Biblioteca Nacional d'Andorra

Overview

The Biblioteca Nacional d'Andorra (Andorra National Library) is responsible for collecting, cataloguing, preserving, and disseminating Andorra's bibliographic heritage, in compliance with Law 9/2003 on Andorra's cultural heritage. It manages the country's Legal Deposit Service and the Andorra ISBN Agency.

History

The library was founded on September 8, 1930, on the initiative of the Andorran Society of Barcelona Residents, and was first housed in the Casa de la Vall with an initial collection of about 2,500 volumes. It was re-established in 1974-1975 under the General Council of Andorra. After a series of relocations, the library was based at the Prada Casadet building from 1986, then at Casa Bauró in Andorra la Vella from 1996, before moving in 2020 to its current home in the former Hotel Rosaleda in Encamp, a protected heritage building it shares with the Ministry of Culture.

Collections, Holdings, and Publications

The library has compiled and published Andorra's national bibliography annually since 1998 under the title "Ex Libris Casa Bauró," digitized and available online. Legal deposit in Andorra formally began in 1980. The library also holds the Philippe Wolff collection of roughly 2,540 documents on medieval history, donated by the French medievalist upon his retirement.

Access and Usage

The library is open to the public and offers ISBN registration and legal deposit services; visitors are encouraged to contact the library by phone or email before visiting.