Other novelties are the start-up of ‘Joyas BRMU’, an exhibition of the most notable specimens from the historical collection, and the opening of the side garden to the public to enjoy reading in the open air
The acronym ‘BRMU’, with which a large part of the users identify the Regional Library, has become the protagonist of the new image of the center, designed to mark the 25th anniversary of its opening and released to coincide with the Day Book International, which is commemorated this Saturday, April 23. In relation to this event, the Minister of the Presidency, Tourism, Culture and Sports, Marcos Ortuño, announced this Friday that the Regional Library is launching a new range of actions within the framework of the ‘Region of Murcia, Region of Letters’ campaign .
One of them will be the launch of a multiannual plan for literary contests, “because the vocation of this cultural center is not limited only to promoting reading, but also aims to promote literary creation,” said Ortuño. With this objective, and in order to cover three of the most important genres in the panorama of letters, the ‘BRMU Short Story Contest’ will be convened this year; in 2023, when the Comicteca will be 20 years old, a graphic novel contest will be held; and in 2024, it will be the turn of a poetry contest.
The short story contest will be aimed at users of the Network of Public Libraries of the Region of Murcia. “The Regional Library thus fulfills the task of promoting literary creation among the citizens of the community, while carrying out its work as the head of this regional network,” said Ortuño. This contest will have a prize of 1,500 euros for the winning story and 500 euros for the second.
The Minister announced ‘JEWELRY BRMU’, an activity launched by the center where the most notable specimens from its old collection will be exhibited to the public. This series of exhibitions will open next month with the exhibition of the oldest copy of a Murcian author in this collection. It is the ‘Valerius of the scholastic stories of sacred writing, and of the events of Spain, with pitched battles’, by Diego Rodríguez de Almela, printed in Toledo in 1541.
On the other hand, Ortuño announced that as of today the Library opens the side garden to the public, a space where children’s activities are already being held and that now becomes one more place that anyone who wishes can enjoy it. “Many users will want to take advantage of the good weather that we usually enjoy in our region to sit in the shade of one of the trees and read or study in an open space.”
The creation of the figure of ‘members of honour’ of the Library is another action that begins now. This appointment will distinguish personalities and institutions that stand out for their work in the field of literature and in promoting reading. Those selected to be the first are Diego Corbalán ‘Magius’, National Comic Award 2021 for his work ‘Spring for Madrid’; Andrés María García, second prize in the Adonáis Poetry Prize for his collection of poems ‘Las ciudads’; the NGO Solidarios, for its reading club for people in vulnerable situations; and the journalist Marta Ferrero, for her work promoting the Network of Public Libraries of the Region and promoting reading with the Onda Regional program ‘El mirador’.
In addition, the Library continues its activities, within the framework of the ‘Region of Murcia, Region of Letters’ campaign, inaugurated in September, with the visit on May 10 of one of the most prominent figures in Spanish cinema, José Luis Garci .
Loans double
The activity generated in recent months around the BRMU is making it possible to recover the records prior to the health crisis. Thus, it has gone from 25,673 loans in physical books in the first quarter of 2021 to 53,493 in the same period of this year, which implies that loans in this format have more than doubled.
Digital platforms continue to play a leading role. In the months from January to March, last year there were 33,988 loans on e-Biblio, the platform for lending books in digital format, while in 2022 42,883 loans have already been registered, which implies a growth of 8,895 loans in just three months. Users also increased, going from 9,000 to 10,321.
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