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.