The story of the 25,000 books in the Cort library

PalmIt'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.

The project to create a city hall library had been around for a long time. Miquel dels Sants Oliver –it had to be him: the visionary of tourism, of autonomy and everything– had already proposed around 1888 in the newspaper The Almudaina that Palma City Council acquire the impressive book collection of the aristocrat Antoni Villalonga – some 4,000 titles, valued at the then fabulous sum of 125,000 pesetas – to serve as the basis for a "future municipal library".

Another prominent figure of the time, the future minister Alexandre Rosselló, proposed to the Provincial Council that it subsidize the City Council with 50,000 pesetas to buy the books and create a library – they would have been cheap. The Provincial Council announced that it was willing to contribute the necessary money, provided that Cort paid all the outstanding debts, so its offer was refused. However, the Villalonga collection was hampered by another drawback: its content, as we would say now, was 'politically incorrect', with works little suited to the official mentality of the time, such as heterodox authors or erotic literature.

The Women's Library

It wasn't until 43 years later that the then deputy mayor and president of the culture committee, Emili Darder—later mayor and assassinated by the coup plotters of 1936—was laid off in June 1931, just two months after the elections. Darder knew what it was all about: he himself had been librarian at the Círculo Mallorquín. It was essential to appoint someone to take charge: Martina Pascual Martí, a graduate of the Higher School of Librarians of the Commonwealth of Catalonia, was chosen as interim librarian. In 1933, she became its permanent director, after passing the corresponding competitive examination—one of the requirements, of course, was knowledge of Catalan, apparently without anyone raising an outcry about this requirement.

You may have noticed that this Mallorcan woman had studied at the 'School of Librarians', not the 'School of Librarians'. This isn't an exaggeration of inclusive language ahead of its time. It was only for women, because their salaries were lower than men's. This seems outrageous to us today—rightly so—but back then it was an opportunity for those young women. And Martina Pascual brought with her a library system that was innovative for its time.

In fact, the Cort library has consistently been directed by women. From Pascual, who served until her death in 1962—with an assistant, Emília Villalonga—to Margalida Rosselló, who was its director until 2004. Afterwards, this position was abolished as such. Currently, another woman, Margalida Plomer, is the head of Palma's municipal library network.

And where was the future municipal library to be located? In 1892, a project to remodel the entire building had already begun: the current reading space was then used as a fire station and a gymnasium. At that time, the old Sant Andreu oratory existed on the ground floor, which was used as a storage room. While those works were being carried out, in 1894, a fire broke out that left practically the entire building in ruins. Now, the entire ground floor had to be restructured. The new lobby and the monumental staircase were designed by the prominent architect Gaspar Bennàzar, so, predictably, he also designed what is now the Cort library. Fortunately, this work has been preserved, unlike some of his other...

According to city chronicler Bartomeu Bestard, it is inspired by the oldest library in Palma, that of the Jesuits of Monti-Sion, from the 17th century. Bishop Campins also used it as a model for the diocesan library. The wooden shelves line the walls, leaving a cantilevered elevated walkway over which librarians traverse in search of the volumes stored in the upper part of the space.

However, the councilors could not agree on the location of the new library. Other spaces were considered, such as the Academy of Fine Arts, and acquiring the current Solleric mansion—which, indeed, the City Council would buy many years later—due to its capacity, among other reasons. One councilor disagreed with the library sharing a building with the municipal offices, because the latter could become a target of "stirring passions" and endanger the books.

An even more important issue than the building was its contents. That is, what books would make up the collection of the future library? Although Oliver's initial proposal of 1888 had not come to fruition, the City Council had managed to acquire at least half of the Villalonga collection. The rest of the founding funds came from the bibliophile Jaume Garau and the linguist Antoni Maria Alcover, in addition to some 1,250 volumes scattered throughout the municipal offices.

Purging books... and people

Everything had to be sorted, and Martina Pascual devoted all her efforts to this task, from her appointment to the inauguration of the library. But this was not enough: the Culture Committee allocated 5,000 pesetas annually for the acquisition of new material, which was purchased in bookstores or directly from publishers. In addition, personalities such as Isidor Macabich, Lorenzo Villalonga, José María Pemán, and Darder himself donated books. In total, by the end of 1934, there were 6,177 volumes.

By the time the library was inaugurated, on September 19, 1935—90 years ago—Emili Darder was no longer there. Following the 1934 riots over the accession of right-wing ministers to the state government, the entire City Council had been suspended. The honors of the inaugural ceremony fell to a management committee. The newspaper The Republic He claimed that the library had already been found, while the commission's spokesperson, in his speech, stated that the library was only a project and that they had made it a reality. As you can see, politics, always so original. And I wish they only talked about books.

The coup d'état of 1936, which, as is well known, was successful in Mallorca, seriously affected the new library, less than a year after it had opened its doors. Suddenly, the mechanisms of censorship were put into practice. A decree declared "pornographic prints and engravings" and "socialist, libertarian, and, in general, dissolving literature" illegal. In 1937, purging measures were implemented to establish which books would be destroyed or, at least, restricted from public access. Violators of these measures could be subject to astronomical fines of 10,000 pesetas, in addition to the loss of their jobs.

Not only were the books purged. People were also. Martina Pascual had been one of only six women who had signed the Response to the Catalans, in favor of collaboration on language and culture with the left-wing Catalonia government. For that reason alone, she was already suspect. She was suspended from her job and salary. To apply for reinstatement, she had to fill out a declaration, arguing that she had never been a member of any political party—left-wing, of course.

Towards the 1950s and 1960s, the Cort library was returning to a certain 'normality'. In 1961, a curious service was launched: the 'bibliobus' (bookmobile), with the aim of serving the neighborhoods, whose users were primarily women. At that time, the lending service was limited to City Hall officials only. It wasn't until 1993, already under democracy, that it was extended to the general public. This coincided, in the 1990s, with an extension of opening hours and an increase in staff.

Today, the Cort library is a landmark for Mallorcan culture, a very familiar place for students and newspaper readers, and an essential reference point for anyone interested in learning about the city's history. Its collection includes true gems, such as one of the most important works of art in the history of the city. Blanquerna by Ramon Llull, from 1521, among its 25,065 books, which quadruple the initial collection. In 2024, it was used by 24,699 users, with 6,374 loans. The location of Palma's central library in the Gesa building acquired by the City Council is in perspective. But you have already seen that, in this city, it can take a good number of years from a proposal to an inauguration.

Information prepared from texts by Concepció Calafat and Ana Gimeno, Antònia Morey, Assumpció Estevill, Catalina Aguiló, Paz Alomar, Bartomeu Bestard, Joan Fuentes and Catalina Cantarellas.