The Minister of Culture and Sports, José Guirao, has informed of the budget modification that allows allocate this item, the first that Culture will dedicate to the purchase of books after its elimination in 2011.
José Guirao has inaugurated the Meeting of the Edition organized by the Spanish Federation of the Publishers' Guild in the reopened Torre de Don Borja Center, in Santillana del Mar (Cantabria). This meeting, held annually and traditionally held at the Menéndez y Pelayo International University, is a traditional forum for debate and contact with editors.
In this scenario, Guirao has announced the recent "budget modification that allows us to dedicate € 1,600,000 to the purchase of books for libraries," and the reactivation of bibliographic endowment agreements with the Autonomous Communities. The item for the acquisition of books for public libraries had no funds since 2011.
"We have in our hands a revolutionary instrument, the book, to chart the future and make our society more critical, richer and mature to face the challenges that are coming," said the minister.
The meeting was also attended by the general director of the Book and Promotion of Reading, Olvido García Valdés, the president of the Federation of the Publishers Guild of Spain, Miguel Barrero and the president of the Santillana Foundation, Ignacio Polanco, among other personalities.
The Altamira Museum turns 18
Ministry of Culture and SportsAfter his speech, José Guirao went to the National Museum and Research Center of Altamira that this year celebrates the 18th anniversary of its opening.
"This month of August, Altamira will reach 5 million visitors since its opening, and it is to be very proud of its progress and its dissemination," said Guirao, who also announced that "from Culture, work is currently being done on the conceptualization of the change of the exhibition to renew it and that offers new and better contents for those visitors who come for the second time ".
In response to the media, the minister said he will speak with the director of the Museum, Pilar Fatás, and with the vice president of Cantabria and Minister of Culture, Pablo Zuloaga, on possible dates to convene the meeting of the Board of Altamira this next autumn, date "conditioned" to the constitution of the new Government of Spain.
The Altamira Museum, owned by the State and managed by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, was created in 1979, by order of June 15, as the institution directly responsible for the management of the Altamira cave. On July 17, 2001, being its director José Antonio Lasheras, the new building was inaugurated and with it, the Museological Plan for Altamira with the permanent exhibition Los Tiempos de Altamira, which includes the Neocueva, a facsimile reproduction of the original cave of Altamira.