Paraguay’s National Library marks its 139th anniversary this Monday, September 21, continuing in Asunción its work of preserving, organizing and facilitating access to the country’s bibliographic and documentary heritage. Established on September 21, 1887, the institution is overseen by the National Secretariat of Culture through the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage.
The National Library’s responsibility differs from that of a public library. While a public library primarily serves a community’s reading and information needs, the national institution must safeguard Paraguay’s documentary heritage as a whole. It also supports the National Public Library Network and develops initiatives related to books, reading and publishing.
Led by Marco Augusto Ferreira, the institution brings together Technical Processes, the Collections Room, the Newspaper and Periodicals Library, Conservation, Restoration and Digitization, Public Library Management, and the Paraguayan ISBN Agency. The Collections Room allows visitors to consult the bibliographic holdings; the conservation and digitization area works to reduce the risk of deterioration and expand access to old or fragile materials.
The Newspaper and Periodicals Library houses periodical and serial publications, providing a reference collection for researchers, students and readers. The Paraguayan ISBN Agency administers the international book-identification system and produces information on the country’s publishing output.
Ferreira said that a national library must respond to changes in how people study, conduct research and access information. For the director, the challenge is to strengthen services and tools that keep the collections useful to different audiences.
Culture Minister Adriana Ortiz linked the expansion of reading habits to social development. “A country that reads is a country that expands its possibilities,” she said, arguing that books should be closer to the population and form part of communities’ everyday lives.
The library also sits on the National Council for Reading and Books (CONALIB), a state body that participates in defining the National Policy to Promote Reading and proposes the evaluation and updating of the National Plan to Promote Books and Reading. The council is linked to Law No. 7140/2023. The available information does not independently confirm the claim that the library currently holds the council’s rotating presidency.
The library is located at 820 De la Residenta Street, near Peru Street, in Asunción. The Collections Room is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; the Carlos Antonio López Room, in the Newspaper and Periodicals Library, receives inquiries from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and the Paraguayan ISBN Agency is open from noon to 6 p.m.