On how poor Sisyphus finally flattened the mountain: an glimpse at the Arús Library

An introduction to the Biblioteca Arús, in Barcelona, which is a research library specialising in contemporary social movements and in ancillary sciences related to law, politics and economics. Special attention is paid to the history of the centre and the circumstances under which it was created, in 1895: as a public library devoted to training the city’s working classes. The physical site is also described, with its highly symbolic contents and an initial collection that was very advanced for its time. Closed in 1939, it reopened in 1967 and shortly thereafter it was converted into a research library due to the historical value and the importance of its social movements section, of its collection. Descriptive data about the current centre are provided in an annex.