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Chronology

1907

Foundation of the Biblioteca de Catalunya as the library of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, placed in the Palau de la Generalitat. 

 

1914

The Mancomunitat of Catalonia gives to the library its condition as cultural and public service.

 

1917

The library created two new sections, the Rare Books and Special Collections, and Music, which favoured that some heritage collections and important pieces were incorporated to the library and catalogued.

 

1923

The internal organization of the institution was strengthened thanks to the creation of the Stamps, Engravings and Maps section that collects graphic materials. 

 

1931

The Barcelona’s City Council approved the cession of the former Hospital de la Santa Creu as a new site for the Biblioteca de Catalunya.

 

1940

When the Civil War finished, the institution, renamed by Franco’s regime as Biblioteca Central, opened to the public in the new site. 

 

1952

It was established the section of Periodicals, which collects serials, journals and magazines. 

 

1981

The library becomes national library of Catalonia according to the libraries Law passed by Parliament of Catalonia, and it is conferred the reception, conservation and dissemination of the Legal Diposit of Catalonia. 

 

1993

The Ministry of Culture transfers to the BC, the Newspaper Archive, the Audiovisual Archive, the Ephemera collection and the national bibliographic services. The Parliament passes the Law on library system, which defines the functions of the Biblioteca de Catalunya as national library and its structure in four Units: Bibliographic, Graphic, Newspapers and Sound. 

 

1998

The library opens the reform of the Gothic wings and the space extension, thanks to the construction of a services building. The remodelling of the building deserved the FAD award of interior design in 1995 and the Premi Nacional de Patrimoni in 1998. 

 

2000

The BC begins the digitization of its collections in order to give access to documents throughout technology.

 

2005

ARCA (Arxiu de Revistes Catalanes Antigues), PADICAT (Patrimoni Digital de Catalunya) and Memòria Digital de Catalunya opened to the public at Internet.

 

2007

The Biblioteca de Catalunya and four more Catalan libraries sign an agreement with Google Books to digitized hundred of thousand books in public domain (without copyright) and make them available by Internet. 

 

2010

The activity Let’s read in the garden begins, a  collaboration agreement with the Ajuntament de Barcelona. Its aim is to promote a cultural use of the garden and establish it as a reading place.

 

2011

Since October 17th a new free loan service is offered, which allows users of the libraries members of the Consorci de Biblioteques Universitàries de Catalunya (CSUC) to order by themselves and through the website the loan of items of those libraries.  This new service is known as PUC.

 

2012

The new website is launched together with the Blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The Law 23/2011 of the Legal deposit comes into force. The new legal framework is adapted to the needs of the 21st Century.

 

Cronologia 2013

2013

The activity Transcriu-me! starts. It is a crowdsourcing initiative in order to improve the access to the digital contents published by  the Biblioteca de Catalunya.

 

2014

One hundred years have passed since the Mancomunitat de Catalunya gave to the library its condition of cultural and public service.