Out of the twenty-nine states and territories of the Mexican republic about half have public libraries, and only a small proportion of the contents consists of modern literature. Many possess rare and valuable books, of interest to the bibliographer Mexico. and historian, which have come from the libraries of the suppressed religious bodies. There is a large number of scientific and literary associations in the republic, each possessing books. The Society of Geography and Statistics, founded in 1851 in Mexico City, is the most important of them, and owns a fine museum and excellent library. After the triumph of the Liberal party the cathedral, university and conventual libraries of the city of Mexico came into the possession of the government, and steps were taken to form them into one national collection. No definite system was organized, however, until 1867, when the church of San Augustin was taken and fitted up for the purpose. In 1884 it was opened as the Biblioteca Nacional, and now possesses over 200,000 vols. Two copies of every book printed in Mexico must be presented to this library. Most of the libraries of Mexico, city or provincial, are subscription, and belong to societies and schools of various kinds.
The importance of public libraries has been fully recognized in Argentina, and more than two hundred of them are in the country. They are due to benefactions, but the government in every case adds an equal sum to any endowment. A central Argentina. commission exists for the purpose of facilitating the acquisition of books and to promote a uniform excellence of administration. The most considerable is the Biblioteca Nacional at Buenos Aires, which is passably rich in MSS., some of great interest, concerning the early history of the Spanish colonies. There is also the Biblioteca Municipal with about 25,000 vols. There are libraries attached to colleges, churches and clubs, and most of the larger towns possess public libraries.
The chief library in Brazil is the Bibliotheca Publica Nacional at Rio de Janeiro (1807) now comprising over 250,000 printed vols. with many MSS. National literature and works connected with South America are special features of this Brazil. collection. A handsome new building has been erected which has been fitted up in the most modern manner. Among other libraries of the capital may be mentioned those of the Faculty of Medicine, Marine Library, National Museum, Portuguese Literary Club, Bibliotheca Fluminense, Benedictine Monastery, and the Bibliotheca Municipal. There are various provincial and public libraries throughout Brazil, doing good work, and a typical example is the public library of Maranhao.
The Biblioteca Nacional at Santiago is the chief library in Chile. Chile. The catalogue is printed, and is kept up by annual supplements. It possesses about 100,000 vols. There is also a University Library at Santiago, and a fairly good Biblioteca Publica at Valparaiso.
The Biblioteca Nacional at Lima was founded by a decree of the liberator San Martin on the 28th of August 1821, and placed in the Peru. house of the old convent of San Pedro. The nucleus of the library consisted of those of the university of San Marcos and of several monasteries, and a large present of books was also made by San Martin. The library is chiefly interesting from containing so many MSS. and rare books relating to the history of Peru in viceregal times.
Spain and Portugal.
Most of the royal, state and university libraries of Spain and Portugal have government control and support. In Portugal the work of the universities is to a certain extent connected up, and an official bulletin is published in which the laws and accessions of the libraries are contained.
The chief library in Spain is the Biblioteca Nacional (formerly the Biblioteca Real) at Madrid. The printed volumes number 600,000 with 200,000 pamphlets. Spanish literature is of course well represented, and, in consequence of the numerous accessions from the libraries of the suppressed convents, the classes of theology, canon law, history, &c., are particularly complete. There are 30,000 MSS., including some finely illuminated codices, historical documents, and many valuable autographs. The collection of prints extends to 120,000 pieces, and was principally formed from the important series bought from Don Valentin Carderera in 1865. The printed books have one catalogue arranged under authors’ names, and one under titles; the departments of music, maps and charts, and prints have subject-catalogues as well. There is a general index of the MSS., with special catalogues of the Greek and Latin codices and genealogical documents. The cabinet of medals is most valuable and well arranged. Of the other Madrid libraries it is enough to mention the Biblioteca de la Real Academia de la Historia, 1758 (20,000 vols. and 1500 MSS.), which contains some printed and MS. Spanish books of great value, including the well-known Salazar collection. The history of the library of the Escorial (q.v.) has been given elsewhere. In 1808, before the invasion, the Escorial is estimated to have contained 30,000 printed vols. and 3400 MSS.; Joseph removed the collection to Madrid, but when it was returned by Ferdinand 10,000 vols. were missing. There are now about 40,000 printed vols. The Arabic MSS. have been described by M. Casiri, 1760-1770; and a catalogue of the Greek codices by Müller was issued at the expense of the French government in 1848. There is a MS. catalogue of the printed books. Permission to study at the Escorial, which is one of the royal private libraries, must be obtained by special application. The Biblioteca Provincial y Universitaria of Barcelona (1841) contains about 155,000 vols., and that of Seville (1767) has 82,000 vols. Other cities in Spain possess provincial or university libraries open to students under various restrictions, among them may be mentioned the Biblioteca Universitaria of Salamanca (1254) with over 80,000 vols.
Among the libraries of Portugal the Bibliotheca Nacional at Lisbon (1796) naturally takes the first place. In 1841 it was largely increased from the monastic collections, which, however, seem to have been little cared for according to a report prepared Portugal. by the principal librarian three years later. There are now said to be 400,000 vols. of printed books, among which theology, canon law, history and Portuguese and Spanish literature largely predominate. The MSS. number 16,000 including many of great value. There is also a cabinet of 40,000 coins and medals. The Bibliotheca da Academia, founded in 1780, is preserved in the suppressed convent of the Ordem Terceira da Penitencia. In 1836 the Academy acquired the library of that convent, numbering 30,000 vols., which have since been kept apart. The Archivo Nacional, in the same building, contains the archives of the kingdom, brought here after the destruction of the Torre do Castello during the great earthquake.
The Biblioteca Publica Municipal at Oporto is the second largest in Portugal, although only dating from the 9th of July 1833, the anniversary of the debarcation of D. Pedro, and when the memorable siege was still in progress; from that date to 1874 it was styled the Real Biblioteca do Porto. The regent (ex-emperor of Brazil) gave to the town the libraries of the suppressed convents in the northern provinces, the municipality undertaking to defray the expense of keeping up the collection. Recent accessions consist mainly of Portuguese and French books. The important Camoens collection is described in a printed catalogue (Oporto, 1880). A notice of the MSS. may be found in Catalogo dos MSS. da B. Publica Eborense, by H. da Cunha Rivara (Lisbon, 1850-1870), 3 vols. folio, and the first part of an Indice preparatorio do Catalogo dos Manuscriptos was produced in 1880. The University Library of Coimbra (1591) contains about 100,000 vols., and other colleges possess libraries.