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- Title
The People's and Parish Libraries of Father Claret: An Outline of a Library Network in the Nineteenth Century.
- Authors
Gil-Solés, Daniel
- Abstract
In this article, I analyze the 1865 booklet Las bibliotecas populares y parroquiales by Father Antonio Maria Claret, published in Barcelona by the Impremta de l'Hereu de Pau Riera. A previous article published in Catholic Library World analyzed libraries in Spain at the time, with special attention to Catalonia and Madrid, and the role played by the Librería Religiosa (Religious Bookstore) and other religious publishers and printers in the dissemination of so-called "good books." To expand on that history, an overview of people's and religious libraries in the nineteenth century is provided here. Claret's booklet describes, in a brief and straightforward way, the organization and functioning recommended for these libraries. Aspects such as personnel, management, physical space, and the collections themselves are included, and Claret's clear Christian pastoral vocation is a core part of the initiative. The above-mentioned aspects represent a primitive outline for a network of libraries with a global vocation, led by the Librería Religiosa, to promote reading and literacy among the popular classes, which was undoubtedly a great novelty in the nineteenth century. In spite of the chronological gap, it can be claimed that Claret's initiative was half a century ahead of the early plans for library networks promoted in the civil domain by the Mancomunitat (Commonwealth) of Catalonia and other regional governments in Spain. All quotations from the sources cited are given in English translation, with the original text in Spanish and Catalan, given in footnotes.
- Subjects
CATALONIA (Spain); BARCELONA (Spain); CHURCH libraries; VOCATION (in religious orders, congregations, etc.); LIBRARIES
- Publication
Catholic Library World, 2022, Vol 92, Issue 3, p186
- ISSN
0008-820X
- Publication type
Article