The Gabriel García Márquez Library, among the four best in the world in 2023

Inaugurated on May 28, 2022, the Gabriel García Márquez Library, in Sant Martí’s district, specialises in Latin American literature and bears the name of the Nobel Prize winner for Literature, a person closely linked to the city of Barcelona. Called to become a social and civic node in the neighbourhood, the facility was designed by Suma Arquitectura, and this work earned them the 2022 City of Barcelona Award for Architecture. Now, the Library can add another award, as it has been selected as a finalist for the 2023 Best Public Library International Award given by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). On August 21, in Rotterdam, the winner of the distinction will be announced as part of the 88^th edition of the World Library and Information Congress organised by IFLA.

The other three selected finalists are the Public Library Janez Vajkard Valvasor Krškov (Slovenia), the City of Parramatta Library (Australia) and the Shanghai Library East (China). Therefore, according to IFLA, the Gabriel García Márquez Library is one of the four best in the world in 2023, and it has been thanks to the good evaluation of the following points: interaction with the environment and local culture, architectural quality of the building, flexibility of its spaces and services, sustainability, commitment to learning and social connection, digitalization and technical solutions of its services, compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations and the global vision of the service established by IFLA.

The Library, designed as a local cultural facility for the residents of the district, has 4,000 m² spread over six floors with an exposed wooden structure. It incorporates sustainable strategies that have granted it a Gold LEED. Between June 2022 and May 2023, it was visited by 277,578 people, with an average of 947 visits per day. It has hosted 75 activities with a total attendance of almost four thousand people, and has registered 128,695 documents on loan.

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