The Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona is the best public library in the world

This Monday, August 21, during the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Rotterdam, the 2023 Best Public Library Award was presented to the Gabriel García Márquez Library. The library shared the nomination with the Janez Vajkard Valvasor Krškov Public Library (Slovenia), the City of Parramatta Library (Australia) and the Shanghai Library East (China). The event was attended by the library director, Neus Castellano, and the manager of Barcelona Libraries, Ferran Burguillos.

The Gabriel García Márquez Library joins the prestigious list of libraries that have received this recognition, the last being: Missoula Public Library (USA), Deichman Bjørvika (Norway) and Oodi Helsinki Central Library (Finland).

The jury of the Best Public Library Award values, among other things, the interaction with the environment and the local culture of the library, the architectural quality of the building, the flexibility of the spaces and services, sustainability, the commitment to learning and social connection, the digitization and technical solutions of the services, the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations and the global vision of service established by the IFLA.

The library, inaugurated in May 2022, work of the SUMA Architecture studio, is a six-story building with an exposed wooden structure of almost 4,000 m². Already in 2022, the Library received the City of Barcelona Award in the category of Architecture, Urban planning and Design.