Public library networks in Catalonia: an update

The article describes the characteristics of Xarxa de Biblioteques Populars, a public library network operating in the province of Barcelona wich celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. Its principal function is to furnish support to local town councils for the creation and maintenance of libraries. This support is given by Diputació de Barcelona, the provincial government of Barcelona. At the moment the network is made up of 103 libraries, which are provided with technical assistance from the Central Processing Services. This assistance includes the acquisition and cataloging of documents, the coordination in library automation, the supervision of architectural projects and the provision of advice to town councils. A modernisation process was begun at the network in 1986. This principally affects the areas of document acquisition, the creation of new libraries, the renovation of those already in existence and the implementation of the computer system.