NATIONAL REPORT PARAGUAY

SEMINAR-WORKSHOP

ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN LATIN -AMERICA

Responsible: Cipriano Ayala Gonzalez

Technical Officer of the National Library

1999

BUENOS AIRES - ARGENTINA THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF PARAGUAY

I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Senators Bernardino Caballero, José Segundo Decoud and Rosendo Carisimo put forward a bill, which entered the Senate on August 1st. 1887. Some weeks later both the Senate and the House enacted the act by which the National Library and Museum in the city of Asunción was created. The same act established that the Executive create a commission of at least five members in charge of the development and oversight of said Library and Museum, and of the budget assigned for that purpose. The act also established that Congress provide the funds needed for the upkeep of the National Library and Museum.

On the 21st. September 1887, the President of Paraguay, General Patricio Escobar, enforced the act which set up these important cultural facilities.

The President also established the commission, which was formed by the following people: Dr. Benjamin Aceval, Ramon Zubizarreta, and .Jose N. González, Ricardo Brugada and Alejandro Audibert.

During the first years of the National Library and Museum, the vice-president, who was Chairman of the Asunción Town Hall, requested the government that the public library and the museum staff, in charge of this body, be sufficient to set up their collections of printed matter and the collections of the adjoining Museum.

In accordance with the Town Hall’s request, the president of the Republic, Juan G. González, adopted a decree establishing that the commission of the National Library and Museum take charge, drawing up an inventor of the books, goods and funds belonging to the Library and adjoining Museum. With this incorporation the estates of the recently created National Library and Museum were increased.

Following the resignation of Mr. Alejandro Audibert and dismissal of Mr.Benjamin Aceval, both members of the commission of the National Library and Museum, the government appointed Emilio Aceval, Inocencio Franco and Salvador Herreros as new members. Arsenio Lopez Decoud appointed "Head of the National Library”, in March 1891 was in fact the director and was assisted by Antonio Franco.

On the 7th.May 1891 the town hall of Asunción was established and Arsenio Lopez Decoud - in charge of the National Library at that time - was appointed secretary of the new institution and Miguel Gil became the new head.

When Emilio Aceval was president of the republic he considered essential the “creation of the position of General Director of the National Library and Museum, immediately under the Ministry of Public Education, as they already had their own premises "and to were up to the task expected from them". So, by act of the nation the positions of director, secretary and clerk were created with a monthly salary of 500, 300, and 100 pesos respectively, and also they created the poition of assistant.

The President of the Nation appointed Antonio Franco Director of the National Library by decree, who was the institution’s first Director. Daniel Giménez Espinoza and Vicente Alvarez were appointed secretary and clerk respectively.

Originally the National Library and Museum building we located on Libertad St., nowadays called President Elegio Ayala St.

The President of the Republic, .Juan B. Eguzquiza pointed out in a message to the Honorable Congress of the Nation (1898) that: “The Library has increased its importance and development with acquisitions and donations of many interesting and valuable books— but the lack of larger, more suitable, own facilities has been one of the causes that have hindered its further development.”

Two years later, President Emilio Aceval informed the Honorable Congress of the Nation that: ”The Library has now an excellent building, where it has been operating since last year and soon the bookshelves will be ready”

Finally all the books were arranged in order, the Library was re-opened attending to the public in the morning, afternoon and at night and some important books were acquired as well as subscriptions to many national and foreign journals.

In 1903, the government of Juan Ezcurra joined the National Library and Museum with the National Archive, under the same management. Juan Silvano Godoy was appointed General Director; Antonio Franco Head of the Library and the Museum; Silvano Mosqueira Head of the Archives and José D.Barreiro assistant..

In his message of 1904, President Ezcurra reported that 341 new publications had been added to the Library, added to the 4514 volumes they already had. An alphabetic printed catalog of authors, dating from that time, was presumably prepared by Viriato Díaz Pérez.

B 1907, the Library had 6000 volumes and important newspaper and journal collections

The then President of the Republic, Benigno Ferreira, suggested providing the Library with larger premises to improve the attention to the public and organization.

During those years, because of the civil war in Paraguay, the National Library building suffered serious damages, besides the natural erosion caused by the passage of time, and the building was abandoned. The staff did not pay much attention to collection conservation resulting in their decline. Since 1959 the National Library operates in its current building on.De la Residenta St. Nr.820, almost on the corner of Perú St. A decree of 29th. April 1990 created the Under- secretariat of State of Culture reporting to the Ministry of Education and Culture.

In 1991 and in order to implement a consistent cultural policy with the new democratic transition, the Under-secretariat re-structured its administration, focussing on specific areas. In this way the General Board of Archives, Libraries and Museums of the Nation disappeared. In February 1991 the Archive and the National Library and Museum became separate institutions, and directly under the Under-secretariat of Culture, currently Vice Ministery of Culture. Structurally the National Library is under the Board of Historical and Cultural Heritage, which in turn coordinates with the Vice-Ministry of Culture. On an international level, the National Library is an active member of the Association of National Libraries of Latin America.

In June 1991, the office of the Public Registry of Intellectual Rights was moved to the National Library building. This was very good and enabled the incorporation of more contemporary works. This office, which still functions in the National Library, has been replaced by the General Board of the Author Rights Act 1328/98 (not yet implemented).

II. PROTECTION OF AUTHOR´S RIGHTS

Act 124/91 for the promotion of books.

Sec- 10: Publishers shall provide five free copies. Non-compliance shall bring about the suppression of tax benefits provided in this Act..

Directors

Public men of national excellency have been directors of the National Library.

III COLLECTIONS

Several collections have been added to the National Library increasing its bibliographic wealth.

Once the building was repaired and the collections put in their places, the Paraguayan Library of Enrique Solano López was added, which was bought by the State, through a decree of President Eduardo Shaerer, for 300.000 strong pesos. This collection of approximately 3.000 pieces, counting books, booklets and journals, constitutes the most valuable bibliographic collection of Paraguayan works the National Library possesses. The most outstanding are those published before, during and after the Triple Alliance War.

Another collection acquired by the State were the holdings of Citizen Juan Silvano Godoy, the American Library. Godoy was exiled for eighteen years in Buenos Aires. He returned to his country in April 1895, with a museum of fine arts, a museum of history and the American Library of almost 20.000 volumes. He came back with an immortal gift of art work and publications such as had never been offered to our National Library by any Paraguayan. In 1909 it the Museum of Fine Arts of Paraguay was opened to the public exhibiting masterpieces of famous artists such as Murillo, Tintoretto, Favretto, Rusiñol, Ciardi and others.

The American Library, which was more important than the other five with the same name in Buenos Aires, had unique collections of books, periodicals and antique newspapers, some were so rare that there were no more than two or three copies of them. By Law Nr.877 of the 27th.January 1927, both Legislative Chambers authorized the Executive to buy the Godoy Museum and the American Library. Eventually it was purchased the 9th.August 1939 by a Decree signed by President Felix Paiva. From this moment it belonged to the State. In 1977, by State Act, the library of Juan E. O¨Leary, an outstanding intellectual who dedicated his life to vindicate the Triple Alliance War, was acquired.

The Paraguayan State also acquired, that year, Dr. Carlos Pastore´s collection for the National Library, which has not been moved to the library yet.

Other smaller collections, which extended the National Library’s collections, were those of Eduardo V. Haedo and Enrique de Candia. Both were of almost 480 pieces, including varied subjects on Argentina and Uruguay.

IV. WEALTH OF THE COLLECTIONS

1. Paraguayan

Books.

Beside the said collections, the Library has records, official journals and newspapers, as well as annual reports. Added to these are the books incorporated due to Act Nr.94 of the Public Registry Office of Intellectual Rights regarding the Legal Deposit Act (1180), which is not always obeyed, and books mostly received by donations.

Journals

The collection of Paraguayan journals is from the nineteenth century (from 1822) up to the present. Some journal collections are incomplete.

Newspapers

The Paraguayan newspapers of the collection also date back to the nineteenth century (from 1846) up to the present. 2. FOREIGN

Books

Books from the XVI, XVII, XVIII and XIX centuries make up a very important antique collection. Added to these are all the foreign books received through donations by their authors or institutions.

Journals

A very important collection of foreign journals is being organized.

United Nations Collection

Booklets, books and journals, which are received regularly, make up this collection. The National Library ranks as a library which is a beneficiary of the legal deposit.

V. POLICY

The national government has given the National Library the mission of being the guardian of the country’s heritage. To that end the following acts have been adopted: 124/91 For the promotion of Books, Act 1328/98 Author’s Rights and Related Rights. The Act which establishes the National Literature Award and which states that all the books submitted in this contest must be donated to the National Library afterwards.

Nevertheless, we are waiting for an Act to reactivate the National Library and state its partial or total autonomy; currently it is under the Ministry of Education and Culture.

The National Library is a beautiful XIX century library. Historically it is 112 years old and together with the National University is one of the oldest institutions in the country. We have been denied many of the benefits of the twentieth century and of the beginnings of the twenty first century. That is why we place all our hopes of achieving soon cultural justice on the national government, the president of the republic, the men and women who second him, and the Legislative Power.

The Director of the National Library and other officials proclaim, at this time of incipient construction of our country’s democracy, that the National Library belongs to all the people of Paraguay and that we only administrate national property. Therefore its care, preservation and increase of its estate should be shared equally by the State and community.

Both have the same responsibility in the face of history and we must insist on that task. VI BIBLIOGRAPHY

4 Viola Alfredo. La Biblioteca Nacional. Asuncion: Ministerio de Cultura y Educación. 1987 4 Godoy J.S: Memoria de la Dirección General de Biblioteca, Museo y Archivo de la Nación. Guía General de la República del Paraguay. Asuncion 1896 4 Diaz Pérez Viriato. Memoria de la Dirección General de Biblioteca, Museo y Archivo de la Nación to the Ministry of Justice, Culture and Public Education 4 De la Vega, Blas B. Discurso en ocasión de la entrega del edificio de la Biblioteca Nacional al gobierno paraguayo. Asuncion, 1959. 4 Centurion, Carlo. Historia de la cultura paraguaya. Asunción. Biblioteca Ortiz Guerrero 1969. Vol. I 4 Mosqueira, Juan Silvano Godoy, su vida y obra. Asuncion, 1935. 4 Paraguay. Ministerio de Justicia, Culto e Instrucción Pública. Memoria del Ministerio correspondiente a 1888. Asuncion 1888