The public reading system of Alcázar de San Juan was launched by the City Council in the early fifties in the twentieth century, as one of the most important cultural initiatives of the city at that time, but it was not the only one. Along with this, other initiatives appeared such as the installation of the collection of local Roman mosaics in the Archaeological Museum “Fray Juan Cobo”, the convening of the current International Exhibition of Painting and the current International Folklore Festival to name just a few. Reading had previously been promoted in the population from two spheres: through the semi-public, with the library that began to operate in the Casino of Alcázar, and through a private initiative, that of a private lending library that lent and collected books from its users. Then came the Municipal Public Library “Miguel de Cervantes”, which for two decades was installed in the main tower of the Mercado de Abastos building built in 1953. During that time the Library, as the only element of cultural action of the population, gathered all kinds of cultural manifestations: recitals, theater, concerts, conferences, round tables, exhibitions, etc.
In the early seventies, the growth of Alcazaba’s cultural life required the development of a new project. This was held in a building constructed on the grounds of the former Hospital de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, where today the Conservatory of Music is located. It was a new center related to the European models, especially the French ones, of Casa de Cultura. The new center incorporated a public reading system and an exhibition hall on the ground floor and a 200-seat auditorium, a specialized language classroom and a seminar room with the collection of papers from the Municipal Historical Archive on the upper floor. Again, for twenty years, this center also provided other types of cultural services alongside the public reading system: concerts, recitals, theater performances, general education courses, exhibitions, film screenings, etc. In this way, their presence in the life of the city and the neighborhood’s desire to find these services, directs the city’s designs towards a new model in accordance with the European trends of the moment in the provision of cultural services: the cultural complexes.
In the nineties this project was completed in the building known as “La Ferroviaria” which houses all the services of the Municipal House of Culture and incorporates some new ones.
This cultural complex now houses the following services:
Municipal theater, municipal public library with two reading rooms, exhibition hall, public cyber library, municipal historical archive, specialized classrooms for plastic arts (painting, ceramics, engraving), theater classroom, crafts classroom and television studios. In the early years it also had a municipal radio station.
Contact
Contact information:
Contact telephone number: 618 669 002
Email: pmc.alcazar@patronatoculturaalcazar.org
Children’s library: 609 806 984 – contact and registration for activities
Schedule
Study room:
Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Saturday from 10:00h to 14:00h.
Customer service:
Adult room:
Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Saturday from 10:00h to 14:00h
Children’s room:
Monday to Friday from 17:00h to 20:00h.
Consult our catalog:
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Services
Loan service:
Loan conditions: To use the loan service it is necessary to have a user card that will be given to the reader at the time of registration (you can also apply online from the Related Information section). To obtain it, the user must present the ID card, passport, residence card or driver’s license. Minors under 18 years of age must present documentation from their parent or guardian.
The loan service is free of charge and each user will be able to borrow the books at the same time:
- 4 books for 21 days.
- 2 multimedia (cd-audio, cd-rom or dvd) for 7 days.
Loans can be renewed on the Library Network web page with the user number and password or in person at the library or by telephone.
In case of delay in returning the documents on loan, the user will be deprived of this service for a period of days equal to the number of days of delay.
The children’s card may only be used to borrow children’s or youth funds.
E-book lending: With the user card and requesting the registration in the service.
eBiblio
service at your library, you will be able to borrow 3 electronic books for 21 days, with the possibility of reserving up to 3 titles.
Reference and reference works are excluded from the loan. They are marked by a red dot on the spine, above the book cover. Newspapers and the latest issues of magazines are also excluded from the loan.
Collective loan: It can be requested by institutions, upon presentation of a form. Gives access to the loan of:
Reservation service: Any user may make a reservation on any material on loan, with a maximum of 3 documents reserved at a time. Only one copy of each audiovisual material (films, audio CDs or CD-ROMs) may be reserved, so reservations may be combined as follows: 3 books; 2 books and 1 audiovisual material; 1 audiovisual material of each type, etc. Once the copy has been returned, the Library will notify the interested party by telephone and indicate the deadline for its collection, bearing in mind that reserves expire 4 days after their activation.
Network lending: Network lending is that which, at the request of a user registered in any of the libraries of the Castilla-La Mancha Public Library Network, is carried out from his/her reference library to any other library of the Network.
The management of any request for networked documents will be handled exclusively through the reference library.
The same loan conditions apply for individual network loans as for individual loans. The document may be requested in person or by any means provided by the corresponding reference library. The return of the network loan will always be made in person at the reference library.
For collective network loans, the lending conditions established for the collective loan will apply.
Interlibrary loan: Through this service, users may request any type of original document or copy available in library centers outside the Network. The management of any request for interlibrary loan documents will be handled exclusively through the corresponding reference library.
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Other services
Internet and office automation: Library users who wish to consult the Internet or use office automation programs must have a user card and password that will be provided by the Library and must not be sanctioned.
There is a modality of use:
- Direct use without reservation, if there are free places It may be used for a maximum of 1 hour per day, continuously or divided over the course of the day.
The use and utilization of the computer will be individual.
The room staff is authorized to interrupt the consultation in case of non-compliance with the rules.
In addition, the Library allows Internet access to users who bring their own devices (laptops, tablets or cell phones) via WiFi technology.
Guided tours: If you are an educational center, study center, academy, toy library… You can contact us for a guided tour of the library facilities. We will teach you how to use the services of the library and the rest of the Casa de la Cultura.
Contact telephone number: 618 669 002
Email: mibiblio@patronatoculturaalcazar.org
