<h2 style="font-size: 2em; font-weight: bold; color: #f57c00; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> Donation to the National Library of Spain </h2>

 

In December 2018, I made a donation of two monographs to the National Library of Spain.: 

1) El conquistador alemán Pedro Lísperguer Wittemberg: de cortesano de Carlos V y Felipe II a célebre precursor de Chile

2) Los Lísperguer Wittemberg; una familia alemana en el corazón de la cultura chilena: identidad y esplendor de la primera familia colonial de Chile

Both works underwent a selection process in which, out of hundreds of submissions, 383 were chosen. To explain this selection, I received a detailed legal procedure signed by the Director of the National Library of Spain, Ms. Ana Santos Aramburo. Accordingly, the Permanent Commission of the Royal Board of Trustees of the National Library of Spain, in a telematic meeting held on December 3, 2018, judged these cultural assets to be “of the highest esteem to be integrated into the State collections,” and proposed the acceptance of this donation.

Subsequently, the donation was officially accepted by Order of the Ministry of Culture and Sport dated December 18, 2018. This Ministerial Order was signed by the Minister of Culture and Sport, Mr. José Guirao Cabrera. Likewise, the Appraisal Committee of the Board of Qualification, Valuation, and Export in a meeting on December 18, 2018, evaluated the donated assets and guaranteed “the sufficiency of quality of the donated assets.” Finally, Ms. Lourdes San Juan Núñez, member of the Donation and Exchange Service of the National Library of Spain, expressed her gratitude in a letter dated March 28, 2019, thanking me for “the interest and generosity in contributing to the enrichment of the bibliographic and documentary heritage preserved by the N.L.S.”

The Royal Board of Trustees of the National Library of Spain is a complex body composed of many prominent figures, including Mr. Mario Vargas Llosa. Regarding the Permanent Commission of this Royal Board (which decided on the acceptance of the donated assets), it comprises the following members:

• Ms. Soledad Puértolas Villanueva, Academic of the Royal Spanish Academy, President of the Royal Board of Trustees of the National Library of Spain.

• Mr. Pedro López Jiménez, Advisor of Grupo ACS, Vice President of the Royal Board of Trustees of the National Library of Spain.

• Mr. Javier García Fernández, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, Ex officio member of the Permanent Commission.

• Ms. Olvido García Valdez, General Director of Books and Promotion of Reading, Ex officio member of the Permanent Commission.

• Ms. Ana Santos Aramburo, General Director of the National Library of Spain, Ex officio member of the Permanent Commission.

• Ms. Aurora Egido Martínez, Academic and Secretary of the Royal Spanish Academy, appointed member.

• Ms. Inés Fernández-Ordóñez Hernández, Academic of the Royal Spanish Academy, appointed member.

• Ms. Carmen Riera i Guillera, Academic of the Royal Spanish Academy, appointed member.

Lastly, whether by donation or purchase by interested institutions (most often), these works have been integrated into the collections of the National Library of Chile, University of Chile, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Royal Chilean Academy of History, Chilean Institute of Genealogical Research, Library of the National Congress of Chile (in its Rare and Valuable Section), Emilio Held Archive, National Library of Spain, Royal Academy of History, Hispanic Library, National Library of Germany, Public Scientific Library of Mainz, Bavarian State Library, University of Texas Library, Ohio University Library, Stanford University Library, Harvard University Library, Yale University Library, British Library, Library of Congress, among other prestigious institutions.