The Biblioteca de Catalunya – National Library of Catalonia

Like all national libraries, the Biblioteca de Catalunya is being affected by change. Founded in 1907, it had a difficult time from the mid-1930s until constitutional government was restored, but received full recognition of its status and role as the national library of Catalonia in 1981; this was reinforced in 1993. It receives Catalan material on legal deposit, is responsible for the Catalan national bibliography and union catalogue, and acquires additional material by purchase, donation and exchange. Its collections, mainly of printed books and music, manuscripts and prints, number over 2 million items and include many rare and valuable documents. It also has an accepted leadership role among Catalan libraries. The changes afoot are mainly in the automation of acquisitions and cataloguing, where the library was a late starter but where much progress has already been made; in the progressive introduction of managerial methods into all procedures; and most conspicuously in a radical rebuilding programme which reflects the revised functions and redesigned procedures. The present medieval building is being reorganized internally to provide better reading and working areas, and previous additions to it are being removed and replaced with larger purpose-built storage areas. Some of the work is now completed, without any disruption to the library's operations, but the whole programme is not due to finish until 1996.


INTRODUCTION
In recent years the concept of the national library has been more and more closely linked with the idea of change. One reason for this is that the definition of a national library is changing. Its status as the prime library and bibliographical institution in a country is no longer based merely on its name and tradition; it has begun to be supported by the practical performance of national functions.
Secondly, the need for and reality of change are being recognized by the library profession. not only the organization, structure and services of libraries but the training, mentality and identity of the librarians. The main reasons are technological advances and the introduction of managerial principles to librarianship to ensure the economic allocation and use of resources.
There are particular reasons why change has come to national libraries. On the one hand, it seems that those responsible for cultural and heritage policies consider the national library one of the environments that reflect the nature and thrust of such policies. On the other hand, society is showing an increasing interest in the preservation and conservation of its cultural and literary heritage, THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CATALONIA External View and there is also great interest in extending the knowledge of it by various fonns of dissemination. Because of these general reasons, and others specific to each national library, change is now a pennanent way of life for every nationallibrary.
This opening statement provides a background to the Biblioteca de Catalunya: now more than 75 years old, it is totally involved in the changes common to all national libraries. Its history has followed the evolution of Catalonia itself. The process of change began in 1987 with the shift of institutional responsibilities from local bodies to a national governmentbody. It was consolidated in 1990,when the new government converted into aims what had hitherto been merely challenges: an internal reorganization, the improvement of library services, an increase in collections, a beginning with automation, and a solution to building and equipment problems. The con-128 version of challenges into goals was associated with a reappraisal of basic national library functions, which the Bibliotecade Catalunya had not up to then fully carried out.

THE PAST AND PRESENT OF THE BIBLIOTECA DE CATALUNYA
The Biblioteca de Catalunya was founded in 1907by the Institut d'Estudis Catalans. It was originally planned as a research and reference library and from the beginning it has been a centre for the preservation, conservation and study of the Catalan literary and research heritage in the fonn of documents and other materials relevant to research. Initial holdings consisted not only of printed books but of manuscripts, maps, old and rare books, special subject collections, old and modem printed and manuscript music, and so on.
General Reading Room before reconstruction In 1914the Biblioteca de Catalunya became the national library and set itself up as the chief institution of the Catalan library system, under the authority of the autonomous government, from which it received its funding. It owes its origins not to a great private collection or a royal library but to political decisions on the part of Catalan government institutions. It was opened to the public for research and consultation with a General Reference Section and a Manuscripts and Archives Department. Its collections then (in 1914) numbered 28,185 volumes and 250 manuscripts. consisting of a large number of prints, cartographic materials, woodcuts, engravings and etchings.
The library was housed in several rooms of the Catalan local government palace, now called Palau de la Generalitat; as it grew steadily the space allocated became increasingly inadequate, and the municipal government offered it and other cultural institutions a new site in 1931. This was the Hospital de la Santa Creu, a medieval gothic building, which had ceased to operate as a hospital in 1928. The move of the library started in 1936,during the Spanish Civil War, and was not finished until 1939. During that period it played an important role in the preservation of the Catalan library heritage through the temporary or per-manent confiscation of private and public libraries and collections of documents as a result of the revolution and war. In 1939 holdings reached 379,767 items. During the era of dictatorship from 1939 to 1978, responsibility for the library was transferred to a local body. It lost its national character and became a general research library, and over that long period acquisitions and services were at a bare minimum.
In 1978, when constitutional government was reintroduced into Spain, cultural and other public services were transferred to the new autonomous territories. The Catalonia Autonomy Act of 1979 recognizes the authority of regional governments to organize and extend cultural activities. The Catalan Parliament approved a first Catalan Libraries Act (1981), in which the national character and functions of the Biblioteca de Catalunya were recognized. As a result of that act, the library has since 1981 received published material on legal deposit for preservation and access. However, there was still a long way to go to carry out the full role of a national library because of the institutional, organizational and financial situation of the library. It was not unti11987 that an agreement was reached for the creation of a new institutional status for the Biblioteca de Catalunya, linking it to the Catalan Ministry of Culture. Both the Library Committee and the Executive Board, which reports to the Committee, were reorganized as a first provisional step, and new members were added to the latter. The Library Committee is chaired by the President of the Government of Catalonia, and the Executive Board by the Minister of Culture. Both have as members high level political, administrative and institutional representatives. In June 1990 new senior managerial staff were appointed to the library with the main aim of consolidating the process of change. The Director's responsibilities are laid down by the Act, while the Manager's are defined by a special regulation.

COLLECTIONS
(Note: Statistical data refer to 1992, unless otherwise stated).
Before describing the various changes that are taking place, it is desirable to give an account of the collections of the Biblioteca de Catalunya.
By 1993 its holdings exceeded 1.5 million items -mainly monographs and periodicals (1,280current titles), but also manuscripts and printed and manuscript music. These are divided into two sections, General Collections and Reserve Departments.

General Collections
The General Collections consist of Catalan material published since the 19th century, earlier publications being held in the Reserve Departments. The General Research Collection contains accessions from 1907 onwards and Catalan legal deposit material from 1981. Also held here are general research and reference collections of Spanish books, as well as books in French, Portuguese, Italian, English, German and other languages. The main subjects covered in the Biblioteca de Catalunya are general information and humanities, although holdings in science and technology have increased from time to time. Books printed or published in Ca talonia are acquired by legal deposit; other material is acquired by purchase or through gift and exchange. The library also has a special interest in books about Catalonia and books by Catalan authors published abroad.
It should be pointed out that some gifts -for example, collections belonging to writers or personalities who have contributed to Spanish or Catalan culture -, though included in the general collections area, are kept together as an entity. Examples of these include the libraries of the poets Josep Carner (1884-1970) and J. V. Foix .
The General Collections are divided into three sections: monographs, periodicals and pamphlets (items of less than 51 pages). Once acquired, these are dealt with in several stages: an automated accession process, periodicals control, cataloguing and storage, and delivery for consultation. A preservation programme with conservation testing is now being carried out at the storage depository. Throughout the 1970s a number of backlogs had built up. These have been progressively dealt with since 1989, insofar as the human and economic resources of the library have allowed.
The General Collections may be consulted in the main General Reading Room of the library with its gothic arched roof, which also contains the catalogues and the information section.

Reserve Departments
The four Reserve Departments (all on closed access) contain the oldest and most important documents of the Catalan language and culture. They are the Incunabula, Old and Rare and Special Collections Department, the Manuscripts and Archives Department, the Prints and Maps Department, and the Music Department.
Consultation of Reserve documents takes place in the Reserve Reading Room, Sala Enric Prat de la Riba. Access to printed holdings is through the General Catalogue 1907-1990 and the Online Catalogue 1991-. Non-print materials, such as manuscripts, archives and manuscript music, are accessible through special catalogues and lists, mostly but not all in published book form, each with its own classification scheme; the records are not included in the general catalogue. Some special printed collections too have their own printed catalogues.i Use of Reserve materials has been increasing steadily, and there have been many requests for loan of materials for exhibitions.

Incunabula, Old and Rare and Special Collections Department
More than 76,000items have been accessioned and processed in this department. It is the main library collection of old printed books in Catalonia and Catalan-speaking countries, and it is popular among researchers in romance languages and literature as well as other researchers. The Biblioteca de Catalunya has 660incunabula 2 and a comprehensive collection of Catalan imprints from the end of the 15th century to the 19th century, including the Col.lecci6 Reserva Catalana Maria Aguil6.
Special collections are managed by this department. The most significant ones reflect Spanish as well as Catalan culture. These include the General Reserve Collection; the Col.lecci6 Cervantina (c.8,000 volumes), containing all editions of Cervantes' works; Col.lecci6 Sant Joan de la Creu; Col.leci6 Verdagueriana, containing works written by and about the Catalan poet [acint Verdaguer (1845-1902); Col.lecci6 de fullets Bonsoms, containing political chapbooks, leaflets and prints from the 15th until the 19th century, on Catalan life and history; Col.lecci6 Bonsoms: Llibres de Cavalleries i Altres (books on chivalry, etc.):and BibliotecaTorres Amat, which contains more than 4,000 volumes from the 18th and 19th centuries. Recently the library has purchased the Biblioteca Romantica Tusquets de Cabirol, containing 12,000 volumes of works by European authors from the first half of the 19th century. Cataloguing of these is beginning in 1993.
Also linked with this department are the following two units: the collection of Frederic Mares -Museu del Llibre (which forms the basis of the future Museum of the Book), as a permanent exhibition at the Biblioteca de Catalunya; and the Arxiu Joan Maragall, the collection of manuscripts, letters and works of the Catalan poet Joan Maragall.

Manuscripts and Archives Department'
This department is divided into two sections. The Manuscript Section consists of humanistic, philosophical and literary works in several languages, including Catalan, Spanish and Latin, some purchased and some donated. More than 4,000'documentary units' (bound volumes or packages), each containing numerous individual items, have been accessioned and classified so far. An indexed list of these is available at the Reserve Reading Room.
The first and oldest text written in Catalan, the Homilies d'Organya (l2th-13th century), is held in this section. Also to be found in the Manuscript Section are two of the best chronicles of the Middles Ages: the Cronica of Bernat Desclot (l4th century) and the The Archives Section is made up of a considerable number of documents belonging to private families and public institutions of the country. These were given to or acquired by the library when it came into being, specifically for encouraging the study of the Catalan language and culture. Worthy of note are the archives of the Hospital General de la Santa Creu (the building that was eventually taken over by the Biblioteca de Catalunya), documents of the Junta de Comerc; 05th-19th century), archives of the Renart, Salas,Saudin and Moja families, and more than 13,0009th-19th century parchments.

Prints and Maps Department
This department was set up in 1923,in accordance with a statement in the 1914constitution of the Biblioteca de Catalunya. It consisted originally of items that had accumulated since 1907,and now has the richest and most representative collections in the country. The department is divided into two main sections, namely Prints and Maps. The Prints Section is divided into 24subsections, according to the various types. These include popular prints (a very fine collection of broadsheets) and exlibris and fine art prints, such as those of [oaquim Sunyer, Pau Roig,Iosep Obiols and E.C. Ricart. There is an important collection of drawings, with works of Llufs Rigalt, Tomas Padr6, [osep Lluis Pellicer, Joan [uneeda, Ricard Opisso, Ismael Smith and others; the iconography collection; the collection of art catalogues; and various other collections.
The collection of etchings, copper engravings, woodcuts and wood engravings is preeminent in Spain, in number and in quality. Recent work carried out in the section has helped to discover and clarify some aspects of the history of prints in Spain. 4 Although in the same department as the engravings collection, the Maps Section has very much its own identity due to the quantity and the importance of the holdings and the quality of the items. It contains a comprehensive historical collection of Catalan cartography.
Also kept in the Prints and Maps Department are the collections of books belonging to the 096,76 and 912sections of the UOC classification, where they are considered as part of the reference collection.

Music Department
The The Printed Music Section consists of collections of all kinds of printed music from the 16th century to the present day, by national and international composers. Since 1981 legal deposit regulations have applied to printed music.
Other holdings of the Music Department include monographs and periodicals dealing with music, recorded sound items, and posters and programmes of concerts.

CATALOGUES AND SERVICES
Access to holdings in print is through the General Catalogue, which is at present in two parts: the General Card Catalogue 1907-1990, and the Online Catalogue, which was started in 1991.
The General Card Catalogue was modified from time to time as required, until its closure in December 1990. It consists of an author catalogue (which also contains anonymous works), a subject catalogue and a classified (UDC) catalogue. Titles of collections organized by publisher (e.g. Penguin, La Pleiade, etc.) are included in the author catalogue. There is also an analytical catalogue for serial articles. A listing of periodical and serial ALEXANDRIA, 5(2), 1993 THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CATALONIA holdings has been prepared for 1992-1993. The conversion of the Card Catalogue has already begun.
N on-print materials, archives, manuscripts, woodcuts, etc. are accessible through book catalogues and inventories which will be automated in the future. s Services are provided by the Bibliographical and Reference Division. There is online access to the Catalan Union Catalogue, which contains about 300,000 entries, and to various bibliographic databases; catalogues of some research collections are available on CD-ROM. Other services include lending (interlibrary, institutional and individual) and the supply of photocopies, microfilms, photographs and slides.

THE PROCESS OF CHANGE
The process of change since 1990 in the Biblioteca de Catalunya has three elements: the institutional framework, organizational change, and buildings.
The institutional framework: the Biblioteca de Catalunya within the Catalan library system The Catalan Library System Act 6 was approved in March 1993. It covers two large areas: the heritage of recorded knowledge and the Biblioteca de Catalunya on the one hand, and public libraries on the other. The act establishes the leadership role of the Biblioteca de Catalunya by involving it centrally in several aspects. It does this first by its definition of the nature and functions of the library: 'The Biblioteca de Catalunya is the national library. Its mission is to collect, preserve and make available Catalan publications and publications of relevance to Catalan speaking areas...', The library is required to keep two copies of every Catalan printed work or sound recording. As the prime bibliographical centre for Catalan literary culture, the library has to maintain and develop reference collections of general interest.
The functions that the Biblioteca de Catalunya has to perform as national library are specified as: • the comprehensive collection, conservation and availability of Catalan publications/ • the acquisition of non-Catalan works to make available through a general collection covering the whole field of knowledge (though emphasis is very much on the humanities), • the preservation and conservation of all works that are part of the country/sheritage of recorded knowledge, • services to support preservation, such as restoration, microfilming, and acquiring or making duplicates of printed materials/ • creating the national bibliography and the union catalogue of Catalan printed materials. The library has to observe international standards for the creation of bibliographic records/ and to adapt or create standards for the creation of bibliographic records for the whole Catalan library system.
The period over which the aims specified in the Catalan Library System Act are to be achieved is five years. During that time the library will undertake a complete reform of its present structure in order to meet all the requirements; this will involve reallocating human and financial resources effectively among newly defined departments and sections.

Organizational change
In 1990 general aims were agreed for a complete overhaul of the Biblioteca de Catalunya, beginning with a total reorganization of structures/ work processes and the building, in accordance with the accepted functions of a modem national library and in the context of 134 the library's forthcoming role within the library system of Catalonia. Concrete objectives were determined for the progressive introduction of managerial methods for library work and administration.
A first decision was to treat the library as a unitary body, not an amalgam of separate units/ and start the management of change within it at all levels. Managerial techniques were first introduced by stages for library procedures/ including very elementary ones. One of the first objectives was a revised materials processing system, performed as an integrated sequential process rather than as a series of totally separate activities. The general aim is to improve the accessibility of the collections -which involves an increased creation of bibliographic recordsand to achieve a satisfactory balance between preservation and access.

Library automation
Library automation proved to be one of the most significant deficiencies in the library and one of the hardest challenges. In 1989none of the departments or units was automated. The process of automation was undertaken both as a force for change and a management process. The first objectives decided upon were the opening up of the library to technological advances, rationalization of library procedures and materials processing; up-to-date recording of library holdings; establishment of a library database, including an online catalogue; and cooperation with other libraries throughonline access and shared cataloguing.
The choice of software had to be such as to allow links with the union catalogue of Catalan libraries and with the office that was then responsible for the creation of the national bibliography of Catalan books. In the spring of 1990 it was decided to adopt SICAB,a software system developed by the Catalan Ministry of Culture, for the creation of bibliographic records and the OP AC.7 SICAB provides cataloguing software adapted to the national MARC format, CATMARC, and to all the ISBD standards of bibliographic description. (CATMARC is based on UKMARC, whereas IBERMARC, adopted by the BibliotecaNacional in Madrid, is based on USMARCjthe two record structures are not entirely compatible, and both require an interface if information is not to be lost.) SICAB also allows the library to create a general database containing all kinds of printed materials: monographs, periodicals, printed music, cartographic materials, articles or chapters within books or serials, etc. In June 1991 the online catalogue became available; it contained 7,000 records created since autumn 1990. A first evaluation of its performance was carried out a few months later among researchers and other readers. 8 ,9 During 1992 software for control of accessions, linked with periodicals control and with SICAB, was developed. The first months of 1993 were set aside for trial and evaluation. The automation of all materials processing activities is to be completed by the end of 1993.
Evaluations made of automation for the periods 1990-91 and 1992 show both general and specific improvements in cataloguing processes, including an increase in the number of records created. Professional and paraprofessional staff in all departments of the library have adapted remarkably well to automation, and substantial progress has been made on training for the application of new technology to everyday work.
At the same time, the library has started to study the possibility of converting the general card catalogue 1907-1990 to machine-readable records. This task was given to Saztec, following the lead and experience of other libraries, including the British Library. A pilot programme was started, but delayed because of changes in the general structure of CAT-MARC. Another start was made in 1992; magnetic tapes of records arrived at the beginning of 1993 and were incorporated in the ALEXANDRIA, 5(2), 1993 THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CATALONIA library's database. During 1993 a retroconversion plan is being prepared for the transfer of records from the card catalogue to the database as a medium term programme.
Catalan records have entered into the Spanish union catalogue at various times since 1982, and the Spanish national bibliography includes records for Catalan books.

THE BUILDING PROGRAMME
From preliminary study to detailed programme Shortage of space has been a longstanding problem for the library. The situation has been especially difficult because it was impossible to extend the library into the old medieval hospital buildings, shared as they are with other institutions. A preliminary study of space requirements and possibilities was carried out in summer 1989. This showed that the surface area occupied by the library was about 3,000 m 2 , and that the collections filled 36 km of shelving, but that space was poorly distributed and organized and furnishings were inadequate. Basic deficiencies and needs were identified, and these constituted the point of departure for a totally new building plan.
In 1990 a detailed analysis of space was initiated and aims and objectives were established in accordance with the present and future needs of the library. At that moment the senior management of the library and other members of the Executive Board proposed to the Minister of Culture of Catalonia, in his capacity as chair of the Board, a complete reorganization of space and the construction of a new storage building. The proposal was accepted on condition that the library maintained its activities and services throughout the period of building works. During 1990 comparative studies were made of library buildings in Europe (the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the Osterreichi-, ' i . '.. t=-~--=.
i ; The entire budget of 2,000 million pesetas is provided by the Department of Culture. During the first six months of 1992 parts of the building were modified, independently of the plan, to prepare library staff working areas, special collections and reading rooms for the main reconstruction work to be carried out.

The reconstruction project
The motivation behind the Project for thereconstruction of the Biblioteca de Catalunya and the building of a new storage depositorg was not simply interest in the present and future use of a historic building for a modern national library. Defining the library's needs is a total exercise, involving the library's objectives; the library's professional work and services were therefore integrated in the project from the beginning of planning for the building.
The project had three general aims: 1. The provision of additional space for maintaining and expanding the collections; 2. a complete reorganization of library operations, departments and services to cater for book storage and circulation and professional work such as automation and ALEXANDRIA, 5(2), 1993 THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CATALONIA materials processing, and to provide well equipped areas for researchers and other readers; 3. the organization and modernization of the Biblioteca de Catalunya in a manner befitting the national library of Catalonia. The project has five large sections according to different areas, each serving distinct needs and functions, and with different capacities and specifications.
The first area is for the storage of documents. It will be in five underground floors, with different equipment and arrangement for the general research collections and for storage of the Reserve and Special Collections. A programme for preservation and conservation is being developed. There will be a usable surface area of 7,000 m 2 , and a shelf capacity of 60 km (compact shelving).
The second area is for the catalogues and bibliographic information rooms and a General Research Room. It has been placed in the most noble and beautiful rooms of the medieval building, under an arched gothic roof. The reconstruction combines flexibility with comfortable modem equipment for research and specially designed furniture, which is suited for use by disabled people. The surface area, on two interlinked levels in the same room, will be 2,993 m 2 . There will be open access collections on 2 km of shelving, and a seating capacity of 300, including 10 carrels for researchers.
The third area is for library management and professional work: administration, collection management, acquisitions, cataloguing, preservation and conservation, Hbliographic services, etc. These rooms, which have a surface area of 1,102 m 2 , are planned for maximum flexibility to allow movement, change or expansion.
The fourth area is for Reserve and Special Collections -Manuscripts and Archives, Rare and Special Collections, Prints and Maps, and Music. This area, which is conceived as a 'library within a library', is planned to connect Section of the existing and future building, with five underground floors. The fifth area, which will be at the lowest level of the building, in a partially restored and rebuilt space of 869 m 2 , is for general public use. It includes such facilities as an exhibition area, conference rooms, a Museum of the Book, a library shop, a coffee shop and a restaurant.
The Biblioteca de Catalunya is located in the centre of Barcelona, in the old city district. Since its occupation of the old hospital buildings in 1937-1939, the shortage of space has forced it to expand in a spasmodic and ad hoc fashion. Th~architect's proposal is to demolish the buildings that had been added to the east and west walls of the medieval building, to use the gothic rooms for reading and research areas, and to build an underground store of five floors on the west side and a semi-underground area on the east side for library working areas.

Work to date
The project is at present divided into two stages. The first, which started in autumn 1992, involves the reconstruction of the General and Special Research Rooms, and also the demolition of the old book stacks and the construction of new underground ones. This stage is due for completion in 1996. The second stage will follow later.
A previous reconstruction had taken place in the early months of 1992, to enable the library to continue to operate fully during the major reconstruction. Some working departments were moved to different sides of the building, but the most important move was that of the General Research Collections, which were moved to a temporary site next to the library.1O This operation took almost a year from preparation to completion, and involved 18 km of books and shelves. At present all the collections moved are kept in better conditions than in their former areas, and they are accessible to readers by means of a special delivery service.
The first phase of the project consists of two operations, one at the west side and one inside the building. At the west side, construction work started in January 1993, and demolition of the old storage area began at the end of February. Construction of the new underground stores will take more than two years, and the move back of the General Collections is expected to take place in 1996.
Inside the building, restoration of the old roof, cleaning of the medieval walls and replacement of furniture and equipment started in October 1992. It involves a change in physical access and circulation. Work started at the west side, and was planned to last six months; when it is finished, similar work will take place on the east side. All the work is expected to be complete in the first months of 1994. The third stage of this first phase is the Special Collections area.

CONCLUSION
As will have been seen from the foregoing pages, a great deal of progress has been made in recent years, and staff have responded well to the challenge of change. There are bound to be some difficulties in the next few years until building work is completed, but already the library looks more attractive and is more usable than in the past. The Biblioteca de Catalunya looks forward to a still better future as it comes to perform more and more satisfactorily the role of a true national library. Industrial, 1923Industrial, -1935 Like all national libraries, the Biblioteca de Catalunya is being affected by change. Founded in 1907, it had a difficult time from the mid-1930s until constitutional government was restored, but received full recognition of its status and role as the national library of Catalonia in 1981;

Biblioteques Tecniques de la Universitat
this was reinforced in 1993. It receives Catalan material on legal deposit, is responsible for the Catalan national bibliography and union catalogue, and acquires additional material by purchase, donation and exchange. Its collections, mainly of printed books and music, manuscripts and prints, number over 2 million items and include many rare and valuable documents. It also has an accepted leadership role among Catalan libraries. The changes afoot are mainly in the automation of acquisitions and cataloguing, where the library was a late starter but where much progress has already been made; in the progressive introduction of managerial methods into all procedures; and most conspicuously in a radical rebuilding programme which reflects the revised functions and redesigned procedures. The present medieval building is being reorganized internally to provide better reading and working areas, and previous additions to it are being removed and replaced with larger purpose-built storage areas. Some of the work is now completed, without any disruption to the library's operations, but the whole programme is not due to finish until 1996.