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About the institution
South side of the Library’s second floor.
In the early nineteenth century, as Latin American countries gradually won independence, many sought to affirm their identity by founding national libraries, and Chile was no exception. In August 1813, prior to its final battle for independence, three members of the country’s Junta de Gobierno issued the Proclamation of Foundation of the National Library, inviting the country’s citizens to donate its first books. “The first step that peoples take to be wise is to give themselves large libraries,” it read.
Today, the National Library’s collection includes not only books but also newspapers - going back to Aurora de Chile, the country’s first newspaper launched in February 1812 - maps, photographs, music scores and audiovisual material. Key items include collections that belonged to the Jesuits in Chile and books owned by Andrés Bello, one of the founders and first rector of the University of Chile.
The building
The National Library was originally housed in Santiago’s University of San Felipe (near the site of today’s Municipal Theater). It subsequently occupied a number of different locations - including the building that is now the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art - until moving to its current premises in 1925. Occupying the site of a former monastery at the foot of Santa Lucía Hill, the building was designed in the neoclassical style by a local architect Gustavo García del Postigo.
Inside the Library
- Medina Room. This beautifully wood-paneled room houses the Library’s most valuable books, including the personal collection of José Toribio Medina (1852-1930), the historian and collector after whom it is named.
- Map Room. Some 7,000 Chilean and overseas maps, including important Chilean maps from the nineteenth century, are conserved in the Library.
- José María Arguedas Collection. Created in 1988, this collection comprises valuable material about the history of rural life in Chile, including its winemaking tradition and indigenous communities.
Don’t miss
On the second floor of the side of the Library facing Avenida Bernardo O’Higgins, there are three striking murals painted by leading local artists. On the side staircases, two large oil paintings by Chilean artist Arturo Gordon (1883-1944) represent the Allegory of the Fine Arts. The painting of the Andes Mountains at the end of the central gallery is by another important Chilean artist, Alfredo Helsby (1822-1872).
