The Luis Angel Arango Library in Bogotá
Abstract
Inglés
Despite its modest beginnings in the 1930s as a small in–house library for the Banco de la República, the Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango today not only provides an impressive array of library resources and services to the citizens of Bogotá, but serves as a rich and important cultural hub for the city as well. The director, Lina Espitaleta de Villegas, describes the way in which the library, privately financed by the Bank, has continually expanded both its holdings—they now include 400,000 books, 8,000 periodical titles, and more than 1,000 newspapers—and its special collections of rare books and manuscripts, maps, photographs, scores, recordings, and videos. Luis Angel Arango’s new building, completed in 1990, has tripled the capacity of the library, and in addition provides flexible, open gathering spaces to house many cultural events.
The need to improve services and to process greater quantities of information led the Luis Angel Arango library to install NOTIS, and automated cataloging, circulation, and acquisitions system. This system links Luis Angel Arango with the National Library, as well as with other public and university libraries. In the future, such links may extend nationwide, forming the basis for a national information system.
The author goes on to describe the Arango’s extension programs in music and art, which boast impressive collections of recordings, musical instruments, and works of art, and whose wide–ranging activities include weekly concerts, lectures, and art exhibitions. Finally, the Luis Angel Arango Library coordinates a network of public libraries and regional information centers in 16 cities, through which unique regional collections may be shared by all network members.
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La Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango en Bogotá
A pesar de sus modestos inicios en los años 1930 como una pequeña biblioteca del Banco de la República, la Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango hoy proporciona no solamente un impresionante conjunto de recursos y servicios bibliotecarios para los habitantes de Bogotá, sino que además sirve como un importante eje cultural para la ciudad. Su directora, Lina Espitaleta de Villegas, describe la manera en la que la biblioteca, financiada con fondos privados del Banco ha continuado expandiendo sus fondos bibliográficos—que incluyen ahora 400,000 libros, 8,000 titulos de pulicaciones periódicas, y más de 1,000 periódicos—y sus colecciones especiales de libros raros y manuscritos, mapas, fotografías, música impresa, grabaciones y videos. El nuevo edificio de la Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango (BLAA), terminado en 1990, ha triplicado su capacidad, y además proporciona espacios ámplios y flexibles para albergar muchos eventos culturales que se llevan a cabo allí.
La necesidad de mejorar los servicios y de procesar grandes cantidades de información dirigieron a la Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango a instalar NOTIS, el sistema automatizado de catalogación, de circulación y de adquisiciones. Al presente, este sistema une a la Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango con la Biblioteca Nacional, tanto como con otras bibliotecas públicas y universitarias. En el futuro, dichas ligas pueden extenderse a lo largo de la nación, formando las bases de un sistema de información nacional. La autora describe los programas de extensión en música y arte de la BLAA, que cuenta con las extensas colecciones de discos, instrumentos musicales y obras de arte, y las actividades culturales que incluyen conciertos semanales, conferencias y exhibiciones de arte.
Finalmente, la BLAA coordina también una red regional de bibliotecas p&$250;blicas y centros de información en diez y seis ciudades, para que los miembros de la red puedan compartir las colecciones únicas regionales.
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