Biblioteca de Catalunya
About the institution
The Library of Catalonia is Catalonia's national library and as such its mission is to collect, conserve and disseminate the books published in Catalonia and those relating to Catalonia's linguistic sphere as well as to conserve and disseminate Catalonia's bibliographical heritage and maintain the centre's universal character as a centre for scientific research and consultation through both analogue and digital media.
The library’s collection comprises 3,774,465 documents of all kinds and in all media: books, journals, newspapers, manuscripts, engravings, photographs, maps, scores and sound and audiovisuals recordings, etc.
The library's photographic collection includes some 250,000 photographic documents from the mid-19th century to the present day. Its most outstanding collections are those of Josep Salvany, Pau Audouard, Frederic Mompou, the Albert Martín publishing company, Joan Gustems, Cintet Rifà, Lluís Carrasco i Formiguera and Pierre Deffontaines, amongst others. Many photographic techniques are represented, including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, ferrotypes, albumen prints, autochrome prints, stereoscopic plates, panoramas, bromoli prints and slides.
