The Association of Librarians, Archivists, and Documentalists of the Balearic Islands (ABADIB) has expressed its strong opposition to the motion that the Palma City Council will approve this Thursday, promoted by Vox and supported by the PP. The initiative seeks to commission a comprehensive study of municipal library holdings to "guarantee a balanced and representative offering in Spanish and Catalan," but, according to the association, this proposal calls into question the professional criteria of library services and introduces political parameters into an area that is regulated by clear legal frameworks and technical criteria.

The Palma City Council will approve a motion this Thursday, proposed by Vox and supported by the People's Party (PP), to commission a study quantifying the number of titles in each language. The far-right party believes there are too few books in Spanish in municipal libraries. However, Más por Palma considers this new offensive "absurd." "We are facing a smokescreen to cover up the real neglect of neighborhood libraries by the PP and Vox," denounced councilor Miquel Àngel Contreras. The Son Cladera library has been temporarily closed since April, and the Génova and Sant Jordi libraries have nearly closed due to the City Council's failure to pay rent. Currently, Palma's municipal libraries have a total collection of 265,545 items, of which 86,945 are in Catalan and 150,004 in Spanish. Furthermore, regarding CABIB (the Balearic Islands Catalogue, books available through interlibrary loan), in 2025 the collection increased by 3,065 titles in Catalan and 5,873 in Spanish. Therefore, the narrative of the PP and Vox parties collapses when examining the data, which shows that Spanish almost doubles the number of new acquisitions in 2025 compared to Catalan. "These figures expose the lies of Vox and the irresponsibility of the PP government, which manages the libraries and is responsible for extracting the data," denounces Miquel Àngel Contreras. "They are not interested in the truth, only in attacking Catalan. They are not interested in the disastrous management of libraries by the PP. Both parties have made a pact of hostility against the language of Palma's residents, and they demonstrate this every day," points out the MÉS councilor for Palma.

Ana (73) and Enriqueta (she doesn't want to give her age, but admits she's close to 80) leave the Cultura Artesana library (La Misericordia) with a book by Susanna Tamaro in their bags. They are both part of a reading club that started recently, and which focuses especially on older people who don't have the habit of reading. When asked how it's going, they both chat nonstop, simultaneously, excited. "It's hard for me, but I understand more and more. I'll never give up," says Ana while happily kicking her boots. "You have to write that I've only missed it once because I had a Catalan exam," she adds proudly—she's from Córdoba—before heading off to yoga. These women exemplify what libraries are all about today. "They are a space for community around books, a place where we meet others," says Carolina Guayta, director of the Can Salas library.

It's at the back of the lobby of Palma's current City Hall: a historic government space, as it had previously been the headquarters of the University of the City and Kingdom of Mallorca, the institution that governed both the capital and the entire island. From its glass door, a magical space emerges, with wooden shelves and tables. A sign had to be posted at the entrance: "User Only," to discourage tourists eager to take a selfie. In this space, with visitors, wedding guests being held at City Hall, and councilors and the public attending plenary sessions, 25,000 books coexist: those that make up the collection of the Cort library, inaugurated on September 19, 1935, 90 years ago.