The Library Tour: the reception desk

We will begin a mini tour of the library at the Compañía de Jesús building under the care of Cooperación Española NGO or Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional as it is called in Spanish.

But first the disclosure: I love libraries; even chicken bus libraries! 😉

Back when I lived in the good old U.S. of A. I met many people who used to brag about the numerous credit cards they had in their wallets. I just told them I only carried one card because to me it was enough. You can guess what card that was, right?

I have said several times that the Compañía de Jesús building is my favorite building in the whole universe (boy, I am beginning to sound like Manolo, 😉 ) and the main reason for that is the library inside.

There are only two libraries in La Antigua Guatemala that allow check outs (to take books home for those not fluent in library-speak) and the library at the Compañía de Jesús building is one of them. It is the biggest library as well. We will begin the tour at the reception desk, if it’s fine with you.

Here are the other reasons why I love the Compañía de Jesús building: the coffee bush hedge; the atrium and the people I found there 1, 2, 3, 4; the history on the plaques, the windows, the doorways, the garden and fountain, the window frames, the arches and the Spanish-style roof tiles just to name some aspects.

Lessie says:

December 4, 2007 at 10:13 am

Libraries really are wonderful — I like your capture of this lobby. Makes you want to enter the media room!

Manolo says:

December 4, 2007 at 10:36 am

What I like about this picture is that it shows the life that happens in the library… so it is not just a building full of books, but a place where people share knowledge. I visited a library in LAG two (or three) lifetimes ago, and I am not sure if it was this one, I think it was some sort of Central American Archives, but (1)I might be constructing a memory out of several others or (2)the place might have changed its name or unfortunately closed down.
Funny linguistic fact for non-Spanish speakers: Librería is actually a bookstore or in Guatemala could be a stationary store.

Carmen says:

December 4, 2007 at 3:09 pm

Right on Manolo. The first thing I taught my kiddies was the difference between la libreria and la biblioteca. I went so far as to correct a letter sent to us so the kids could get their own library card and that we did…with me reading a bunch of books, my kids were (for the most part)library aficionados as well. 😀
As a student I used to work in a library and now, if I could, I would live in one. Here, my favorite is the Riordan Library (Downtown Los Angeles). It has many pretty branches, but I like that one because I have many floors to choose from and there are art exhibits as well. When you want to take a break there is an indoor cafe or you can go outside for a stroll in the adjacent park with its fountains and lively characters (and I include here the ones that talk to themselves and then look at you with a puzzled look while clutching their mysterious paper bag). Next time I hope we can go by La Compania de Jesus. My family and I usually buy books to bring back and we get them from several places, including the bookstore by La Merced and the one by the Parque Central in LAG.
You’ve made several bookworms happy today Rudy. 🙂

coltrane_lives says:

December 4, 2007 at 11:05 pm

Ah, to read is to read is to read…I bet Gertrude Stein wishes she would have said that. Thanks for the beginning of the tour, Rudy. I look forward to seeing and reading more of the LAG libraries!

The Library Tour: the reception desk

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