CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

National Library of Argentina

national library of Argentina

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionOct 15, 2025
Entity authorityQ1319177 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Mariano Moreno National Library (Spanish: Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno) is the largest library in Argentina. It is located in the barrio of Recoleta in Buenos Aires. The library is named after Mariano Moreno, one of the ideologists of the May Revolution and its first director.

The National Library is an agency under the Ministry of Culture of Argentina.

History

Public Library of Buenos Aires

Originally named the Public Library of Buenos Aires and founded in September 1810 by decree of the first Government Junta of the May Revolution first Government Junta, it later became the country's only national library when it redefined its mission in 1884 and formally changed its name to the National Library of Argentina. The first headquarters, an old 18th century mansion that belonged to the Jesuits, was located on the corner of Moreno Street and Peru Street, within the historic Jesuit site known as the Manzana de Las Luces.

Mariano Moreno, the first director, prompted the creation of the Library as part of a package of measures aimed at forging a public alert towards political and civic life. Moreover, the foundation of the Public Library was laid upon the vindication of public education and instruction as a means for building an autonomous country. The initial collection was interwoven with the struggle for independence and was gathered from the expropriated personal collection of Bishop Orellana as well as the patriotic donations of the Cabildo, the Real Colegio San Carlos, Luis José Chorroarín, and Manuel Belgrano. The library's first chief directors were Dr.

Editorial summary

“National Library of Argentina” enters the record as national library of Argentina. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what National, Library and Argentina can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1810, 1884—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1810-09-13. Its strongest next move is a source search built around National, Library and Argentina.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“National Library of Argentina” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, National, Library and Argentina provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 15, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1319177. VIAF identifies the subject as 271687809. The Library of Congress control number is n82122511. Authority coordinates are -34.584, -58.398. 1 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1810 and 1884.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “National Library of Argentina”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow National Library of Argentina primary sources, National Library of Argentina archive and National research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “National Library of Argentina”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “National Library of Argentina” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.