paraphrasing Emile ZolaIf I may speak, I want to address you shouting the truth with all the force of my indignation as an honest man, because I am convinced that you are ignorant of what is happening.
The incident last Thursday at the National Library of Spain is not a trivial event nor can it be ignored. It would be truly strange if there were no leaks in a building with more than 200 years of history, but the fact that Spain’s main library is a source of joke for this shames us all. According to its director, the event is not the least important and has only affected a few volumes of the modern collection and concludes that “of everything that can happen climatologically, the damage caused by water is almost the least important, since water is sometimes not an element that destroys, but consolidates the fibers. I try to convince myself that Mr. Oscar Arroyo He did not mean what he said, otherwise his ignorance in matters of conservation would become evident. I don’t think it’s necessary to remind you, mr. minister, that the National Library is the dean of Spanish cultural institutions and the largest repository of written heritage in our country. She deserves to be treated with respect.
Thursday’s leaks are the penultimate incident suffered by the National Library. Despite what it may seem, they were not the result of bad luck or recklessness but rather a consequence of the chronic lack of means with which the head of the Spanish library system must carry out its functions. Therefore,
I accuse the finance ministers of mistreating the institution with ridiculous budgets that barely cover its most basic needs. Despite being one of the ten most important libraries in the world, its budget represents 5% of that of the Library of Congress of the United States, 12% of that of the National Library of France or 19% of that of the British Library. . This lack of economic solidity has degraded its facilities to the point of compromising the integrity of the 34 million books and documents it houses and impeding the development of the library policies for which it is responsible, condemning it to painful irrelevance on the international library scene. . This abandonment, which also affects other exalted institutions of Spanish culture such as the National Historical Archiveexplains that, despite its cultural and economic potential, our country occupies alarmingly backward positions in science and technology indicators.
I accuse the Ministry of Culture of Spain, which in the last 30 years has ignored the National Library as one of the most precious jewels of the cultural heritage of our country, has relegated its function to that of generating exhibitions and has reduced it to being the digital mirage of a background that slowly and silently deteriorates.
I accuse the ministers who have appointed general directorates unrelated to the problems of the center, its workers and its funds. Managements that have overlooked the state of the buildings and have looked the other way without wanting to see their progressive deterioration. Directors who have conveyed an image of modernity when, in reality, the facilities have far exceeded their operational life and are barely maintained because their replacement seems unfeasible due to their high cost.
I accuse the technical directorates that they have not known how to live up to the needs of a national library and have imposed decisions that ignore problems that are difficult to solve. That they have pretended to listen to the opinion of the institution’s professionals, but they have not known how or have not wanted to defend it before anyone who needed it. That, despite knowing that it is an urgent need, they have fled from confrontation and have opted for partial and insufficient solutions instead of fighting for a comprehensive reform of the National Library buildings.
I accuse the managers of the institution that they have not listened to those who cried out about the lack of means, the obsolescence of the facilities and the scarcity of resources. Managers who have not known how or have not wanted to fight against an administration that ignores one of the main assets of the State. Managers who have not been the least bit interested in creating a maintenance structure, providing it with the necessary architects and engineers and with the economic and material resources that allow it to face the enormous needs to achieve the conservation standards required of an institution that, for law, must guarantee the preservation of the written culture of our country.
I accuse a director who does not understand his mission at the head of the most important library in the State. A director who, instead of presenting his resignation with the dignity of Miracles of the Corral Faced with the outrage of an unjust decision, he gives explanations that embarrass all the workers and researchers of the BNE and outrage the citizens of this country.
And I will accuse you, mr. Minister, it is a malicious omission if you continue to ignore the needs of the National Library and take comfort in thinking that the leaks have only damaged a small part of the modern collection or that it will be solved by repairing a pipe. Because if this situation of abandonment is not reversed, one day it will irreversibly affect many other documents of which you are currently the primary custodian.
* Arsenio Sánchez Hernampérez is the 2013 National Prize for Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Assets.
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