jua1 Some local atshytorneys bave even suggested that the University of Puerto Rico Law School be housed in this new legal center and that its library be incorporated with the other two Tliis pr9p0sal relative to the unishyversitYs library was made prior to the rejuvenation of tbe law librlf at Rio Piedras and today it might pe more de sirabe to keep this collection separate unless the law school itself is moved to the Palacio de Justicia The combination of the supreme court library and the attorney_generas library woUld not o1ly pe an economical move bil t would also create a much stronger collection than either of the two component parts Both are largely used at present by the same readers members of the San Juan bar and witb the attorney-general and tbe supreme court under O1e roof neither agency would suffer frow losing


its p rivate library It would be especially desirable from the standpoint of the supreme court s collection since it would surely receive better care tban is being given it a t present

Another library nominally connected with the University of Puerto Rico is the irnportan t collection of tbe School of Tropical Med icine in San J uan sponshysored jointly by Columbia University and the University of Puerto Rico as a research institu te for investigation of tropical diseases and public bealth p robshylems It is the ollly medical library of any consequence in the whole Caribbean area and p robably the best one between New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro Its beshyginnings may be traced to the old Insti tu to de Medicina Tropical which was founded in 1905 When the Scbool of Tropical Medicine was created in 1925 it took over the ratber small library of the old Instituto It is now well catashyloged and in recent years it has received fairly adequate financial suppor t Almost four hundred current journals in the various fields of medicine chemistry and biology are received Complete sets of most of the more important American and British medical journals are availshyable bu t there are very few European periodicals Total holdings amount to 3885 monographic works and 6742 volumes of periodicals There are few academy or society publications Some veterinary publications are included in the collection but more valuable mashyterial in this field is available in tbe lishybrary of the Agricu ltural Experiment Station of the University of Puerto Rico near Rio Piedras T he library of the School of Tropical Medicine is open to

A short desltription of this library appears in Columbia University AnnolJncemenl of he School of Tropialt Medicine of the Uni11erSity of p~middotto

Rico Tuoentitlh Session 1945-6 p 12

the use of local physicians who obtain special permission from the director of the school

In recen t years there has been a good deal of discussion of the possibili ty of founding a medical school in Puerto Rico The majority of medical opinion i against the project inasmuch as it is canmiddot sidered more economical to Manco medical education of Puerto Ricans in North American universi ties Un fortumiddot nately the issue has become a political one and in the course of the discussions tha t have taken place little thought ha been given to the difficulty of building up adequate lib rary laboratory and hospital facilities in centers far removed from San J uan From the standpoint of secu ring adequate library service i1 would seem to be most desirable to 10 cate such a school close to tb e Scbool of T ropical Medicine bu t some have admiddot vacated that it be located far to the sou th in Ponce

A second medical collection in San J uan is the library of tbe Department of Public Health In 1940 Gropp estimated tbat it had [ 800 to 2000 volumes and 156 periodical titles At present this col middot lection is boxed up and completely un middot available and the librarian was unabk to describe it adequately on account or the short period during wbich he has held offi ce

T bere are four agricultural libraries in Puerto Rico and their administrative remiddot lations are most confusing In the firsl place it sbou ld be noted that the Unimiddot versity of Puerto Rico like the State System of Higher Education in Oregon or the Greater University of NorU Carolina consists of two parts Th t humanistic faculties and p rofession I schools are in Rio Piedras but the uni middot versitys College of Agriculture alld Mecbanic Arts is in MayagiiC2 a hUll

Jjy$icentii~S who Qbtain 1 from tJie direct)I of

bull j

tfuerehamiddotsfueii ltIgood 1 of the pGssiBility of ieal seuroheo1 in Puerlo Iy of medical opinion iJ t inasmuch as it Se tonshyconomicai to finan alt n of Puerto Ricans In

universities Unforlu has become a politicoJ

ourse of the liSltlUsslOl_ placHittle thought hal lediffitnlty of bliildin )l3JY laborat0ly and in cerltersmiddotfaf tltlliovctl From the middotstandpoiht QI ~te library service II )e most desirable to 10 ol close to the School ot ne middot butsome hav ad

be )ocateG far-to thtshy

dieal colle~6n in San Pj of the Departm~t ot n 1940Groppestimattd gt0 to 20Cgt0 volumes ~ancl iUes AtpreseilUlW col l up and completely unmiddot the hbrarian was uD~14l dequately on aCJOu~t of during whiCh be haslleld

or agriQUltural ~ibtaries in d their administrative re t ConiU~ing In the Dnt I be noted that theUnlmiddot rto RicQ like the Stae lier Ed~Catinin middotQrflgOll

T UnlYlTsiJY ltltgtf Jorth asts of two Ptrts ThJ cu)tiesand plQfes~onal Rio Pjedras bllt1be unl ~ge of Agriculture and ismiddotin Mayagilez a hun

]laB LlBRAJtilS OE pmiddot6Eicro RICQ 235

dred ~es (dUr b~urs by 6i) to the west Nevertheless1lhe Ji)solar govern ment ~Wortced) AgJieuitllra1 Expetiibull mflltStaQpI) n0minauyat~clilt4 to the Collegeo ~riqJtute and-Mechanic Arts cisIogltjltjll 1lio Pieiicas ontJgte other side oLto1D frommiddot theunjveISity The Jederal 4griculturaJ ExperimeIt Statipn isin ~ayagliez JuttJgte--Federal raquoorestJi~ent$tation ismiddotIolOated in Rio ficentdrasiin middotthemiddot same complex of buildingspoundntp tihJl Jn~IlarAgricuJtural Experunel~ $tatioQ Finally the receotmiddot Iy foundlt iiOSlitlltomiddotde AgrictJltura TropClIl$4centr th 9istinguisheddnyc oologistGari(gtse pound hrd6 is 10cated in )aya~2IHs sllPported hythe inmiddot sular$pvernment

Starting in Rio Piedraswe find fairly significant libmry in the Insl1lar AgriltuialExperim~nt Sta1ion(olltthe CoUeg~ G( AgricultUre and U ecluinic Arts) ihestatiollJibrllryen wasb~gWl1lS early isbull9-iS ~twhJCh tim~anjuDltr~J books hid~ alieady ~ been receiyed ~ effortsllereheingwade to establlsli ~ churoe Jelationshlps with eXperiintlll ltaltiODtIiW ih~QntinenW Uni~~tes

Airietica iP1iJ tr~pi~ regionj in iteJetlulllI)JQ Direptilr Eilmundo

fuialoAroject and

~~~~~ifwhQ~du~ also inmiddotilie distributioncol 1lJXllicgtatillris ~Lti~mi~e~f

causcdgrelitltwpage to the libilty as a result oj thisdisMt~ the ~QfJe was moved middotin 1939 into a ~ay

ful)s~mtialStructureremodeled to ~tisshyspecific illraryDeedsUntil tbe sum

of 19~ f~library wIs gllj8tal~ un~sStfied inpittl~ thtfIUlUohat

MelYilli lcllOok _tid Jo~middotLmiddot Otero Hislilry bull ~~Quaite~1 cCettuIymmiddot1heAcrlculttiral ampI gtational RioRiedris Puer~ Riedshy

Iiico Universit~ CQUege -of-A8ricul~re MeCharucfs liritlItiiilEprimei(StJ ~lII- XlllV (I93~jllt94--ltJ9

tt cPntained valuan-Ie ~t~ of periodicals aI)1(ptper oerials in~grieulture andOJoelat

ea Delds A recent ltoIinF shovl thatthemiddot library Polds 4G~i M~ilil vMumes alx)~ ~ocgto unbOUnaypJfunes~d Some 78m pronplilets In additiontoillarge nnmpcer of periodicaJs receivea gty 6 change the libraI) purcli(lseg ~I~0 P entific jouIDlls by subscijptiqn gtAt presen t the _tot) boo~ bullfynd~i~ jlhnest $5)0Cgt0 of which485Pis ~I~ide fOIslbmiddot seriptions to periodiCais

+-ci~~diP the samecoIl1JleXpt buU iqg~ as th~Inslliar Agriltut~~middotEJrperi mont Station_is the Federal Forest Experiment Stati~n Hre tliere is a smau ~~~king Goli~ti~rl of about a thousand volumes middoton various aspects of forestry andJ()rest econGnUcs as well as a large n=blroPt~qf~teXperirilent stashytion bulltins TjIis cAllectiprr I i~ lilider the jurisdiction of the librarjan of the United Stat~sQep~thettP 9ampmiddot(gri9)1 ture ~

Of th~ yariqusiQ~W~~ m yenliylo~ez the ~ost imP9~tan~ i~tJlar()~ thl ieed~Ial AgciculturatEqierim~nt Syjtill Tliis~ collectipp ials9lInoeriltlejllTiidictionof tlje libJarian of th~ilJli~d States Pe pamplbrJeIlt 9LAgdtulWre~ The libraJiY contains abouct twenty middot thollsandmiddot vQImiddot 1ll(~ieiting ~9 gricu)t)lr~ and is iD the c~tOJly oJa fiillJioItlibrarianemp)oYed linder funpsprovidedby t1regqYel111Dimt -of Puerto~ko at a-sal~6f $1180ltgtamiddot year rhe booksare Ciassilied ocodmg to theschtmIe I~diq th~mailjjbrarin W~SliliigtPll

The fourth agricultural Jjbiiuy ill Pueftci Rico~that ltbf middotth~ In~tu~Cr lt1e A~ncn1~uri([~pau is cittlYttr~ i~ ~ld ~Jttjs l~()~girap~Yi ItlIsupltl tie hbrArlgt4shjp of Mr Jp~l Oero for many years he ibrrianof llie Insular AgneliltiIial~ErurIDi~8t Station Rio lt ~ ~ ~f lt~-~ ~ 1D Pieoas Between 1941 ~d 1945 the middot

(


Instituto spent about $14000 on books which when translated into tenns of acshycessions amounted to 4573 volumes at the end of the fiscal year 944-45 An annual appropriation of $410 is set aside for scientific periodicals of which about sixty (exclusive of government docushyments) are currently received J

The library of the College of Agriculshyture and Mechanic Arts resembles a liberal arts college library more than an agricultural library although there is some emphasis on scientific publications The college itself has never attained prestige in its field comparable to that of the faculties in Rio Piedras As of 1945 the college library held 5559 volumes and new accessions were coming in at the approximate rate of 2 tho~snd volumes annually There is little material of any value to research in any scientific field but it is encouraging to note that in 944- 45 $3600 was spent for completing periodical sets At present the library maintains subscriptions to about 40 periodicals The total budget for 944-45 was $2854o-a considerable advance over previous years but still less than half of what was being spent on the humanshyistic and professional collections in Rio Piedras

In addition to the University of Puerto Rico and the College of Agriculture there are two other institutions of higher edushycation in Puerto Rico-the Institu to Politecnico in San German and the Colegio del Sagrado Corazon a Catholic girls school in Santurce between San

JI Tbe growth of the library may be traced by referring to Puerto Rico Instituto de Agricultura Tropical Inorme anuaJ del diruk1 I9tp-13 pp 1~J2 and InJorWJe anuat dd diTedor J94J-44 pp to-l2 with illustrations of the premises

lJ Unpublished report for 1943- 44 of the library of the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts Puerto Rico University

Juan and Rio Piedras The misnamed Instituto Politecnico is actually a coedumiddot cational liberal arts college Founded in 92 as a private school the Instituto inaugurated its college department ill 921 It is far smaller than the university having only 39 students as agains 3508 in Rio Piedras and 780 in Mayashygtiez in 944-45 The library contains 13805 books consisting largely of genermiddot al works in the humani ties and the sciences with an attempt to approach as closely as possible the American standmiddot ards for a liberal arts college library Periodicals and most government docushyments are not accessioned At presen 39 periodicals are currently received by subscription The library is not especialmiddot Iy well supported operating on a budge of $359542 (944-45) two-thirds of which is derived from student fees

The only other college library in Puerto Rico is that of the Colegio del Sagrado CoraWn whose college departmiddot ment was founded in 1935 The library contains 3 250 volumes of a character similar to collections in North American Catholic girls colleges Some fifty peri

odicals of a general nature are received currently It is the only library in Puerto Rico which separates its public card catalog into author-and-title and submiddot ject catalogs and it is stated by the librarian that the practicality of this measure has been justified by more intelligent use of the library by students Like the Instituto Politecnico this Ii middot brary is largely supported by student fees

The Insular Department of Education 0bull

Library in San Juan is a fully cataloged f

collection of some four thousand titles of bpedagogical content Over fifty periodishy cal titles are currently received It is the only education library outside the unimiddot versity and it is designed to serve teachmiddot

Iras~ The misnamed ) is~ actually a ~ coedushy

college Founded in chool the lnstitu to liege department iQ r than the univerSty students as middotagailL and 780 in Mayamiddot Phe lihrary cont1jli ~ ting largely of gettermiddot humanities and Do tempt to approach as the American stand arts college library st government d oco essioned At present urrentlyreceivedhy brary is not espedalshyperating on a budget 1-45) ~ tw6-thirds 01 01 studenlifeeS C6ll~ge Iibraryh n t of the ~ Colegio dol hose ~college departshyin 1935 The lihr(U) lurnes of a charact~r IS in NOrthmiddotAmerican gtges Some fifty petishyI nature are received mly library in FuerLa LteS its public card Ir-and-title middotand middotmiddotsubshyit is stated by the practicality of thil

I justified by mth e library middotbystudents politecentnico this Ii Ippotted gthy stude)

artrnentofEducatiQn n is a fullymiddotmiddotClitaloged our thousand titlesOl t Over fifty periodishyt1y received It ismiddotmiddotthe rary outside the unishysigned to serve teachshy

ers principalsj and sthQOI supervisors thr0lghout the dsland It is in the custOdymiddotof a trained liillarian

There aresaid to be tJUrty-five hlghshysch6p libraxiesin Puerto RicoJ Most of them are neglected uncataloged and unshyread The Office of Statisticsmiddotmiddotofthe Inshylnllar Department of Education in San Juan states that these tbirtynve lishybraries wntain 40953 volumes in Engshylish and 40834 in Spanish PeTSQJlalinshyCStigations of those which are alleged to betjie best Ponce and San Juan feveal f1ampemiddotnilmbers of duplicates (often ten or morEo copies of the same book) and a preshyraquoOderance of textbooks- over collateral Ind recreational reading If any serious l ltempt is made to build up school horaries in luerto Rico these collectionsshywiU bemiddotoflittle valueeven aslaquo founaa tiWt

During the war libraries wereestabshyli~ed in Puerto Rico on the various mili~ry ana naval reservations but thllSare neither permanent installations nor aretheymiddotdevoted to the service of the people of Puerto Rico There is a good (hance middotthat they will be convertea into hOljj5itallibyenies whichmiddotthe feaeral govshy~rnment willmaintain for Puerto Rican v~t~ians even if the islana becomes inaeshy~dent At alI events these collections hOWa not middotbe removecl from Puerto RiCo utheraquo are not aevoted to the aervice of ilie veterans there is ample QPPO)1unity to put them to gooa use in Ihdnunicipallibraries

JJ Gropp op cit reported twenty-four highshy1Choollibrades and other figures are available in the annuaJ reports -ofthe insular commissioner of educashytion The hurricanes have been particularly vicious

of books in Puerto Rican high-school lishyMr Thomas S Hayes librarian of the Unishy

Puerto Rico st1ltes that when he went BoaC~ampS principal of the high school in 1927

excellent -although-uncataJoged collecshy

~f~~~~I~Six thousand titiesThe entire library11 destroyed in the-shyhurricane of 19~8

237

The clefrcienies of Puet-to RicanltJi braries are legion Asiae jtoll) ~or fimiddot naneial supportinnorrnaltir(gtes thelack of professionalintereits arnbnlrlibrarians ana of co-operative projectss a signffishycant factor in aampOUllting for the weakshyness of the libraries Puerto Ricanmiddot lishybrarians hiLVe no organizational activities -a rnaUer alI the more importMlt beshycause of amculties involvecl middotin particishypating in confer-ences helcl in the United States Badly neededmiddot projects such as a Puerto Rican union catalog coshyoperative purchasing agreernents ana improvement of extension services coula be promoted by closer association of professional librarians

Co-operation is neeaed particularly -agtnong the academic ana special libr-aries Elimination of auplitation of effort ana expenaiture should be specia goals of these libraries in view of thee limitecl resources of- the islana bothmiddot in terms of finances and in termsmiddot of proshyfessional manpower middotavailable For exshyample it might well prove to be imshypractical to alter the administrative or geographic position of the four agrishycultural libraries but it would not be too big a job to draw up a union list of serials held by these libraries ana to eliminate duplication of subscriptions to expensive scientific periodicals By the same token the establishment of a medical school in Ponce would necessishytate an otherwise unjustifiecl duplicl1-tion of many expensive medical periodicals presently available in the library of the School of Tropical Medicine

From the standpoint of popillar lishybraries the most effective measumiddotre would be an aggressive prqgrammiddot unaershytaken by the insular government to bring library service to middotthe hundreas of thousands of Puerto Ricans who ao not now have access to books of any sort At


present Puerto Rico spends a relatively large proportion of the total governshymental revenue on education 34 Very little is devoted to libraries or for that matter to any other projects for conshytinuing formal education Outside of what is given to the Carnegie Library nothing is appropriated to get books to the masses

Puerto Rican educators might considshyer the advisabili ty of establishing an insular library service commission along the lines of North American state library commissions in some of our states with large rural populations Before attemptshying to transplant North American methshyods however it would be well to give due consideration to specifi -poundharacteristics of Puerto Rican popular culture such as those described by Rodriguez Bou and Rogier As a policy it might be most efshyfective to concentrate on bringing lishybraries to the you th for no matter how enthusiastic one may be for adult educa-

Jf According to Writers Program op Cil 1 p 125 about one-third of tbe total governmental revenue was spent on edU(8tion in normal times prior to World War 11

tion it is impossible to overlook the difficulties involved in making library readers of a people whose illiteracy ratl is as high as it is in Puerto Rico If n Puerto Rican library system is to be constructed with the primary goal 01 serving children and young people i I would possibly be best approached by reorganizing the high-school libraries to serve as public libraries in addition tn their functions as school libraries

The one dark side of tlie picture fUI the future of libraries in Puerto Rico i the immediate prospect of declining apshypropriations as the insular government income from rum taxes decreases Thr appropriations for the University of Puerto Rico have already been cut and it will not be unreasonable to expect thai those of other institutions will follow On the other hand Puerto Rico has today larger number of trained technicians in all fields including Iibrarianship than ever before It is up to them to make up for any budgetary deficiencies by cnshyoperative effort and by wise managemenl of their own insti tu tions


cans were teaclting courses in theology law and Latin it is most probable that this instruction was supported by lishybraries of SQme sort

Far more significant the

1843 was movshying toward the foundation of a library In this year the cleric ilJr_ n 0

F t a

-CeO ttl ry il)liDteCa

bull Ibid

9 Ten tativa del Prebendado Dr D Rufo Manushyel Ferniodez de fundar eo la capital una biblioteca ptiblica BoleUn kistOrico de Puerlo Rito X (1923) 62

10 I (1863) 1Q-24- There is a copy of this exshytremely rare periodical in the private library of Proshyfessor Rafael W Ramirez de Arellano of Rio Piedras Professor Ramirez is Asenjcs grandson

II Writers Program opfltit p 122

n Emilio del Toro Cuevas InRuencia de 1

biblioteca p6blica modema en 1a familia y en 1 cultura social Confa-encias dominicdes dGdes fII

la BibJiqUw Inswar de Puerto Rico I (19(3) 51 Manuel Fernandez Juncos BibUotecas publicas III Puerto Rico ConjerfJtllWs dominuaks dadas en Bibliotua lnmlar de Puerto Rico I (1913) 122 and Bibliotecas antillanas Puerto Rico Revlsta de 1 1

A ntiUas M agazine hispana-americana I (Ml) 1913) 39 (The two articles by Fernandez Junc are almost identicaL) The Writers Program is ill error when it states (op cit p 123) that the Mly1 gtiez Municipal Library was founded in I87Smiddot






















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Documents

History of libraries in Puerto Rico