Blog Bitácora de un bibliotecario

This compilation includes "Las bibliotecas del sol naciente (01) and (02)," "12 de octubre," "Libertad en las bibliotecas…," "Colonialismo bibliotecológico," and "Turkmenistán."

"Las bibliotecas del sol naciente (01) and (02)" present a detailed overview of the Japanese library system, including public, academic, school, and special libraries, as well as the National Diet Library and its extensive digital services. The entries analyze legislative frameworks, funding models, copyright debates, professional structures, and large-scale initiatives such as web archiving (WARP) and digital cataloguing projects. Beyond statistical description, the texts reflect on creativity, cultural specificity, and the limits of transplanting institutional models across contexts.

"12 de octubre" reframes the commemoration of the so-called "discovery" of the Americas by shifting attention from colonial pasts to contemporary internal discrimination within Latin American societies. The entry situates librarianship within current struggles for linguistic rights, cultural survival, and equitable access to information for Indigenous communities.

"Libertad en las bibliotecas…" reproduces and comments on the Japanese Library Association's Declaration on Intellectual Freedom, examining principles related to acquisition policies, access, privacy, anti-censorship measures, and professional solidarity. The text foregrounds intellectual freedom as a foundational democratic indicator and as an ethical obligation of library institutions.

"Colonialismo bibliotecológico" analyzes political tensions within international library organizations and introduces the concept of "library colonialism" through debates surrounding "American Corners" in foreign institutions. The entry interrogates cultural influence, acquisition policies, and the asymmetries embedded in global information flows.

"Turkmenistán" documents the authoritarian regime of Saparmurat Niyazov and its impact on libraries, publishing, education, censorship, and access to information. Drawing on international reports and media sources, the text critiques disciplinary neutrality and argues that librarianship cannot be divorced from political, ethical, and human rights considerations.

Across these entries, the compilation situates librarianship within global political structures, cultural conflicts, digital transformation, and struggles over intellectual freedom. The volume presents the library not as a neutral repository, but as an institution embedded in systems of power, sovereignty, resistance, and democratic accountability.

This compilation includes the posts "Los gestores de la memoria," "Sobre nuestra educación como bibliotecarios," "Sobre gurúes, santones y otras hierbas…," "Vocación de servicio," "Reflexiones," "Un punto de partida," and "Se otorgarán certificados…" They articulate an early and forceful professional self-definition grounded in memory, ethics, and critical autonomy.

"Los gestores de la memoria" frames librarians as custodians of fragile written civilizations, interrogating professional pride and the erosion of reading and critical literacy. "Sobre nuestra educación como bibliotecarios" critiques technical training models that reduce librarians to functionaries, calling for humanistic formation, research capacity, and ethical responsibility, particularly in marginalized and Indigenous contexts. "Sobre gurúes, santones y otras hierbas…" examines the uncritical adoption of Euro-North American classification systems and imported paradigms, exposing colonial residues in tools such as the UDC and Dewey and advocating locally grounded intellectual production. "Vocación de servicio" reasserts librarianship as a social service oriented toward cultural access rather than commodified "clients." "Reflexiones" invokes the destruction of the Library of Alexandria as an ethical mirror, questioning professional worthiness in relation to historical predecessors. "Un punto de partida" proposes the library as a space where hope is sought and generated, resisting market logics that seek to monetize knowledge. Finally, "Se otorgarán certificados…" critiques the culture of superficial professional credentialism and the commodification of continuing education.

These early entries establish a foundational stance that would later define the author's trajectory: librarianship as memory work, as decolonial vigilance, as pedagogical commitment, and as an ethically charged form of public service. Rather than nostalgic reflection, the text reads as a manifesto-in-formation, articulating tensions between local realities and imported models, between vocation and bureaucracy, and between knowledge as common good and knowledge as commodity.

This compilation includes the texts "Anarquismo bibliotecario (01)," "Vocación de servicio," the reflections on professional elites and hierarchical "divinities," "Estatus de ciencia," the satirical meditation on conceptual overproduction and the so-called "information explosion," and "Política y bibliotecas."

"Anarquismo bibliotecario (01)" reclaims anarchism as a philosophical critique of imposed authority and hierarchical power, applying its principles to librarianship and questioning academic, political, religious, and economic structures that naturalize obedience. The subsequent reflections on professional castes and bureaucratic elites denounce systems of concursos, escalafones, and symbolic capital that privilege titles over competence, advocating instead what Mijaíl Bakunin termed "real authority": authority grounded in knowledge and ethical practice rather than position.

"Vocación de servicio" revisits the notion of librarianship as social commitment, warning against technocratic self-absorption and the abandonment of public responsibility in favor of internal disputes over credentials and status. "Estatus de ciencia" interrogates the disciplinary anxiety surrounding librarianship's scientific legitimacy, situating debates within broader historical processes of knowledge production and institutional validation. The satirical narrative on conceptual inflation and the multiplication of definitions exposes the absurdity of academic overproduction, linking it to the "information explosion" and to the labor imposed on those tasked with preserving and organizing proliferating discourse. Finally, "Política y bibliotecas" rejects the illusion of professional neutrality, arguing that libraries are inescapably embedded in political, social, and ideological structures.

The posts mark a transition from professional self-definition to systemic critique. Hierarchy, credentialism, imported paradigms, academic inflation, and depoliticized service are dissected as interlocking mechanisms that shape librarianship from within. The volume consolidates an emerging stance: librarianship understood not as neutral technical labor, but as an ethically charged, politically situated practice that must confront power structures both inside and outside the profession.

This compilation gathers entries written in July and August 2005 during participation in the IFLA World Library and Information Congress and its Satellite Conference on Multicultural Library Services in Stockholm and Oslo. The selected texts — "Preparando las alas – IFLA 2005," "Impresiones preliminares…," the daily chronicles from Estocolmo (8–12 de agosto), "Sensaciones sobre Suecia," and the Oslo entries preceding and during WLIC 2005 — document both institutional events and personal field observations.

"Preparando las alas – IFLA 2005" outlines participation in the Satellite Conference on multiculturalism and plurilingualism and anticipates a diary that would critically narrate the experience from within international professional structures. The Stockholm entries record sessions focused on linguistic rights, endangered languages, multilingual catalogues, and staff competencies for multicultural services, including discussions on oral archives and sound collections as tools for language preservation. Visits to the International Library and the Stockholm Public Library provide concrete descriptions of infrastructure, services, and organizational models.

"Sensaciones sobre Suecia" moves beyond conference reporting to analyze Swedish social organization, public policy, ecological practices, migration, and cultural norms, juxtaposing perceived order and underlying tensions. The Oslo entries shift toward the internal mechanics of IFLA governance, describing Standing Committee meetings, bureaucratic procedures, newcomer receptions, and the structural dynamics of large international organizations. Critical attention is paid to the gap between discourse and practical action, the distribution of resources, and the performative dimensions of institutional events.

These texts combine travel chronicle, institutional ethnography, and professional critique. Multicultural librarianship, linguistic diversity, oral memory preservation, organizational bureaucracy, and geopolitical asymmetries are examined through direct observation, situating global professional discourse within concrete social and infrastructural realities.

This compilation cinludes texts that explore the historical foundations of libraries, the conceptual nature of the book, colonial memory, oral tradition, and the social role of the university. The selected texts — "Una pequeña historia de la biblioteca," "Libridad. O Lo que Hace que un Libro sea un Libro," "Maldición de Malinche," the paired reflections on "12 de octubre" (including the anonymous manuscript of Tlatelolco and excerpts from Taki Ongoy), "Libros vivientes," and "Universidad y trabajo de 'extensión'" — articulate a sustained inquiry into memory, cultural transmission, and responsibility.

"Una pequeña historia de la biblioteca" traces the evolution of documentary repositories from Mesopotamian archives to modern public libraries, examining the entanglement of writing, power, memoricide, colonial destruction, and the persistent tension between cultural preservation and political control. "Libridad" questions materialist definitions of the book, engaging the concept of bookness and proposing an expanded understanding centered on the transmission of human thought across diverse supports, formats, and traditions.

"Maldición de Malinche" reflects on cultural self-denial in Latin America, addressing linguistic displacement and epistemic dependency, while the October 12 entries foreground Indigenous perspectives on conquest through historical testimony and contemporary artistic expression. "Libros vivientes" reframes oral custodians of knowledge as living documentary systems, analyzing their role in preserving endangered languages, sustaining identities, and resisting epistemic erasure. Finally, "Universidad y trabajo de 'extensión'" critiques the notion of academic outreach as an external add-on, arguing instead for a conception of higher education intrinsically bound to social responsibility and transformative action.

Collectively, these texts examine the library not only as an institution, but as a historical and ethical field in which memory, power, language, and cultural survival intersect. Written culture, oral transmission, colonial rupture, and educational practice are situated within a broader reflection on how societies construct, protect, distort, or abandon their own knowledge.

This volume compiles entries written in November and December 2005 during and after a professional visit to Bolivia. The selected texts — "Jallalla Bolivia…," "A los pies del Illimani," and "Volviendo de Bolivia…" — combine travel chronicle, institutional observation, and regional professional analysis.

"Jallalla Bolivia…" narrates the journey across northern Argentina and the Andean highlands into La Paz, situating the experience within the geography of the puna, the Quebrada de Humahuaca, and the Bolivian altiplano. Beyond landscape description, the text emphasizes communal practices, indigenous presence, and the need to move beyond superficial tourism toward deeper intercultural engagement. "A los pies del Illimani" documents the political climate preceding the 2005 presidential elections, while describing the Escuela de Bibliotecología de la Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, student organization, curricular structure, and the vitality of municipal and academic library networks, particularly in La Paz and El Alto. "Volviendo de Bolivia…" offers a systematic overview of Bolivian information institutions, including the Biblioteca y Archivo Nacionales in Sucre, the Biblioteca y Archivo Histórico del Congreso Nacional, university library systems, the Banco Central de Bolivia, CIDEM, the Taller de Historia Oral Andina, the Red TIC Bolivia, the CPCIB, CEDIB, and the Revista de Bibliotecología y Ciencias de la Información.

Collectively, these entries portray Bolivia as a dynamic documentary landscape in which academic formation, professional organization, community engagement, and political transformation intersect. Libraries, archives, and documentation centers are examined not as isolated institutions, but as active participants in broader social processes shaped by indigenous resurgence, electoral transition, and regional geopolitical tensions.

This compilation includes "Indiferencia y neutralidad," "Anarquista," "Aventuras en la biblioteca...," and the reflections on Acceso Abierto dated mid-2006.

Across these texts, librarianship is examined as a political and ethical practice rather than a neutral technical occupation. "Indiferencia y neutralidad" questions professional disengagement and challenges the idea that technical work can be separated from social responsibility. The library is framed as an active agent in contexts marked by injustice, not as a passive administrative structure.

"Anarquista" explores the philosophical foundations of authority, power, and institutional constraint, situating professional identity within broader debates about autonomy and structural domination. The text interrogates hierarchical models within educational and professional systems and advocates intellectual independence as a necessary stance.

"Aventuras en la biblioteca..." reflects on everyday institutional practices, bureaucratic rigidity, and the distance between formal regulations and lived realities. The library is reimagined as an adaptable organism capable of reshaping itself to meet the needs of marginalized communities rather than forcing users into predefined frameworks.

The entry devoted to Open Access articulates a critique of restrictive copyright regimes and unequal access to scholarly information, especially in Latin American contexts. Access to knowledge is framed as a structural condition for social development, professional equity, and intellectual sovereignty.

Taken together, the compilation situates librarianship at the intersection of memory, power, access, and resistance. The profession appears not as an administrative specialty but as a contested field in which neutrality, authority, and the circulation of knowledge are continuously negotiated.

This volume compiles the texts "Bibliotecas y pueblos indígenas," "Memoria, tradición oral y escritura," "Lenguas en peligro," "Archivos comunitarios," and "Servicios bibliotecarios en contextos marginales."

"Bibliotecas y pueblos indígenas" examines the historical exclusion of Indigenous communities from formal documentary systems and questions the adequacy of conventional library models for representing non-Western epistemologies. "Memoria, tradición oral y escritura" analyzes the tension between oral transmission and written fixation, emphasizing the fragility of embodied knowledge when subjected to institutional mediation. "Lenguas en peligro" addresses linguistic extinction as both cultural loss and documentary failure, highlighting the urgency of preservation initiatives grounded in community participation.

"Archivos comunitarios" explores grassroots documentation practices developed outside official institutions, presenting them as autonomous responses to historical silencing. "Servicios bibliotecarios en contextos marginales" reflects on the operational realities of libraries working in economically precarious environments, where information work becomes inseparable from social intervention.

The texts situate librarianship within struggles over representation, language survival, and epistemic recognition. Documentary practice is framed not as neutral administration but as a field shaped by historical inequities, cultural resilience, and the persistent need to reimagine institutions from the perspective of marginalized communities.

This compilation includes "¿Y una biblioteca… ¿para qué?," a reflection on scholarly publishing and corporate control of academic knowledge, "Tradición oral y memorias incaicas," "Ferias del libro…," and "Infodiversidad, utopía y un viaje a México."

"¿Y una biblioteca… ¿para qué?" interrogates the social purpose of libraries in contemporary societies, challenging purely instrumental definitions and reaffirming their role as spaces of cultural construction, critical thought, and collective memory. The entry on scholarly publishing examines the consolidation of commercial academic publishing, denouncing the monopolization of scientific knowledge by multinational corporations and questioning the ethical foundations of restricted access models.

"Tradición oral y memorias incaicas" revisits Andean mnemonic systems and oral transmission, exploring the persistence of Indigenous knowledge beyond written codification and emphasizing the fragility and resilience of non-textual memory structures. "Ferias del libro…" reflects on the cultural, economic, and symbolic dimensions of book fairs, analyzing their dual function as commercial marketplaces and spaces of encounter between readers, authors, and institutions. "Infodiversidad, utopía y un viaje a México" links the concept of informational diversity to lived experience, situating debates on access, plurality, and documentary ecosystems within a broader Latin American context.

These posts examine libraries and documentary systems through the lenses of purpose, power, cultural diversity, and epistemic plurality. The volume situates librarianship within global tensions between commercialization and access, written and oral memory, and homogeneity and informational diversity, articulating a sustained concern for knowledge as a shared and contested public good.

This compilation includes "Sobre bostezos…," "Un populu diventa poviru e servu quannu ci arrubannu a lingua," "Pregones y crónicas coloniales…," and "Un compendio de estupidez humana."

"Sobre bostezos…" begins with an apparently trivial childhood question in order to expose the fragility of certainties within contemporary "knowledge societies." The text contrasts technological advancement with unresolved fundamental inquiries, suggesting that access to information does not automatically translate into wisdom or understanding.

"Un populu diventa poviru e servu quannu ci arrubannu a lingua" addresses linguistic diversity and language loss through the metaphor of Babel and through data drawn from UNESCO reports. The entry situates endangered languages within broader processes of cultural homogenization, industrial concentration, and informational inequality, framing linguistic extinction as both cultural impoverishment and documentary failure.

"Pregones y crónicas coloniales…" revisits colonial street cries and historical chronicles to reflect on memory, sound, and urban cultural practices. Through musical references and literary citations, the text reconstructs fragments of everyday colonial life, emphasizing the persistence and transformation of sonic traditions over time.

"Un compendio de estupidez humana" examines Paul Tabori's Natural History of Stupidity as a lens through which to explore irrationality in historical documents and institutional practices. By surveying bureaucratic excesses, myths, and political absurdities, the entry interrogates the structural presence of folly in human affairs.

Across these texts, the compilation moves between epistemological doubt, linguistic diversity, sonic memory, and historical absurdity. The volume reflects on knowledge, ignorance, cultural survival, and the persistent tension between information abundance and human limitation.