Luís Ángel Arango Library
Encyclopedia
Luis Ángel Arango Library, is a public library
located in Bogotá
, Colombia
. It was founded in 1923 as a small library with a few books on economics
. It is currently under the administration of the Bank of the Republic
. Today, its collection has grown to the point where it has become the country's premier library and it has come to be considered to be the most important public library
in Latin America
. It has over 1.1 million books and 1900 reading places; it received 6.7 million visitors in 2008.
Books and documents on the following subjects can be found: music
, geography
, social sciences, economics
, art
s and humanities
, the constitution
, rare books and manuscript
s, science
and technology
, and Luis López de Mesa newspaper archive
s. They also provide audio-visual material. In addition, there is a Concert Hall, reprography
service, a cafeteria
and parking facilities. The Botero Museum is part of the library.
The main entrance features an Athena
or Minerva
statue.
There is also a bookstore in the first floor of the library. The bookstore specializes in books about Colombia, scientific magazines, and literature related to Colombia and its values.
The library is named after the lawyer and business man Dr. Luis Angel Arango, who occupied the general manager position of the "Banco de la Republica" in Colombia, and who was an advocate for culture and literature.
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
located in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. It was founded in 1923 as a small library with a few books on economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. It is currently under the administration of the Bank of the Republic
Bank of the Republic (Colombia)
The Bank of the Republic is the state-run central bank of the Republic of Colombia. Its main functions are detailed by the Congress according to the . One of them is the issuance of the Colombian currency, the peso.-History:...
. Today, its collection has grown to the point where it has become the country's premier library and it has come to be considered to be the most important public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. It has over 1.1 million books and 1900 reading places; it received 6.7 million visitors in 2008.
Books and documents on the following subjects can be found: music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, social sciences, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
s and humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
, the constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
, rare books and manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, and Luis López de Mesa newspaper archive
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
s. They also provide audio-visual material. In addition, there is a Concert Hall, reprography
Reprography
Reprography is the reproduction of graphics through mechanical or electrical means, such as photography or xerography. Reprography is commonly used in catalogs and archives, as well as in the architectural, engineering, and construction industries....
service, a cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
and parking facilities. The Botero Museum is part of the library.
The main entrance features an Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
or Minerva
Minerva
Minerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...
statue.
There is also a bookstore in the first floor of the library. The bookstore specializes in books about Colombia, scientific magazines, and literature related to Colombia and its values.
The library is named after the lawyer and business man Dr. Luis Angel Arango, who occupied the general manager position of the "Banco de la Republica" in Colombia, and who was an advocate for culture and literature.