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A State of the Art Study
Irene Zimmerman
Center for Latin American Studies
University of Florida / 1971
UNIVERSITY OF FLOrPry I TraOTFS
A Center for Latin American Studies Publication
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress
Catalog Card No. 73-632969
THIS ACCOUNT of the "state of the art" of national bibliography in the
component countries and regions of "Latin America," broadly interpreted,
was undertaken partially as a result of the author's participation in the
lengthening series of Seminars on the Acquisition of Latin American
Library Materials (SALALM), which have been held annually from June
Since knowledge of what exists is prerequisite to securing it, informa-
tion as to what publications have been produced has necessarily been a
concern of the Seminars, and a Committee on Bibliography was soon
established. This writer has served on the Committee throughout its
existence and was for a time chairman of a Subcommittee on Caribbean
Bibliography. Some time ago a suggestion was made that the Committee
on Bibliography might well undertake to update the working papers on
national bibliography which had been contributed at successive Seminars.
Such an undertaking did not seem feasible as a committee project, but the
need was recognized.
Consequently, when the opportunity arose to apply for a Faculty
Development Grant which would provide a quarter's leave from regular
duties, it was decided to do so in order to undertake the present study.
The time specified was the spring quarter of 1969, March 15 to June 15.
Obviously one quarter was a very short time to devote to such a study,
but the favorable factors included a reasonably good acquaintance with
the subject and a fortunate coincidence. A colleague, Mrs. Rosa Quintero
Mesa, had for several years been engaged in a major cooperative biblio-
graphic project-the preparation of a set of volumes covering the official
serial publications of the twenty Latin American republics. Since these
would normally include whatever data were being provided by a given
country about its own current national bibliography, a valuable source of
information was close at hand. A trip made by Mrs. Mesa early in 1969 to
the west coast countries of South America and to the two inland coun-
tries, Bolivia and Paraguay, for the procurement of documents gave further
assurance of updated information.
The fact that her itinerary covered the area it did was a further helpful
coincidence. It enabled the author to devote the one month's trip (which
was made possible by a travel grant from the University of Florida's Center
for Latin American Studies) to the east coast countries and Chile. In all of
those countries more information was needed than was furnished in the
latest available publications. The visit was the more important because a
stated secondary objective of the quarter's leave was to learn as much as
possible about the bibliographical coverage of social science fields, such as
education, economics, and law, on a comprehensive Latin American basis.
That topic, however, has necessarily been left for possible treatment at a
later date. Mexico and Central America could not be visited at this time,
but the writer was reasonably well acquainted with the area, and the
situations there seemed reasonably clear.
The Caribbean area, in which some of the most exciting developments
were taking place, is the writer's field of special interest. By another
fortunate coincidence the Fourteenth Seminar was to be held in Puerto
Rico in June, just as she would be returning from the quarter's leave. The
fact that two additional conferences, devoted specifically to Caribbean
matters, would be held in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico at the
beginning and at the end of the quarter, respectively, could not have been
anticipated, but in that area where events are moving so rapidly and where
bibliographical matters of great promise are in a state of crisis at present,
the development was helpful.
The one disadvantage in the series of conferences, so far as the present
project was concerned, was that the time required for preparation, atten-
dance, and follow-up of each made it impossible to present even an outline
of findings concerning the current national bibliographies of Latin Amer-
ica within the allotted quarter's leave. Consequently, this study has had to
be prepared in the limited amount of time which has been available since
returning to a full work schedule. In a few instances further correspon-
dence or procurement of materials would have been advantageous, but
since timeliness in a project such as this is a major consideration, it has
seemed best to conclude it on the basis of present information, with
apologies for whatever deficiencies or oversights may be found to exist.
It is impossible to acknowledge adequately the assistance and encour-
agement given by a great many people, help without which this study
would not have been written. The cooperation in person of members of
the book world in South America and the Caribbean, and elsewhere
through correspondence, is greatly appreciated. Credit is implicitly given
to a number of persons in the course of the study. It should be made
explicit in a few instances, beginning with Marietta Daniels Shepard, the
chief founder and the moving spirit of the Seminars on the Acquisition of
Latin American Library Materials, the circles of whose influence seem
ever widening. The urging on of a flagging spirit by Mrs. M. J. Savary, who
'visited Gainesville at a critical time, was a decisive factor. The reading of
an early portion of the manuscript by William V. Jackson and his later
encouragement are appreciated. Finally, the suggestions made by an assist-
ant, Mrs. Sammy Alzofon Kinard, who has cheerfully read the entire
manuscript, have been most helpful, as has been also her assistance with
technical details. Needless to say, the sole responsibility for all defects is
exclusively mine.
Irene Zimmerman
January 1970
I Introduction 1
H South America 18
Argentina 18
Bolivia 25
Brazil 29
Chile 35
Colombia 39
Ecuador 45
Paraguay 50
Peru 55
Uruguay 58
Venezuela 61
II The Inclusive Caribbean Area 64
Mexico 65
Central America 69
Costa Rica 74
El Salvador 76
Guatemala 78
Honduras 81
Nicaragua 84
Panama 86
The West Indies 88
"The Caribbean"-An Emerging
Entity 89
Puerto Rico 102
Cuba 104
Dominican Republic 107
Haiti 110
The English-Speaking Caribbean 112
Appendix 119
Bibliography 123
Index 131
THE FIRST OBJECTIVE of this "state of the art" study of the current
national bibliographies of Latin America is to indicate the status of the
chief published sources of information about the current production of
book materials in each of the countries concerned. Since bibliography is
compiled rather than written, it might seem to the uninitiated a purely
mechanical matter to assemble the necessary information, to arrange it as
desired, and to send it to the printer or publisher. It is true that, given an
ordinary book, a person with minimal training can jot down the author,
title, place and date of publication, publisher, and number of pages, and so
can produce a completed entry. If these data are not all available in the
most obvious places, or if there is additional information to note, such as
the fact that the book is one of a series, somewhat longer will be required.
This situation presupposes several things-that the book is at hand, that
it is sufficiently well organized to show the expected data, and that the
person handling the item has enough training to recognize and list the
information correctly and in usable form. If it is expected that any
analysis or noting of contents is to be done, a corresponding increase in
the qualifications of the bibliographer is of course required. The first
supposition, that books produced in a country are all collected in some one
place and await recording, is a hazardous one in most countries, and in all
Latin American countries it is completely false. One is reminded of the old
recipe for Welsh rarebit, which began: "First catch your hare." It is also
hazardous to assume that once the bibliographer has succeeded in assem-
bling the information, it will necessarily be published. Too often the
potential publisher and the possible purchaser seem to think primarily in
terms of paper and ink-that a book is a book is a book-and that the price
should be based mainly on the number of pages.
In any country the preparation and production of a list of the publica-
tions currently issued by its presses is a unique story. It is the state of the
art of national bibliography in the various Latin American countries which
is the subject of the present study. This involves not a mere listing of
sources which tell something about the publications of each country nor
even an annotated bibliography describing them. It requires an attempt to
describe the major characteristics of each individual situation and the
results of whatever efforts are being made to produce a current record of a
given country's publications.
The state of the art of any national bibliography is the product of many
variables. These can produce surprising results. Some of the larger coun-
tries have so far provided only woefully incomplete records of their
national book production. On the other hand, there are small countries
whose records are excellent. It is these differing conditions that lend
interest and significance to a country-by-country analysis of the matter.
This study will attempt to describe-so far as this non-Latin but nonparti-
san and interested observer can do from the facts at hand-the situation as
it exists in each country, or, in present terms, the state of the art in each.
We have been accustomed to use the term "Latin American" to refer to
the twenty countries in the Western Hemisphere whose official language is
Spanish, Portuguese, or French. For present purposes the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico and the new English-speaking countries of the Caribbean
area must also be at least summarily considered. This would be necessary if
only because three of the latter-Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and
Tobago-have become members of the Organization of American States,
while Guyana (which has not yet elected to join the OAS) is a part of the
South American continent. In addition there are significant and promising
developments on a regional basis which include all these political entities
and without which any consideration of the Caribbean area would be
Of reference tools produced in the Americas which deal specifically
with current Latin American publications, only the Handbook of Latin
American Studies is sufficiently broad to include all the countries and
areas to be considered here. The Handbook is of course a subject bibli-
ography. It includes current materials about Latin America, wherever
published, arranged by subject rather than by place of origin. Conse-
quently, its value as a source of information about a given country's
current publications, as such, is very limited. There are other important
reference tools, such as catalogs of Latin American collections or acquisi-
tions lists, whose value as sources of current Latin American bibliography
is in inverse ratio to their breadth of scope and their depth in time.
However, there are a few which deal sufficiently with current publications
from specific portions of Latin America to merit consideration in their
proper places.
Once the facts and situations concerning Latin America as a whole have
been presented, the countries will be divided into two groups: (1) the ten
Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking republics of South America, and (2) the
"Caribbean area" with the term used to include Mexico, Central America,
and the Antilles.
The term "national bibliography" is a comprehensive one. Ordinarily,
publications to be considered as registers of their country's publications
will be bulletins or annuals devoted to a presumably inclusive listing of at
least the books and pamphlets published in a country during a stated time
period. If the records include periodicals, government documents, theses,
and whatever else a printing press (or in some cases a mimeograph) can
produce, so much the better. In exceptional cases, if basic information has
been consistently provided in some specific journal or review rather than
in a bulletin devoted exclusively to bibliography, the fact may be men-
tioned. Commercial records covering more than one country will be
considered on their merits. If there is nothing to report, so be it.
Inherent in the question of the state of the art is the qualitative one-to
what extent are techniques employed which make the end product accept-
able? For twenty years or more the Pan American Union and UNESCO
have been working to upgrade the bibliographic patterns used in Latin
America to insure that "bibliographies" will provide full and exact cita-
tions, including such details as the full and correct name of an author, the
place and date of publication, and the extent of the item cited.
Now, as we enter the seventies, most of the volunteer UNESCO -inspired
grupos bibliogrdficos have faded away. In some cases the result is a total
vacuum. If the country is one where there is minimal compliance with a
toothless law of legal deposit, that fact is an integral part of the picture. In
the course of this study questions may be raised which lie beyond its scope
to consider in detail, for instance, "To what extent are libraries-national
or otherwise-looked upon primarily as book repositories rather than as
centers of study and research?" or "What is the relationship between such
situations and attitudes towards librarians and bibliographers?" They
should be kept in mind, however, as they bear directly upon the possibili-
ties of developing adequate national or other bibliographies.
This study cannot go into detail on all possible questions for any one
country, but situations described in one country may be directly relevant
to those of another. The fact is illustrated by a recent report resulting
from a foundation-financed study by two eminent librarians.* The Mexi-
can Library by Paul Bixler, published in 1969 by the Scarecrow Press,
raises questions similar to those posed above and others which may well be
kept in mind in the consideration of situations in the various countries. To
what extent is there cooperation and interaction between the library world
and book publisher and dealer? If libraries are looked upon chiefly as
would-be recipients of free books rather than as customers and colleagues,
how can the situation and the "image" be altered? To what extent is the
librarian equipped to handle present responsibilities? How can he gain
support for needed improvements?
The new decade should bring some helpful answers to these and similar
questions. Cumulative effects of various national and international efforts
are visible, for instance, in the increasing number and vigor of national
bibliographic institutes and departments of library science. As the decade
opens, Latin America's second graduate school of library science begins its
first full year in fine new quarters, the bicultural setting of the University
of Puerto Rico. It is in Puerto Rico also, where the Caribbean Regional
Library was left in trust to the Commonwealth by the expiring Caribbean
Organization in 1964, that a regional bibliography is being compiled, using
modern computerized methods. In Argentina colleagues in the University
of Buenos Aires, experts respectively in bibliography and in computeriza-
tion, have a proposal which could bypass the roadblock of an inert
national library. In Brazil the organized book trade is working actively
with representatives of the library world to improve information provided
to the public concerning the country's current book production. Such
factors are an important part of the current scene in Latin America. They
bear directly upon the state of the national bibliography of the various
countries and will be considered in connection with it.
To consider the negative side for a moment, this study will not attempt
Carl M. White's report is Mexico's Library and Information Services: a Study of Present
Conditions and Needs. It was published by the Bedminster Press, Totowa, New Jersey, in
1969, too late to be available for purposes of the present study, unfortunately.
to answer the question, "Where can we find any information at all that
would be helpful in acquiring books from Latin America?" Such inquiries
may be referred to a paper presented by Carl W. Deal to the Twelfth
Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials (1967),
"Bibliographic Aids for Collecting Latin American Materials." Also, the
1969 edition of the Fermin Peraza Bibliografias corrientes de la Amdrica
Latina is even more comprehensive than earlier ones and includes much
information about partial sources of national bibliography.
Sources of information cited, other than national publications specifi-
cally devoted to bibliography, will be limited, with one exception, to
works published in the Americas. An exception must be made in the case
of UNEsco, whose efforts to promote the development of national bibli-
ography in the Americas (as elsewhere) date from the historic Conference
on the Improvement of Bibliographical Services held in 1950 at UNESCO
headquarters in Paris. Because of the special needs of Latin America and
requests from it, a Regional Center for the Western Hemisphere was
established with headquarters in Havana. During the fifties much ground-
work was laid and an active campaign was waged for the initiation and
improvement of national bibliography. Inspiration and leadership were
provided, especially by the Argentine-born Carlos Victor Penna, the
Center's Assistant Director for Cultural Affairs. Numerous national and
international seminars provided opportunity for a sharing of information,
experiences, and ideas, and incidentally for leadership training. Although
events in Cuba since 1959 have made the Western Hemisphere Center
relatively inactive, the Paris office of UNESCO has continued to give all
possible assistance to Latin America.
An early and major contribution of UNESCO was its bibliographic
handbook, Bibliographical Services Throughout the World, of which the
first edition covered 1951-1953 and the second 1950-1959. A third
edition, covering 1960-1964, was published in French in 1967. An English
edition was advertised for the following year, but as of mid-1969 it was
reported not yet available. Unfortunately much of its value is already lost,
but the information is being updated, a few countries at a time, in the
monthly issues of the UNESCO bulletin, Bibliography, Documentation, and
Terminology. These have been consulted to ascertain which Latin Ameri-
can countries have been covered, and reference will be made to data from
the bulletin where appropriate.
Of publications originating in the United States the most important for
present purposes are the relevant working papers prepared for the annual
Seminars on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials from
1956 to date. (The Seminars were originally sponsored by the Pan Ameri-
can Union, but they were formally incorporated in 1968 under the
acronym SALALM.*) By 1966 the national bibliographies of all countries
were presumably covered, so far as possible, by reports from their own
nationals. Of the major countries only Peru was not represented. For some
of the smaller countries there was and is, unfortunately, no reliable source
of information about whatever publishing may be done there. In such
cases the situation can only be described as it appears to exist. An annual
SALALM working paper devoted to bibliographic activities for the past year
makes a point of providing information on developments concerning
current national bibliography. Hereafter in this study each Seminar will be
identified only by its number and year, though the acronym will be
frequently used.
Two periodical publications of the Pan American Union are useful. The
quarterly Inter-American Review of Bibliography has a notes-and-news
section arranged by countries, and "Recent Books" includes a listing on
bibliography. The List of Books Accessioned and Periodical Articles
Indexed, published monthly by the Pan American Union's Columbus
Memorial Library, devotes sections in both categories to bibliography and
may be depended upon to note items concerning national bibliography.
The Handbook of Latin American Studies, prepared at the Library of
Congress by its Hispanic Foundation, provides an annual annotated sec-
tion, "Bibliography," which is most helpful. In 1964, the same year that
this special section was reinstated, the Handbook began to devote alternate
years to the humanities and to the social sciences. The division fortunately
does not apply to bibliography. The Handbook also presents occasional
special articles on national bibliography, such as a general one in 1960 oa
"Records of Current Publishing in Latin America" by Helen F. Conover,
with descriptive annotations by Peter de la Garza. Later and more specific
articles will be cited in their appropriate context. Despite its being a
subject bibliography, the Handbook's regional subdivisions and a subject
index do give it a limited value as a country approach, especially for
countries where national bibliography is lacking or scarce.
In the present paper, which focuses on current situations, minimal
attention can be given to bibliographic history or to such marginal publica-
tions as periodicals or reviews which include a bibliographic section.
Information concerning such publications is already available from other
For further information and a list of the Seminars, see Appendix.
Fermin Peraza's Bibliografias corrientes de la America Latina has been
published in successive editions since 1962. The sixth edition had been
completed before death claimed Dr. Peraza on January 31, 1969, and it is
available from his widow.* It provides full bibliographic data about the
236 items listed. These include, for instance, general publications with
only a section devoted to Latin America and bulletins dealing with
specialized aspects of national bibliography, which lie beyond the scope of
the present study. Contents notes are frequently included.
Two works dealing with Latin American bibliography and including
sections on national bibliography are invaluable for retrospective back-
ground. Obras de referencia de Amdrica Latina, by Abel Rodolfo Geoghe-
gan, which was subsidized by UNESCO and published in Buenos Aires in
1965 by the compiler, includes sections on the current national bibli-
ographies of the various countries as of that date. A Bibliography of Latin
American Bibliographies, by Arthur E. Gropp, Director Emeritus of the
Columbus Memorial Library, was published in 1968. It lists 224 items
under "Bibliografia national." For titles having open entries, the date of
the latest volume received at the Pan American Union may be given.
However, all items, including last minute insertions, have imprint dates
prior to January 1, 1965.
Periodicals are always an important part of the printed record, but for
underdeveloped countries, where publications of books and pamphlets is
minimal, they are especially so. However, they are frequently ignored in
records of national bibliography if-as is often the case with official
publications also-they are not subject to requirements for legal deposit. It
remains true that the only comparatively recent attempt to treat Latin
American periodicals on a national basis is the highly selective Guide to
Current Latin American Periodicals by Irene Zimmerman, published in
1961. Besides annotations for individual titles, the introduction for each
country noted important serials which provided significant information
about the national bibliography.
Although its only national approach is on a subject basis, mention
should be made of an important quarterly index which has been prepared
since 1961 by Jorge Grossmann at the Library of the Pan American Union:
Indice general de publicaciones peri6dicas latinoamericanas: humanidades
y ciencias sociales. Index to Latin American Periodicals: Humanities and
Social Sciences. (The original publisher, G. K. Hall, was superseded by the
Scarecrow Press, beginning with the 1963 volume.) Each of the first three
Elena V. Peraza, P.O. Box 9177, University of Miami Branch, Coral Gables, Florida
quarterly issues has an author index. The fourth is a cumulated issue,
which may be considerably delayed in appearing.
Official government publications represent an important part of the
national production of book materials, but they are in general a neglected
one. For some Latin American countries, if not most, the series compiled
in the late 1940s at the Library of Congress, A Guide to the Official
Publications of the Other American Republics (1945-1949) under the
general editorship of James B. Childs, still stands as the best record of such
Following a discussion at the Sixth Seminar (1961) of the need for
more adequate bibliographies of Latin American serial documents, Stanley
L. West, who was then the Director of the University of Florida Libraries,
agreed to explore possibilities. What was to become a major cooperative
enterprise was instituted by the Libraries' Documents Department. Mrs.
Rosa Q. Mesa was employed to undertake the task of compiling data for
representative countries, based on basic bibliographies and the University
of Florida's holdings. At the Eighth Seminar (1963) results for three
countries were presented and discussed. Florida was officially requested to
continue with and to develop the project to include all of the Latin
American republics. It agreed to do so if outside financial support could be
secured. A grant from the Ford Foundation, approved in December 1964,
made possible the expanded program. As a result, the lists as compiled
from available sources were checked against the holdings of the Library of
Congress and the New York Public Library and of those university libraries
with Farmington Plan or other strong specialization in a specific area.
The series, "Latin American Serial Documents," is being published by
University Microfilms-Xerox. By late 1969 the volumes for Colombia,
Brazil, and Cuba had appeared. Mexico is next in order, after which the
remaining eight volumes for South American countries will follow in
alphabetical order. The Dominican Republic and Haiti will share the
succeeding volume, after which the Central American republics, again in
alphabetical order, will conclude the series. Inasmuch as the great majority
of educational and cultural institutions in Latin America are financed by
the national governments, the term "official" was interpreted liberally
enough to include many of the institutions' serial publications, thereby
greatly increasing the bibliographic value of the lists.
Since the closing date was December 1966 and the project is not a
continuing one, the inclusion of the series here might be questioned.
Justification lies in the fact that, in general, official documents are inade-
quately recorded in most Latin American countries. These new lists
provide data hitherto unavailable in many of them, and also provide a
working basis upon which it is hoped the countries can and will build. The
state of the art would be greatly advanced by the improvement of that
basic starting point, government organization manuals, in the countries
where they exist and by their initiation in the too great number where
they are now lacking.
Among the promising developments of the past decade have been
improvements in the methods of the commercial book trade for the
supplying of Latin American book materials to the United States market
and the more or less incidental increase in the bibliographical information
provided by dealers and publishers. It is apparent that the example of
firms based in the United States-and perhaps their competition-have led
to instances, at least, of improved practices in individual Latin American
countries. However, our concern here is with the overall picture.
The Latin American Cooperative Acquisition Program, commonly
known as LACAP, is the response of Stechert-Hafner ("The World's Lead-
ing International Booksellers") to the needs of university libraries, as that
program has developed from 1960, when the Fifth Seminar convened at
the New York Public Library. At that meeting, memorable in many
respects, Nettie Lee Benson, dynamic librarian in charge of the Latin
American Collection of the University of Texas, who had been inveigled
by Stechert-Hafner into making an exploratory and book-buying trip to
South America, gave a graphic report on the book trade as she had found
it (Special report no. 1). The resulting story has been told by M. J. Savary
in The Latin American Cooperative Acquisitions Program, an Imaginative
Venture (1968) and need not be related here.
For present purposes our concern is with the nature and extent of
bibliographic information regarding current publications which is made
available through the LACAP catalog. Beginning in 1960, Stechert-Hafner
began to issue a special series of numbered lists under the general title
New Latin American Books: An Advance Checklist of Newly Published
Titles Just Acquired under the Latin American Cooperative Acquisitions
Project (LACAP). These lists, devoted entirely to recently published titles
from one or more countries or areas, provide a great deal of information.
In some cases it may be available from national sources at about the same
time. In others, notably in many of the smaller countries, neither catalogs
nor bibliographies provide the information early or late.
The lists are designed, admittedly, as booksellers' instruments rather
than as bibliographic aids. However, their usefulness as selection tools, as
well as for later reference use, would be enhanced by fuller bibliographic
data, notably publisher and number of pages, as well as series and edition,
now usually given when applicable. As the lists stand, with incomplete
data and no cumulative indexing, their bibliographic value is minimal, but
it is not altogether negligible.
The success of the Stechert-Hafner LACAP program has led to the offer-
ing of "general order" programs by other dealers. Outstanding among
these is Fernando Garcia Cambeiro, of Buenos Aires. He offers an "ABC
plan," designed to provide institutional customers with selected materials
from a country or region of its choice or on specific topics. He has pub-
lished three times a year since about 1964 a Monthly News Service catalog
which lists Argentine publications on a classified basis, with no index.
Bibliographic data for these Argentine lists include publisher, paging, and
series. However, for the Suplementos latinoamericanos, which list publica-
tions from elsewhere, by country, the range of bibliographic data is from
good to poor. It is sometimes subminimal, providing only surname, title,
place, date, and price.
One of the participants in the Fifth Seminar was Daniel Melcher, then
Executive Director of the R. R. Bowker Company. He heard the report of
Nettie Lee Benson on the difficulties and the hazards of the book trade in
Latin America. The challenge to the veteran bookman was irresistible. He
undertook to wager the R. R. Bowker Company's experience that publica-
tions comparable to Publishers' Weekly and to Books in Print would ren-
der such a major service that they would prove commercially viable.
SALALM participants applauded, but there were doubters as to the feasibil-
ity of the Bowker undertaking. However, a beginning was made when
Robert Kingery, representing the New York Public Library, agreed that if
a subsidy could be provided to cover expenses, the numerous materials
coming into the New York Public Library from all parts of Spanish
America and the corresponding invoices could be made available for the
Bowker experiment.
In October 1961 the R.R. Bowker Company proudly presented the first
issue of its quarterly bulletin, Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoamericano:
catdlogo de toda clase de libros publicados en las Americas en espafiol
(thus eliminating by definition Brazil and Haiti). For three years Fichero
was prepared at the New York Public Library by two skilled cataloguers,
Abel Rodolfo Geoghegan of Argentina and Mrs. Maria Elena Cardona of
Nicaraguan origin. The combination of a supply of materials greater than
existed at any one spot in Latin America and of technical skill-subsidized
initially by the Rockefeller Foundation-produced an excellent and
valuable tool.
When the subsidy expired, Fichero, with the prestige of three successful
years behind it, was transplanted to Buenos Aires, the major publishing
center of Latin America. Under the direction of Mary C. Turner, a long-
time member of the New York staff, the youthful experiment survived,
but it necessarily adapted itself to its new environment. Without the con-
tinuous book flow from Spanish American countries to the Acquisitions
Department of the great New York Public Library, and in a professional
and cultural atmosphere more oriented toward Europe than toward the
other American republics, Fichero underwent major changes. It became a
monthly rather than a quarterly periodical. No longer a professed "catalog
of every kind of book published in the Americas in Spanish," it became
one listing books published in the Spanish language in the Americas and in
The present Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoamericano carries no qualify-
ing subtitle. However, an orientation toward Spain was implicit in an
article in the issue for October 1968, "Bibliografias corrientes de libros en
nuestro idioma," in which the editor listed and commented upon "useful"
periodicals and catalogs from Latin America and from Spain. Further evi-
dence of the orientation is seen in the relative number of firms and institu-
tions listed in three consecutive numbers (March-June 1969) as ones whose
publications were listed in them. Of a total of 319, the number from Spain
was 76, or 24 percent. The 26 percent from Argentina and 22 percent
from Mexico left a remainder of only 28 percent from all the rest of
Spanish America. It is in the potential expansion of the 28 percent to
represent countries other than the two major publishing centers of Spanish
America that the possible future of Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoameri-
cano as a really valuable Spanish American bibliographical tool lies. This is
a matter of education and persuasion.
For particular instance, Chile and Peru have been among the countries
most poorly represented in Fichero. The recent concession made by the
Chilean publisher and dealer, Sr. Zamorano y Caperin, who agreed to
include the names of publishers in his bimonthly Servicio bibliogrdfico
chileno, should remedy the lack of Chilean representation. The coopera-
tion of E. Iturriaga & Cia., S.A., of Lima, whose semiannual Libros
recientes already includes full bibliographic data, would, by supplying his
lists to Fichero, improve the information it now makes available concern-
ing Peruvian publications.
For the smaller countries, in many of which no publishers' or dealers'
catalogs are regularly produced, the provision by the Stechert-Hafner
LACAP lists of data as to publishers would not only add information of
importance to their potential customers but would also, by making pos-
sible the inclusion of the items in Fichero, expand considerably the
world's scanty knowledge of such publishing as is being done in those
countries. The promise made to the Fourteenth Seminar (1969) by
Dominick Coppola, a regular participant in SALALM and now the president
of the Stechert-Hafner firm, to consider the matter seriously, lends hope
that this additional cooperation between dealer and publisher may be
extended. The evidence is that it would work to their mutual benefit as
well as contribute to the improvement of bibliographical tools.
Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoamericano is, as matters now stand, a
monthly trade bulletin of some seventy pages, published by Bowker
Editores Argentina, S.A. Its reason for existence is to provide a listing,
arranged by the Dewey Decimal System, of books and pamphlets recently
published in Spanish-speaking countries. Bibliographic data are apparently
full when they are taken from publications made available to the office,
and otherwise are as full as the publisher provides. Prices are stated in the
currency of the country of publication. Numerous advertisements and
occasional articles are included. Indexing consists of a table of contents by
classification, an author index, a title index, and an alphabetical list of
publishers. Its usefulness is limited by its noninclusiveness, but it seems
our present best hope for a bibliographic tool of hemispheric scope.
When Daniel Melcher spoke to an approving SALALM audience in 1960,
his vision of possibilities was expressed in terms of a volume comparable in
nature to Books in Print. Quite possibly he considered the publication of a
bibliographic bulletin such as Fichero primarily as an intermediate step.
For the next four years SALALM was given occasional progress reports.
Uncertainty as to title was resolved in favor ofLibros en venta, in view of
the hazards of stating that books were actually "in print" but hoping that
a reasonably large proportion of them would be "for sale," as reported by
their publishers.
The appearance in 1964 of Libros en venta en Hispanoambrica y Espafra
was a major event. By the time it was printed, of course, many of the
books listed as "for sale" were, in the fantastically short-lived book mar-
kets of Latin America, no longer available, and many new titles had taken
their places on the shelves. However, the appearance of Libros en venta
represented two major achievements: (1) more or less complete biblio-
graphical information had been provided concerning a sizable portion of
the book production of Spanish America, much of which would not have
been registered otherwise; and (2) information was available both on a
classified basis and by author and title. Also, a price was usually given.
Even though the price might not still be effective, it would serve the dual
purpose of indicating the value placed upon the book by the publisher as
of that date and of providing persons who might wish to order the book
with a specific detail often insisted upon by acquisitions departments
(which are quite properly wary of blank-check procedures).
Justification of the inclusion of Libros en venta in a study devoted to
the state of "current" bibliography lies in the supplements which have so
far appeared and which can, we hope, be expected at two-year intervals.
A Suplemento for 1964/1966 was published late in 1967. Early in 1969
Fichero announced that a supplement covering books produced in Spanish
during the years 1967 and 1968 was being compiled. Publishers were asked
to submit updated lists of new titles and revised editions published during
those years.*
If, in fact, biennial cumulated lists of an increasing portion of even the
books and pamphlets produced by commercial firms and by non-
governmental organizations during those two years can be made available,
the benefits will be great. The first advantages would fall properly to the
publishers and the authors represented, in that they would be encouraged
to keep their wares available in anticipation of new orders. Bibliographers
would benefit, whether in the interests of acquisitions or of research pro-
jects, by having the data available. And in specific terms of this study, the
countries which have the most inadequate records themselves would have
available quantities of information from which it would be possible to
extract data, it is hoped by computer, to provide those countries with more
nearly current national bibliography than anything now at their disposal.
Obviously, the better the bibliographic quality of the data provided, the
better the potentialities for any compilations based upon them.
In general, then, this publishing enterprise of Bowker Editores
Argentina, S.A., may be said to constitute the only major organized and
reasonably well-established attempt to provide a regional bibliography
covering Spanish America, but also including Spain.
From the point of view of the researcher the inclusion of peninsular
publications has both advantages and disadvantages. Although it increases
the bulk of potentially nonrelevant items listed, the comprehensive cover-
age obviates the necessity of considering, for instance, at what point a
Spanish 6migr6 became more properly a Mexican or a Venezuelan author
than a Spanish one.
The 1967/1968 Suplemento was completed late in 1969. Copies for distribution in the
United States were shipped to the R. R. Bowker Company about the middle of December.
(Letter from Mary C. Turner, March 5, 1970.)
The noninclusion of Brazilian and Haitian materials in Fichero and
Libros en venta will presumably continue. Brazil, with its half-a-continent
expanse and its Portuguese language, has its own special orientations and
problems. It has also imaginative, well-informed, and enterprising person-
nel in publishing, bibliography, and library fields who are able and willing
to benefit from both American and European experience and from whom
real advances in. the state of Brazilian national bibliography may be
expected. Haiti-poor, beautiful French- (and Creole-) speaking Haiti-has
at this point little to contribute to or little to gain from a fully "Latin
American" bibliography.
Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos, a new venture, is too young to
assess adequately, but one fact stands out. This striking, colorful, and
human-interest attempt to provide bibliographical coverage of Latin
American book production is in marked contrast to Fichero and Libros en
venta (whose success may depend largely upon how well their editor suc-
ceeds in adapting the sophisticated computerized techniques of the parent
R. R. Bowker Company to their own needs). The first issue of Comentarios
bibliogrdficos americanos was dated as a quarterly, January/March 1969.
However, it announced itself as a bimonthly, with an annual cumulated
catalog available on separate subscription.* The basic arrangement is by
the Dewey Decimal System, with an alphabetical key provided, as are also
a table of contents, an author index, and a list of publishers. There is no
general introduction, but scattered notes indicate that the CBA considers
itself primarily a cultural enterprise. This was also the impression gained
from a brief interview with the editor, Eduardo Darino.t
The "commentaries" in Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos provide,
besides occasional annotations on books listed, news notes about contests
and prizes, best-seller lists in Uruguay and Argentina, and other items. The
CBA staff includes, besides the office personnel, a list of research assistants
from six countries and a number of consultants-professors or others-for
various fields. Promotional material indicates that future issues will include
interviews with Latin American authors, information about periodicals,
lists of reprints, and other features. The initial scope is hemispheric in that
the list of publishers includes, besides the predictable preponderance from
No. 2 of the CBA was also a quarterly issue. It became a bimonthly with No. 3, for
July/August. With No. 4, September/October, received in March 1970, currency was
approached. No. 3 carried a repetition of an earlier solicitation of data from publishers for an
"anuario 1968" of books published in Spanish in Latin America. However, no mention of it
was found in No. 4.
t At the suggestion and through the courtesy of Anne Gurvin, Director, Artigas-
Washington Library, Montevideo, May 6, 1969.
Argentina, Uruguay, and Mexico, at least one each from Bolivia, Chile,
Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, and
Venezuela. Incidentally, the term "American" is used, as it frequently is in
the southern hemisphere, to refer exclusively to Latin America or, in this
case, to Spanish America.
The most striking characteristic of the CBA is that it is colorful, both in
terms of paper and ink and of the annotations provided for the books and
periodicals listed. These are in English, usually descriptive but sometimes
evaluative. The English is of the direct translation type, somewhat pictur-
esque at times but usually intelligible. The phrase "English edition" is used
on occasion, implying that there is also a Spanish one, but the editor states
that none exists or is contemplated.* Scattered notes in Spanish are appar-
ently directed primarily to publishers, who are urged to send their books in
for listing. Prices are given for some items but are omitted for a surprising
number. The extent to which the "CBA Editores" firm serves as a dealer is
not clear. Several advertisements for Uruguayan bookstores are carried,
but apparently the "annual edition" is to provide cumulated data and to
offer at least some of the items for sale (pp. 42, 74, 78), at "special prices."
In terms of the state of the art it is difficult to appraise this new
attempt at bibliographical coverage of current Spanish American publica-
tions. The editor of Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos seemed sincere
in his devotion to the cultural objective on an inter-American basis. Copies
of the CBA are to be sent to Latin American publishers and dealers in
exchange for data and publications. The subscription drive and sales mar-
kets are apparently aimed at the United States. This is realistic in that
Latin American countries have made until now very little attempt to
secure or to sell each others' works, a fact which indicates a lack of
communication among them. On the other hand, representatives of institu-
tions and firms from north of the border have been making their interest
(often well financed) in securing Latin American materials increasingly
In any case, the approach is novel, and the result makes fascinating
reading. This "nonestablishment" attempt is somewhat hazy in outline at
the beginning, but the editors invite constructive criticism. It may be that
they have found a way-a self-supporting one-to circumvent in part the
old nonfunctioning system of depending upon national libraries to carry
out the time-consuming, expensive, and often thankless task of compiling
national bibliography. The national libraries vary in their support, motiva-
tion, and effectiveness, but they are unfortunately usually underfunded
* Letter to this writer, dated August 21, 1969.
and understaffed. It would seem that this new commercial venture merits
serious attention and whatever support can reasonably be given to it.
One ambitious attempt to compile a "Bibliografia de America Latina"
must be reported upon here because of the importance of the project as
background and also to correct published but inaccurate information
concerning its existence. The UNESCO-sponsored Bibliografia de Centro-
america y del Caribe was published in 1958-1960, covering the years
1956-1959. It was basically a result of the efforts of Carlos Victor Penna,
Assistant Director for Cultural Affairs of the UNESCO Regional Center for
the Western Hemisphere, but he was supported by a great deal of fine
cooperative effort. In the 1950s UNESCO laid great emphasis on the
creation of national commissions for bibliography. Where possible they
would work in connection with the national library. In situations where
those institutions were nonexistent or were ineffective in providing
national bibliographies, it was hoped that industrious commission mem-
bers would contribute their efforts, as a patriotic duty, to the assembling
of information concerning publications currently produced in their coun-
tries. They would then either publish the information or supply it to some
agency which might publish it.
The Bibliografia de Centrpamirica y del Caribe covered the republics of
the Antilles, Puerto Rico, and the six republics of Central America,
including Panama. Data were assembled by the various national biblio-
graphic commissions (or in such cases as Haiti and Puerto Rico, by the
already recognized individual authorities on national bibliography) and
were sent to Dr. Fermin Peraza in Havana. There, in the name of the
Grupo Bibliogrifico Nacional Cubano Jos6 Toribio Medina, they were
edited and prepared for publication. Arrangement of the bibliography was
by subject, without specific geographic approach. The project was funded
for its first two years by an official Spanish agency, the Servicio de
Publicaciones de la Junta T6cnica de Archives, Bibliotecas, y Museos de
Espafia, as a part of a centennial celebration. Peraza's introduction to the
volume covering 1958 indicated that the work had proved so valuable that
the subsidy was being extended for an additional two-year period. A
preface by a Spanish official was dated January 1960. However, events in
Cuba shortly thereafter completely altered the situation.
Bliografia de Centroamirica y del Caribe, Argentina y Venezuela, the
volume covering 1959, was published in 1961 in Havana. The preface,
dated June 1960, acknowledged the financial support of the Comisi6n
Cubana de la UNESCO. The Technical Director, Fermin Peraza, noted that
for the first time, thanks to the modest funds secured from the sale of the
1956-1957 volumes, it had been possible to provide token remuneration to
the compiladores nacionales wh6 had contributed data for the
bibliography. The volume covering 1960 was to have been sufficiently
inclusive to be called "Bibliografia de America Latina." Announcement to
this effect was made at an important and well-attended bibliographic
conference held in Mexico in early December 1960. In anticipation of its
appearance, the title change was made by one or more bibliographers.
However, at that point Technical Director Fermin Peraza and his wife had
fled Cuba, and following the conference they were to proceed to Colom-
bia. Responsibility for the final compilation and editing of the "Biblio-
graffa de America Latina" was accepted by the Instituto Bibliogrifico
Mexicano. There, so far as can be learned, the matter rests.
The episode of the Bibliografia de Centroamerica y del Caribe was
important in various ways. It did demonstrate that under certain favorable
circumstances, including volunteer labor and a publishing subsidy, it was
possible to produce a well-organized and at least partial listing of the
publications of several countries on a cooperative basis. As a classified
bibliography, emphasis was on subject rather than country. Even so, in the
Bibliografia de Centroamnrica y del Caribe, the overall approach was
regional. Whether the addition of Venezuela and, more particularly,
Argentina was wise or represented overexpansion is an open question.
In any case, the experience illustrates difficulties inherent in such
projects, for example: (1) the lack of effective laws of legal deposit made
it difficult in some cases for individuals or groups to secure the essential
information; (2) contributions were primarily dependent upon the profes-
sional and patriotic motivation of the national representatives; (3) a lack
of bibliographic skills on the part of any contributor or his failure to
comply with the formulae adopted resulted in heavy demands upon the
technical director and any assistance available to him; (4) such a project
required a financial subsidy for publication costs, even when the bibli-
ography was compiled through services for which at best only token
payment was to be expected; (5) there are possible hazards in attempting
to expand an operating project farther and faster than financial and
personnel resources may warrant.
SOUTH AMERICA is a geographic entity as a continent, but despite the
dreams and efforts of Sim6n Bolivar, continental identity otherwise is
largely illusory. A variety of conferences have from time to time
attempted to find or to build common interests in economic or social
enterprise among the Spanish-speaking countries of the continent, but
whatever results have been achieved have not carried over into biblio-
graphic matters. It is indicative of the situation, for instance, that in prac-
tically any one of the best bookstores in the nine Spanish-speaking coun-
tries there would undoubtedly be more titles which were published in
Spain than in all the South American republics combined.
South America is, therefore, not a significant division in bibliographical
terms, but its use is traditional and at least serves to point up the great
differences which exist among the Spanish-speaking countries. The case
of Brazil is, of course, entirely apart. Under the circumstances, an alpha-
betical arrangement throughout seems in order.
For Argentina, in addition to sources previously listed as applicable to all
countries, there are three fairly recent studies which provide useful back-
ground treatment of its bibliography. Two of these are by Josefa E. Sabor,
the Director of the Centro de Investigaciones Bibliotecol6gicas. She con-
tributed an article, "La bibliograffa general argentina en curso de publica-
ci6n," to the Handbook of Latin American Studies for 1963. In the
second edition of her Manual de fuentes de informaci6n, published in
Buenos Aires in 1967, Miss Sabor gives extensive consideration to the
national bibliography of Argentina, although otherwise she provides only a
brief general section on Latin America. Roberto Couture de Troismonts,
the former Director de Bibliotecologia de la Fundaci6n Interamericana de
Bibliotecologia Franklin in Buenos Aires, contributed "The Present State
of Argentine Current National Bibliography" as a working paper for the
Tenth Seminar (Detroit, 1965).
Three titles described by these authorities must be accounted for:
Bibliografia argentina de artes y letras, an important bibliography more
general than the name would imply, published on a more or less quarterly
basis by the Fondo Nacional de las Artes beginning in 1959; Biblos: infor-
mativo bibliogrdfico, published by the Cimara Argentina del Libro from
1941 until 1966, and the Boletin bibliogrdfico national. The Boletin,
which originated in the late thirties, never became the important source of
bibliography that the name would imply. It is in a comatose state if it has
not actually expired. However, it, like the other two, merits individual
The Bibliografia argentina de artes y letras is at present the major
source of information regarding Argentina's current national bibliography.
The Fondo Nacional de las Artes assembles data from a variety of sources,
including the Biblioteca de la Facultad de Filosoffa y Letras de la Univer-
sidad de Buenos Aires. The scope of the bibliography is broadly inter-
preted, so that selective coverage is provided for most nonscientific or
technical materials. Bibliographic techniques are excellent. Data are
arranged by the Universal Decimal System, and an index is provided.
Number 20, October/December 1965, provided a cumulative index to that
date. In addition to the. BAAL itself, special bibliographies, called
compilaciones especiales, have been published as supplements, beginning in
1962 with number 13.
The bibliography was subsidized originally to the extent that it could
be distributed gratis or on exchange. However, recipients were informed in
December 1968 that beginning with number 35/36 for July/December
1967, it was available only by subscription through the Editorial Sud-
americano. It is hoped that adequate support will be provided to enable
this useful and well-presented bibliography to continue to function.
Biblos, after appearing more or less regularly for a quarter of a century
as the organ of the Camara Argentina del Libro, ceased publication in
1966. The Director of the Cimara, Sr. Adolfo Jasco, stated to this writer*
that he considered the bulletin no longer essential, since Fichero can now
provide the same type of information and can do so in more organized
form. Sr. Jasco indicated also that financial reasons were a consideration in
the demise of Biblos. He said that book production in Argentina had
declined considerably within the past two years or so. (Presumably, politi-
cal as well as economic factors would account for the great decrease, since
a significant portion of Argentina's substantial writing is done by univer-
sity professors, many of whom have recently absented themselves from the
The Boletin bibliogrdfico national should theoretically be the official
source for the national bibliography, but its history and present status
illustrate the full range of difficulties to which such publications are sub-
ject. It was originated by a nonprofessional group, a Comisi6n Nacional de
Cultura, and it experienced a succession of sponsors before it was finally
handed over to the Biblioteca Nacional several years ago. The Biblioteca,
which suffers for one thing from an ineffective ley de dep6sito legal, does
not have at hand the current materials to provide the information needed,
nor has it been provided with qualified staff to carry out the assignment.
The chief virtue of the Boletin is that it does provide some sort of a
continuous record from 1937 through 1956. Number 34 (1957/58) has
long been reported "in preparation." The circumstances would seem to
justify Josefa Sabor's severe criticism and her opinion that it would be well
to close out the Boletin and provide a successor which merits the title it
In his above-mentioned paper for the Tenth Seminar (1965) Roberto
Couture de Troismonts, after analyzing the unsatisfactory situation as of
that date, stated that the Fundaci6n Interamericana de Bibliotecologia
Franklin, located in Buenos Aires, had drawn up a cooperative plan which
would provide full coverage. A commission representing the various groups
concerned had met in October and November 1964, and had agreed upon
a project.
Several publications were to be established: (1) a "BoletinbibliogrAfico
semanal" would provide a basic record of works listed in the Registro
Nacional de la Propiedad Intelectual. Biblos, to be continued by the
Cimara Argentina del Libro along its former lines, would provide a
monthly record, complementary to that of the proposed "Boletin,"
Interview, May 2, 1969.
including advertising and titles which had not been registered. The Biblio-
grafia argentina de artes y letras would continue to be published quarterly
by the Fondo Nacional de las Artes, with its present characteristics. A
"Bibliograffa cientifica argentina," projected by the Consejo Nacional de
Investigaciones Cientificas y T6cnicas, would provide a quarterly record of
scientific publications, including an analytic catalog of articles of some
200 journals. Partly because a considerable number of university publica-
tions were involved, it was thought that the Institute Bibliotecol6gico de
la Universidad de Buenos Aires would be able to undertake this compila-
tion. The same Institute would compile data about university publications
throughout the country. The Biblioteca Nacional, having been provided
with information by so many sources, would publish the Boletin biblio-
grdfico national on either a semester or an annual basis.
This complicated scheme, with its varied participants working on a
voluntary and cooperative basis, did not get off the ground. However, the
proposal did point up the need, and it did stimulate thought as to other
possible means of attaining the desired objectives.
Four years after Couture de Troismonts presented his paper on "The
Present State of Argentine Current National Bibliography" and a plan for
its improvement to the Tenth Seminar, a paper prepared for the Four-
teenth Seminar (1969) provided an updated report on the situation and a
new proposal. "El panorama bibliogrifico documental en la Argentina,"
by Hans Gravenhorst, Director of the Bibliographical Institute of the
University of Buenos Aires, reported succinctly on the current biblio-
graphical situation, on a substitute plan, and on a new proposal for
handling official publications.
Mr. Gravenhorst stated that the bibliographic panorama had not
changed substantially in the past four years. The nearest approach to a
general bibliography was still the Bibliografia argentina de artes y letras.
This continued to be supplemented (and to some extent duplicated) by
specialized bibliographies published by the Institute Bibliogrdfico de la
Plata: Bibliografia argentina de ciencias de la educaci6n, Bibliografia ar-
gentina de filosofia, and Bibliografia argentina de psicologia. The Centro
Documental de la Estaci6n Experimental Agropecuaria de Pergamino was
about to publish an 18-volume compilation of agricultural bibliography,
"Bibliografia agricola argentina de 1795-1964," which it planned to keep
up to date by means of supplementary volumes.
Mr. Gravenhorst reported also that the second edition of the Catdlogo
colectivo de publicaciones peri6dicas existentes en bibliotecas cientificas y
tMcnicas argentinas, compiled by the Asociaci6n de Bibliotecas Cientificas
y T6cnicas under the direction of Emesto Gietz and published in 1962 by
the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y T6cnicas, was being
updated. The third edition was expected to contain some 20,000 titles.
Useful as such a union list would be, it is of course too general to be
considered as national bibliography.
The plan for the cooperative compiling of the national bibliography, as
outlined by Roberto Couture de Troismonts in his 1965 paper, had
involved too many different entities to prove practicable. However, the
University of Buenos Aires was working on a plan which it was hoped
might successfully coordinate the efforts of a more homogeneous group.
The University maintains the most extensive bibliographic records in the
country in the form of its union catalog, compiled by its Bibliographical
Institute. The Institute was studying a proposal made by the Junta de
Bibliotecas Nacionales Universitarias Argentinas in a meeting held in
Tucumin in May 1969. It called initially for the combining of the catalogs
of the other eleven national universities in Argentina with that of the UBA.
The next step would be to incorporate the holdings of important non-
university libraries, thus forming a great centralized catalog of national
Mr. Gravenhorst had previously commented to this writer* that the
UBA already acquires some 70 percent of Argentine publications, and he
believed it could secure the remainder or at least obtain data concerning it.
The provincial universities would presumably cooperate to provide infor-
mation about regional and specialized situations. Other nonuniversity
libraries would be encouraged to cooperate. The Cimara Argentina del
Libro (which is a commercial concern formed to provide services to
publishers) would probably cooperate as far as possible. Eventually, the
Registro Nacional de la Propriedad Intelectual and others would be
encouraged to cooperate.
Assuming that the UBA has at its disposal a sufficiently large body of
bibliographic data to provide a viable basis for a national bibliography, the
question arises as to how the data could be processed to be made available
in published form. Here, also, Argentina has a proposed solution to the
problem. In his SALALM paper, Mr. Gravenhorst makes a one-sentence
statement covering what seems a revolutionary proposal in terms of
national bibliography of the South American continent: "The Consejo
[Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y T6cnicas] plans to process the
information by computers and to prepare an offset publication from the
* Interview in Buenos Aires, May 2, 1969.
printout, an undertaking which it hopes to carry out by the end of next
That this hope appears well founded was confirmed by an interview*
with Mr. Gravenhorst and his colleague Dr. Juan A. Garcia-Rom6u,
Director Ejecutivo, Centro de Investigaciones y Aplicaci6n de la Infor-
mitica, Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires. Dr. Garcia-Rom6u, who
had worked with Mr. Gravenhorst in formulating the plan, is a recognized
authority in his field and is enthusiastic about the possibilities of helping
to provide Argentina with its much needed national bibliography. At the
time the chief problem appeared to be a financial one.
The extent to which official government publications were included in
Mr. Gravenhorst's estimate that 70 percent of the national bibliographic
output was held by the university system was not stated. However, official
publications are, in general, among the types least well represented in
Latin American national libraries, since they are not covered by copyright
and there seems scant effort to bring them under such leyes de dep6sito as
do exist.
Mr. Gravenhorst concluded his SALALM paper with a recommendation
for the establishment in every Latin American country of a centralized
agency charged with the assembling of all official publications issued by
that country. His eleven-point proposal included recommendations that
the centralized collecting agency should disperse the publications to suit-
able recipients, but before doing so should note them and should publish
at least semiannually a bulletin listing them. The agency might be a part of
a country's existing documentation center, if any, a part of the national
university or national library, or it might be established as a separate
Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoamericano, published by Bowker Editores
Argentina, assembles and organizes a great deal of information about the
trade books published in Argentina and at least representative titles from
institutes and university presses. Since Argentina and Mexico are the two
leaders in book production of the Spanish American countries, it is natural
that they should be the most extensively represented in Fichero. A count
of the firms listed as contributing to three consecutive issues in 1969
(March-May) showed that, as compared with Mexico and Spain, also a
heavy contributor, Argentina ranked in the three months second, first, and
third respectively, with an average of 26 percent. Of course the actual
number of entries would vary with the catalogs analyzed. In any case, no
geographical approach is provided.
May 2, 1969.
Catalogs of Argentine publishers and book dealers vary greatly in
extent, organization, and data provided. Probably the most extensive is
Libros dg Argentina: Catdlogo bibliogrdfico de la distribuidora Tres
Amdricas. Its 240-page volume, dated February 1969, claims to be the
export-import representative of more than 150 Argentine publishing
houses. The firms are listed alphabetically. A subject index of sorts is
provided, but there is none for authors. Several publishers and bookstores
publish sales lists which they call "bibliographic bulletins." They provide
varying amounts of data concerning their limited offerings. None seems
extensive or important enough to be considered a significant factor in
national bibliography.
The most important current source of Argentine national bibliography is
the Bibliografia argentina de artes y letras, which is more general than the
title indicates, but whose status is somewhat uncertain for financial
reasons. Of earlier publications, Biblos has ceased publication and has been
partially superseded by Fichero. The Boletin bibliogrdfico argentine, never
robust and handed to the Biblioteca Nacional in an enfeebled condition
several years ago, seems about to expire in the care of an organization
unequipped to infuse new life into what should theoretically be the vehicle
for the publication of the current national bibliography.
On the other hand, Argentina has an alive book world which has begun
to consider alternative courses. It has a university system with resources in
current and continuing bibliographical records, in equipment, and in
expertise which present the possibility of bypassing a situation where the
law of legal deposit does not function and the National Library is un-
equipped to provide leadership in bibliographical matters. The outcome
may be the first computerized national bibliography in the Americas. The
head of the Bibliographic Center of the University of Buenos Aires, in a
paper presented to the Fourteenth Seminar (1969), made a brief statement
concerning present plans and hopes, and he advanced a proposal for the
establishing of collecting agencies and bibliographic control of official
government publications. These possibilities, if realized, would break new
ground and could revolutionize bibliographical procedures in Latin
Little has been said, apparently, about Argentine periodicals, but a
great many of them are in fact official publications and so would be
included in any comprehensive records of those.
Bolivia is a country which suffers from some of the worst ailments known
to afflict the book trade in any country, and it adds some unique ones of
its own. Like other countries of the Andean area, it has a population
which is preponderantly illiterate, and many of its people do not speak or
read Spanish. It has a great range of altitude and difficult communication
problems. It has no paper mills and must import all paper stock used.
Other countries have transportation problems, but Bolivia's range is
from the highest capital city in the hemisphere to the near sea level of the
Amazon basin. Only Bolivia has neither a sea coast nor an outlet through a
navigable river, but it is not the only country which has to import paper
and as an economy measure to print its publications on paper of such poor
quality that its deterioration rate makes them a high risk investment in
terms of durability. One strikingly unique problem is that two cities lay
claim to being the capital city. Sucre seems definitely to have lost the
contest to La Paz as the seat of government, but it contains the National
Library to which national publications are, theoretically, required to be
sent on deposit.
When Peter de la Garza wrote a special article for the Handbook of
Latin American Studies (1961), "Records of Current Publication in
Bolivia, Ecuador, and Honduras," a common denominator of the three
countries was their lack of "anything remotely resembling a national
bibliography." He stated that in early 1960 the Asociaci6n Boliviana de
Bibliotecarios succeeded in getting through Congress a bill establishing a
national bibliographic commission which would be responsible for the
compilation of the national bibliography. Whether the President had
signed it, and if so, whether there had been any efforts to implement it, he
did not know. The few possibilities he could suggest as sources of informa-
tion included periodicals of doubtful continuity, two mimeographed book
lists of which one was dated 1956, and the first two of the Stechert-Hafner
special catalogs listing publications acquired under the Latin American
Cooperative Acquisitions Project.
However, the Bolivian situation shows what can be done by individuals
who have the knowledge, energy, and resources to deal with even so
difficult a situation. The two individuals chiefly concerned are the authors
of an informative, five-part paper on "Book Publishing in Bolivia," con-
tributed to the Ninth Seminar (1964). The two are Marcela Meneses, a
librarian, and Werner Guttentag, Managing Director of the Editorial Los
Amigos del Libro, based in Cochabamba. The most relevant sections of the
paper for present purposes are the first two: "Present Status of the
Publishing Industry" and "Bibliography."
The authors were able to state that "a systematic bibliographical work"
for 1962 had been published by Los Amigos del Libro publishers and that
the 1963 volume would be available in the near future. It is a pleasure to
report that annual volumes of Bibliografia boliviana have continued to
appear under the name of Werner Guttentag as author, and that they are
available in hardback as well as in paper cover. The volume covering 1967
bears a colophon date of September 6, 1968. It contains, as have previous
volumes, supplements for the individual years since 1962. The arrange-
ment continues to be alphabetical by author, with classification indicated
by a Dewey decimal number. A title index is provided. A new feature,
which it is proposed to extend, is the annotation of some items.
Much of the information contained in Bibliografia boliviana is made
available earlier by means of catalogs distributed by the publisher. In his
Handbook article Garza noted an early carbon-copy version of the catalog
of the Libreria Los Amigos del Libro. Apparently it became soon there-
after a printed, numbered, and dated list, first as Libros nacionales, later as
Libros bolivianos. An 8-page newsprint catalog, it listed both current and
out-of-print titles. The publisher was indicated only for the firm's own
titles, and the price was omitted for a surprisingly large number of items.
These lists were discontinued, apparently, with number 62, for Novem-
ber/December 1967. A Catdlogo 1968 of the Editorial Los Amigos del
Libro bearing a colophon date of August 28, 1968, seems to have super-
seded the bimonthly lists. The 55-page catalog of the firm's publications is
apparently meant to be accompanied by a price list, presumably subject to
change without notice, as were those of the bulletin. Books are presented
in large groupings, with scant attention to the alphabet. However, the
catalog is valuable for its rather detailed descriptions of the books listed,
information which in many cases is not otherwise available.
Los Amigos del Libro is the firm listed by Fichero bibliogrdfico
hispanoamericano and Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos as the source
of their information concerning Bolivian publications.*
Until the Libreria Los Amigos del Libro came on the scene, we were
The existence of a Boletin bibliogrdfico boliviano, edited by Antonio Paredes Candia,
has been called to my attention by Carl Deal. The first issue, Afo 1, no. 1, was dated junio
1965. He states that it has been continued at least through Ano 1, no. 6, mayo 1968 (all
issues, 1965-1968, being numbered "Afio 1"). From the title page of the first issue, a copy of
which was provided, the bulletin appears to be like numerous other "bibliographic bulletins."
A few current titles were listed, but, to judge by the table of contents, the bulletin was
devoted primarily to book-related news.
dependent almost entirely upon catalogs from bookdealers elsewhere for
information about Bolivian publications-an indirect and unsatisfactory
source of bibliography. It is still true that booklists of some of the better
foreign dealers supply useful supplementary data. For instance, E. Iturri-
aga of Lima provides semiannual lists of some twenty-five Bolivian titles
by various publishers, with full bibliographical data. Garcia Cambeiro of
Buenos Aires and other dealers occasionally provide special catalogs or lists
of Bolivian books.
As of late 1969 a new development is under way which could have
significant bearing upon the state of the art of Bolivian bibliography. In
November and December several extensive lists were sent out by Montalvo
Book Dealers, which offered current and retrospective publications with
full data. The enterprise is headed by Alfredo F. Montalvo, a Bolivian with
a library science degree from a North American university who recently
served in an interim capacity on the staff of the University of Florida
Libraries. A December list from him included an experimental listing of
"forthcoming" books.* Mr. Montalvo is interested also in the possibilities
of providing government documents and is conferring on the matter with
Mrs. Rosa Q. Mesa, Chairman of the SALALM Committee on Latin Ameri-
can Government Documents.
A major work on the retrospective bibliography of Bolivia, which has
only recently appeared, deserves notice for itself and for its possible
influence upon the development of current bibliographical records. A
massive Catdlogo de la bibliografia boliviana: libros y folletos 1900-1963,
by Arturo Costa de la Torre, was published in La Paz under the sponsor-
ship of the Universidad Mayor de San Andres. It bears a title page date of
1966, but a colophon date attests the printer's having finished his work on
the last day of 1968. The period covered extends from the last major work
of the noted Bolivian bibliographer, Gabriel Ren6 Moreno (1836-1908),
down to 1963. Reference is made in preliminary "Advertencias generals"
to a supplement as being "in press," but that appears to be a matter of
addenda to the original volume rather than a continuation. However, in
the introduction the author speaks strongly of the need for developments
in library and bibliographic organization which would make possible the
development of an anuario bibliogrdfico.
The Catdlogo is important not only for its great contribution to
A letter from Mr. Montalvo dated March 18, 1970, indicates, with regard to "forth-
coming books," that he has found the term "in press," as used by Bolivian publishers, to be a
very relative matter. However, he is continuing his attempt to secure definite advance infor-
mation, and he thinks he has made some progress.
twentieth-century bibliography but for two other reasons-the lengthy
introduction and the biographical information provided. The author states
that of the numerous questionnaires sent out, over seven hundred replies
were received. The information thus provided makes the Catdlogo an
important source of near-current Bolivian national biography as well as of
Of himself, Costa de la Torre says that he is an "historian, biographer,
genealogist, and bibliographer." His other published works are primarily of
an historical nature. He stated in the introduction that he had spent three
arduous years in the preparation of the Catdlogo-an easily believable
statement. It is to be hoped that he may be instrumental in helping Bolivia
to develop a really comprehensive current national bibliography.*
The Bolivian situation presents some unique difficulties, but it also illus-
trates what competent and energetic individuals can do. Bolivia had lacked
until recently any consistent record of its national bibliography during the
twentieth century. However, since 1962 annual volumes of Bibliografia
boliviana, compiled by Werner Guttentag, have appeared regularly and
promptly. Los Amigos del Libro, a publishing firm and bookstore with
which Guttentag is connected, provides data to Fichero bibliogrdfico
hispanoamericano and to Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos. For addi-
tional information concerning current publications of other firms, we have
been dependent chiefly upon that provided by occasional bookdealers'
lists from elsewhere. At present, however, a young Bolivian with a gradu-
ate degree in library science is actively engaged in the book trade. Begin-
ning with the fall of 1969, Alfredo F. Montalvo has provided useful lists of
Bolivian publications, including current titles. He has attempted to supply
also information about "forthcoming books." His activities, although
presumably temporary, may produce some lasting results.
A recently published Catdlogo de la bibliografia boliviana: libros y
folletos, 1900-1963, by Arturo Costa de la Torre, provides the most
extensive record of Bolivian publishing since the later years of Gabriel
Ren6 Moreno (1836-1908), Bolivia's most noted bibliographer. Although
the Catdlogo must now be considered retrospective, it includes biographi-
cal information about most of Bolivia's contemporary writers. The author
Alfredo Montalvo, in the above cited letter, says that Sr. Costa de la Torre is working as
time permits on a major historical work, but that at present his political activities are leaving
him scant time to devote to either history or bibliography.
indicates full understanding of the importance of a current national
bibliography for Bolivia. It is possible that he may be instrumental in
helping to achieve this end.
Brazil, the Portuguese-speaking country which occupies half the South
American continent, is a case apart. No Latin American country has been
more ready to learn from others and to adapt new bibliographic tech-
niques to its own uses, so far as circumstances permit, than has Brazil.
Brazil's library development began in the 1930s, at which time the Dewey
Decimal System was introduced by a North American librarian through a
course offered at McKenzie College in Sao Paulo. The country remains a
strong champion of the decimal system, though now primarily of the
Universal rather than the Dewey version.
Since the formation of UNESCO and its epoch-making Conference on
the Improvement of Bibliographical Services in November 1950, Brazilian
librarians have worked closely with that body. In 1954 UNESCO was
instrumental in establishing the Institute Brasileiro de Bibliografia y
Documentaglo, the IBBD, which became and is a potent constructive
force. The international aspects of the work of the IBBD were described by
Abner L. Corr6a Vicentini in an article in the January 1969 issue of
Library Trends, "The Organization of National Documentation and Infor-
mation Services in Latin America, with Special Reference to Brazil."
On the domestic scene Brazil has prodigious problems to deal with in
attempting to acquire and to record the publications issued throughout the
country. Some of the reasons why Brazil has problems of the magnitude it
does were enumerated by Peter de la Garza in a paper, "The Acquisition of
Research Materials from Brazil and Their Selection," prepared for the
Eighth Seminar (1963). He said in part:
Many economic and social features, over which even an aggressive
librarian has no control, contribute to the unfortunate situation.
Among them may be cited the improvisatory nature of enterprise in
a rapidly developing country; an expanding but chronically dis-
turbed economy; a complex federal government structure which on
several occasions has verged on chaos; a highly competitive book
trade forced by inflationary pressures to reduce overhead costs and
minimize long term operations; and lack of coordination between
governmental and private agencies concerned with bibliographic
Since 1963 political problems have worsened, and press censorship is an
ever present reality. The phrase "Brazilian-type inflation" has become
synonymous with "runaway" inflation. The book trade suffers doubly
under these conditions, and so do related activities.
Under the circumstances it is a credit to Brazil that its bibliographers
and publishers have been able to do as much as they have to provide
records of its national book production. The problems inherent in the size
and diversity of the country, including the recognized fact that it lacks an
effective postal system, seem for the present insoluble. In some cases
regional agencies, notably universities, are attempting to assemble collec-
tions of local materials with their corresponding bibliographical records.
These will some day be useful in assembling a retrospective national
bibliography, but their present contribution to current bibliography is
There are at present three principal sources of more or less current
national bibliography. Of these, the longest lived and the one which is
presumably the official record is the Boletim bibliogrdfico (1886- ),
published by the Biblioteca Nacional in Rio de Janeiro at intervals from
1886. The current series began in 1951. It is, with its limitations, one of
the best national bibliographies published in Latin America. It is arranged
on a classified system (Dewey), but its excellent index provides approaches
by author and subject. Documents are included. A particularly valuable
feature is the inclusion in the second semestral volume of as comprehen-
sive a list of periodicals currently published throughout the country as it
can assemble, with official publications starred. The basic arrangement is
classified, but there is a title index.
The limitations are those imposed by conditions over which the Biblio-
teca Nacional has no control. The law of legal deposit is poorly observed in
the country as a whole, and as is true elsewhere, official agencies are prone
to forget that their publications are of interest to others than the unit
immediately served. Since the preparation of the Boletim is done by the
Acquisitions Department of the Library on the basis of materials actually
received, the record, while technically superior, is incomplete. Financial
problems are reflected in the lengthening gap between the dates of the
material covered and date of publication, e.g., the second volume for 1964
was distributed late in 1968.
Bibliografia brasileira (1938/39-), another official Brazilian bibli-
ography, is currently the more up to date of the two. It is prepared and
published by the Instituto Nacional do Livro, an agency of the Ministerio
This aspect of the situation is touched upon by Vicentini (1969), p. 255.
de Educagao e Cultura. The present editorial committee is headed by
Aureo Ottoni (under whose name entries occur in the Handbook of Latin
American Studies). The retrospective volumes covering the years 1938/39
through 1955 were published at irregular intervals from 1941 to 1957.
From 1956 through early 1962 the Institute do Livro made its biblio-
graphic records available through its quarterly review, the Revista do livro
(1956- ). "Bibliografia brasileira corrente" was presented as a colored-page
section, subject to removal if desired. It was the expressed intention that
the data would later be cumulated in additional volumes of Bibliografia
brasileira. The Revista do livro suspended publication in 1961 (ano 6, no.
23/24). It resumed in March 1964 (ano 6, no. 25) and completed publica-
tion of the 1961 bibliography. A second issue was published in 1964, with
a bibliographic section for early 1962, after which there was another
interval. The section "Bibliografia brasileira corrente" has not been pub-
lished since 1964.
Issues for 1965 and 1966 were later published as double numbers
(27/28 and 29/30) in order to update the review. A prefatory note in each
stated that the bibliography for the years that would normally have been
represented (1963 and 1964 respectively) had been omitted so as not to
delay further the updating of the Revista, but that the data would appear
in later volumes of Bibliografia brasileira. Early in 1967 (no. 31) the
Revista resumed its publication as a quarterly review-an excellent one,
with valuable special bibliographies but without the earlier section on
current national bibliography.
In 1966 another volume of Bibliogrifia brasileira appeared, this time
one for 1963, leaving uncumulated for the present the period covered by
the Revista do livro, 1955-1962. The Instituto has been making progress
towards current publications of the later annual volumes. Those for 1964,
1965, and 1966 had been published by 1967. The 1967 volume was
scheduled to appear in the spring of 1968, thus bringing publication of the
annual volumes up to date. It may well have done so, but information to
that effect is not at hand.*
Bibliografia brasileira mensal entered the picture in November 1967.
(The issues of the first volume were numbered through 14 in order to
begin volume 2, 1968, on a calendar year basis.) It is, as the title would
A letter from Jerry R. James, Field Director, Library of Congress Office, Brazil, dated
April 7, 1970, states that there was a plan for the Instituto to publish a cumulated bibli-
ography for the years 1962-1967, but it has been abandoned. The 1967 volume may be
issued separately if there are funds to do so. Mr. James is to present a paper on the work of
the Library of Congress Office and related topics to the Fifteenth Seminar, to be held in
Toronto, Canada, June 23-26, 1970.
indicate, the monthly edition of Brazilian national bibliography, as pre-
pared and published by the Institute do Livro. It thus supersedes the
"Bibliografia brasileira corrente" formerly published in the quarterly issues
of Revista do livro. The editor is Aureo Ottoni, who has also edited the
recent annual volumes. Bibliografia brasileira mensal is, like the annual
volumes, arranged by the Dewey Decimal System. Entries are complete,
including price. The data cover all fields and are current, so the monthly
editions are useful acquisition tools. They do, however, lack an author
One of the reasons for the prompt and relatively complete coverage by
the Bibliografia brasileira mensal is the existence of a cooperative arrange-
ment between the Institute do Livro and the Library of Congress. This
arrangement was set up in Rio de Janeiro in or about 1967 to provide LC
with selective, but much more extensive, coverage of Brazilian publications
than had been possible previously. Books are catalogued at the Rio
office.* A desk is provided for a representative of the Institute to avail
himself of whatever information he may need. A systematic effort is made
to secure materials from various other parts of Brazil.
BBB: Boletim bibliogrdfico brasileiro: revista dos editbres, which was
published from 1952 to 1967 by Estante Publica96es, was a commercial
enterprise, sponsored by various agencies interested in the production and
sale of books. It was during most of that time the most nearly current
source of information concerning Brazilian publications. It was arranged
by the Dewey Decimal System, but each issue had an author index,
thereby greatly enhancing its bibliographical value. It served its commer-
cial purpose well for a time, but it became a victim of Brazilian economic
Ediges brasileiras: catdlago trimestral de livros publicados no Brasil,
published in Rio de Janeiro from 1963 to 1966 by the Sindicato Nacional
This practice may have been suspended as an economy move by the U.S. government. A
bulletin published by the Library of Congress on August 4, 1969, dealing with the status of
funding for fiscal 1970 under Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended,
reported on reductions in the National Program for Acquisitions and Cataloging. The relevant
Paragraph 3 follows: "The shared cataloging program for Brazilian publications has had to be
terminated and the NPAC office in Rio de Janeiro has reverted to its original function as an
acquisitions office for Brazilian publications. Publications will continue to receive LACAP
numbers assigned in Brazil and all LACAP selections will continue to receive high priority
cataloging at LC...." (NPAC Progress Report No. 9, August 4, 1969, p. 2.) Fortunately, the
Bibliografia brasileira mensal has so far survived difficulties in both countries. The November/
December issue, received by the Hispanic Foundation at the Library of Congress by March
1970, not only appeared promptly but contained a full author and title index for 1969.
(Telephone conversation with Donald F. Wisdom, March 25, 1970.)
dos Editbres de Livros, was also a commercial enterprise but was never
successful as such. The three issues, especially the first, contained exten-
sive and complete bibliographical data about the offerings of various
publishers, with author and title indexes. The experiment was more
successful as bibliography than as a means of selling books. In 1968 a
153-page volume, Bibliografia brasileira de livros infants, compiled by the
Centro de Bibliot6cnica, was published by the Sindicato Nacional dos
Edit6res de Livros as a special supplement to Edigoes brasileiras, but the
Executive Secretary of the Syndicate, H6lio Arafijo, indicated to this
writer that there was no intention of resuming publication ofEdipOes.
There was, however, another project for the preparation and produc-
tion of national bibliography on a cooperative basis of which Mr. Arafijo
spoke very hopefully in April 1969,* as did also a representative of the
Institute Brasileiro de Bibliografia e Documentag~ot (IBBD). The agencies
which were parties to the cooperative project were, besides those named,
the Biblioteca Nacional and the Ministry of Education. The basic docu-
ment was the Ata de Primera Reunido dos Orgaos Encarregados do
Levantamento da Bibliografia Nacional, Realizado em 25.07.1968. It was
discussed and accepted on July 25, 1968, as a working agreement subject
to the necessary official approval.
The basic essential, the collection of the publications to be recorded,
would be met by a division of labor: (1) commercial publications would be
secured by the Sindicato dos Editbres, which would guarantee the acquisi-
tion of 90 percent of such materials; (2) official publications would be
collected by (a) IBBD, (b) the Biblioteca Nacional, and (c) the Ministry of
Education, with the latter responsible for securing from the universities
their theses and reports. Once the materials were acquired, they would be
catalogued by two agencies-the IBBD which would do the specialized
works, and the Biblioteca Nacional which would do the general ones. The
data would then be utilized to prepare a truly comprehensive and up-to-
date national bibliography. It would appear monthly with quarterly cumu-
lations and, when possible, annual ones.
Mr. Araijo stated that the groups had reacted favorably to the proposal
and that the necessary intergroup arrangements could be made soon, after
which the proposal would go to the Presidency of the Republic for the
necessary decree law to be issued. He considered the prospects for
approval to be excellent and thought it probable that the program could
* Interview, April 22, 1969.
t Interview, April 24, 1969.
be gotten under way by 1970. A letter dated August 20, 1969, stated that
the decree had not yet been forthcoming, but efforts were being made to
secure it, and information would be provided as to progress when and if
they were successful in securing the authorization. However, President
Arturo Costa e Silva was incapacitated by a stroke on August 31, and a
military junta assumed power. No further word concerning the cooperative
project has been received since that time.
The Instituto Brasileiro de Bibliografia e Documentagao, which was
mentioned earlier, is an agency to which full justice cannot be done here,
since its bibliographic work is primarily in scientific fields rather than in
national bibliography as such. However, of its specialized bibliographies
two are of such a nature that they should be included. The Bibliografia
brasileira de cidncias sociais (1954-), an annual volume, appears consider-
ably behind its date but is still published. In 1968 a new edition of
Peri6dicos brasileiros de cultural updated the "provisional one" of 1956.
The new edition lists 2,049 periodicals currently published in Brazil,
chiefly in the fields of the humanities and the social sciences, and with as
full bibliographical data as were available. It is planned to issue supple-
ments as needed.*
Two SALALM working papers have dealt with Brazilian bibliography.
"The Situation of Bibliography in Brazil," contributed by Irene Doria for
the Ninth Seminar (1964), provides excellent background and a descriptive
account of the national bibliography as of that date. She considered its
state to be unsatisfactory, but found more cause for satisfaction in
specialized bibliographies, to which a considerable portion of the paper
was devoted. Of those listed several are still continuing, and two of the
more important ones have not yet been mentioned. The Centro Brasileiro
de Pesquisas Educacionais publishes a quarterly bulletin, Bibliografia
brasileira de educacao, which indexes selected material from books, peri-
odicals, and newspapers. It was and continues to be the source of data
provided to the Handbook of Latin American Studies for its biennial
sections on education. The highly important Centro Latino-Americano de
Pesquisas em Ciencias Sociais, which originated under UNESCO auspices in
1957, publishes a valuable bimonthly bulletin, Bibliografia (1962-). It lists
books received by the Center's library and indexes articles in the periodi-
cals received. The bibliography, which is sent free to subscribers to the
Center's quarterly review America Latina, may also be subscribed to
independently for a nominal price. It is undoubtedly the most important
For a fuller description, see the LClnformation Bulletin 27:42 (Oct. 17, 1968), p. 634.
index of the kind in Latin America, and it is unfortunate that for financial
reasons it appears in mimeographed form on poor quality paper.
The Doria paper concluded with a three-part appendix listing 182
bibliographies. Miss Doria stated that she had tried to indicate in the body
of her paper all the bibliographies listed from 1950 to 1964. Both the text
of her paper and the appended bibliography of bibliographies are of
continuing value.
In 1966 Maria Antonia Ferraz, a professor in the Sao Paulo Library
School, provided the Eleventh Seminar with a bibliography of reference
works on Brazil. The nine-page list, arranged by the decimal system
classification, contains some 175 items. It provides useful information, but
there is no text, nor is there an author index.
The last paragraph of the Doria paper seems to summarize so well the
progressive attitudes of the top Brazilian bibliographies that it may well be
quoted here: "We hope to have indicated that, even if the work done so
far is not perfect, we know that bibliographic work is of great value, and
we know what can and should be done. This is a guarantee of future
progress and improvement."
Brazil is fortunate in that publishers, bookdealers, and bibliographers
recognize their common interests. Whether or not conditions will soon
permit trying out their cooperative plan, which has been drawn up, the
fact of its creation is in itself significant. Meanwhile, although subject to
limitation in coverage, the current national bibliography of Brazil is
excellent in many respects and seems headed upward.
Of the South American countries Chile is the one with the strongest
bibliographical tradition, thanks to a number of notable bibliographers,
among whom the most outstanding was of course Jos6 Toribio Medina.
However, after Medina's death in 1930, there was a long interval when the
principal records were lists contained in periodicals, miscellaneous special-
ized bibliographies, and a publisher's catalog. In 1961 the Zimmerman
Guide to Current Latin American Periodicals listed only the Anuario de
publicaciones peri6dicas chilenas as a continuing official source of data
concerning national periodicals, but one which had been in abeyance from
1938 until 1951. The volume covering 1958 was received in 1961. Other-
wise, the journal Atenea was considered the most important source,
followed by the quarterly list, Servicio bibliogrdfico chileno.
The paper on "Current Bibliography in Chile" contributed by Blanca
Matas to the Eighth Seminar (1963) provided only a brief background
statement and listings of (1) bibliographies published since 1930, (2)
journals in which partial bibliographies might be found, and (3) publishers
whose catalogs might prove useful.
In view of the importance attached to records provided by periodicals,
it seems in order to report, regretfully, that several of the major ones have
suspended or ceased publication. An item in a Chilean newspaper, El
Mercurio, for May 11, 1969, stated that the crises in Chilean universities
had caused Finis Terrae to cease publication and had interrupted the
publication of Atenea and of the Anales de la Universidad de Chile
(founded in 1843). This leaves Mapocho, organ of the Biblioteca Nacional,
as the only outstanding cultural and literary review currently published. In
terms of bibliography, one of its regular features was until recently a
cumulated listing of the publications of the BN, a feature which it is to be
hoped will soon be resumed.
Carl Deal, in his paper for the Twelfth Seminar (1967), "Bibliographic
Aids for Collecting Current Latin American Materials," listed two items,
both of which continue to serve their different objectives. Servicio biblio-
grdfico chileno is a quarterly bookdealer's list which is unique in several
ways. The Anuario de la prensa chilena was first published by the Biblio-
teca Nacional in 1887, covering the years 1877 to 1885. It suspended
publication in 1916 but resumed in 1962, soon after Don Guillermo Felii
Cruz (1901- ), secretary to and disciple of Jos6 Toribio Medina
(1852-1930), was placed in charge of the Direcci6n General de Bibliotecas,
Archives, y Museos. In the interval since the death of Medina in 1930,
there had been published only the volume for 1877-1885, under the
direction of Rail Silva Castro, and the partial record irregularly supplied
by the Anuario de publicaciones peri6dicas.
The Anuario is an exhaustive record of the country's bibliographic
production, in so far as that production reaches the BN. The ley de
dep6sito has fortunately been observed rather well in Chile, so that most
publications of importance are included. Valuable as it is, it provides no
subject approach to materials listed. The present Director of the Biblioteca
Nacional, Sr. Roque Esteban Scarpa, indicates that the institution would
be very happy to provide fuller records concerning the national bibli-
ography if funds were available. It has done some retrospective indexing of
older literary periodicals, and is currently producing a bibliography of
critical reviews of Chilean literary works.
Meanwhile, in addition to the valuable but traditional services being
rendered by the BN, other agencies are developing important programs.
New forces are constructively at work, and results should be increasingly
evident. A major stimulus is provided by the fact that Santiago is the seat
of the United Nations' Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA),
or in Spanish, the Comisi6n Econ6mica para la America Latina-CEPAL, as
it is commonly known.
Another healthy development in Chile is a growing realization on the
part of its Congress that knowledge of the past is an essential factor in
making wise daily decisions affecting the present and future. A Comisi6n
de Restauraci6n de la Biblioteca del Congreso, established as a joint
commission in 1968, is supporting a major program for the indexing of
Chilean newspapers. Lautaro Valenzuela, Ximena Cruz (daughter of Don
Guillermo Felii Cruz), and Edmundo Serani constitute the capable team
in charge. The program calls for current indexing of all the newspapers of
the country, including those of the provinces. The aim is to cover on a
selective basis all matters of national or international concern. The index is
being done on a subject and name basis, dating from 1963. The Restora-
tion Commission is interested in retrospective indexing as well. Files
include cards covering the years 1942-1963, selected on the basis of earlier
criteria, and there are some cards analyzing newspapers back to the
nineteenth century. This file, called a "Catllogo de la prensa chilena," is
open to the Congress and to other researchers for consultation, as is the
current "Indice de la prensa chilena." The Commission has proposed
publication, either on a bimonthly or quarterly basis, with annual cumula-
tions. Possible computerization is being discussed.
Chilean leaders are becoming increasingly convinced that the country
needs to develop its technical and scientific capabilities if it is to make the
progress toward which it aspires along social, economic, and scientific
lines. Various organizations are working toward this end. The phase of the
situation which concerns us here is the emerging realization of the need for
national bibliographic records of what has been done in the past and what
different governmental or university groups or other individuals or organi-
zations are doing currently as a prerequisite for intelligent planning.
Various alphabetical agencies have begun to develop programs. In 1968
ODEPLAN, the Oficina de Planifacaci6n Nacional, named a commission to
study the situation. The report dated June 18, 1968, is an important
document. (Informe No. 1 de la Comisi6n Asesora en Documentaci6n de
ODEPLAN. Santiago de Chile, 18 de junio 1968.) It analyzes the situation,
indicating that there are great needs but also that there is at present much
overlapping of function and records. It concludes by recommending the
creation of a national coordinating center for information and documenta-
tion, to function under the Comisi6n Cientifica y Tecnol6gica and in
cooperation with the Consejo de Rectores. The agency which has been
charged with responsibility for implementing the program is CENID, the
Centro Nacional de Informaci6n y Documentaci6n, currently headed by
Mrs. Betty Johnson.
The duties of the coordinating center as outlined in the commission
report include: (1) analyzing of existing information, such as archives,
indexes, and special studies; (2) establishing systems, whether manual or
mechanized, for locating desired information; (3) maintaining informa-
tional sources for providing data to national researchers or to those in
other countries; and (4) coordinating the operation of existing libraries
and centers and maintaining international relations which assure the acqui-
sition of information from throughout the world.
The expressed hopes of ODEPLAN that the necessary preliminaries, such
as budget and other estimates, could be carried out in 1969 and the
program could get under way by 1970 seem to be well on their way to
realization. Mrs. Johnson indicated in a conversation, May, 1969, that
bibliography is considered one of the incidental objectives, a means
towards an end. Although scientific and technical considerations are para-
mount, the terms under which CENID functions are interpreted liberally,
and some assistance can be given to materials in the humanities and social
sciences. Also, the Biblioteca Nacional will be encouraged to direct its
indexing activities where possible towards current social science materials
rather than retrospective literature. In any case it seems that major official
developments are in the offing concerning the acquiring, recording, and
making available of information concerning Chile's more important cur-
rent national bibliographical output.
An unrelated development which may yield more immediate and
general results in terms of current national bibliography can also be
reported. Sr. Zamorano y Caperin, whose Servicio bibliogrdfico chileno
(1940- ) has supplied the only consistent record of Chilean publications
for three decades, has agreed to include in his quarterly lists, which are
prepared primarily for his foreign clientele, the names of the publishers.
This addition makes possible the use of his lists by the Fichero biblio-
grdfico hispanoamericano, which will in turn make available an author
listing as well as a classified one, and will provide for an extension of the
usefulness of the data through inclusion in Libros en venta. Sr. Zamorano
y Caperin estimates that his lists include 90 percent of the more substan-
tial book production of Santiago, and he states that very little is produced
Chile, as the homeland of Jos6 Toribio Medina, is heir to the most
outstanding bibliographic tradition of the Americas, which has been car-
ried on to a considerable extent through Don Guillermo Felii Cruz. A
major achievement of the latter was the updating of the Anuario de la
prensa chilena, an author listing of publications reaching the Biblioteca
Nacional. The record is being continued, although at present on a biennial
basis. The major source of current information continues to be the
quarterly Servicio bibliogrdfico chileno, a bookdealer's list.
New developments in the bibliographic arts in Chile are along lines
designed to meet immediate needs for economic and political data, nota-
bly: (1) plans for the creation of a national coordinating center for
information and documentation to be responsible to CENID, the Centro
Nacional de Informaci6n y Documentaci6n, and (2) an expanded program
for the indexing of Chilean newspapers by the national Library of
Startling geographic contrasts in Colombia and corresponding problems in
communication are reflected in the country's bibliographic records, but
recent decades have brought dramatic changes. Before the airplane com-
pletely revolutionized transportation, the three Andean ranges extending
from the country's southern border toward the north had blocked east-
west communications. Life flowed from south to north, along the valleys
of the Cauca and the Magdalena rivers. The journey to Bogoti, using river
steamers up the Magdalena until halted by rapids, then continuing by
train, took at least a week. Bogotd, founded in 1538, was an Archbishop-
ric, which became the center of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. It came
to be called the "Athens of America," a title it prized highly.
In most other Latin American countries, the capital is the principal city
and publishing center of the country, but Bogota has had exceptional
competition. The air age has enhanced the relative position of the capital,
which now has a population of some two million. But Medellin, approach-
ing its first million, Cali well on its way towards that number, Barranquilla
past the half-way mark, and the port cities of Bucaramanga and Cartagena
past the quarter point, are all important cities in their own right. The
diversity is reflected in the existence of regional historical or other cultural
journals, of which the Zimmerman Guide to Current Latin American
Periodicals (1961), listed twelve currently published as of 1960. In terms
of present-day local bibliography, the first four cities named were all
represented in the Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoamericano's list of contrib-
uting publishers in a typical issue (March 1969). Many countries with only
one real publishing center complain that compliance with the law of legal
deposit is poor. In Colombia (where the law calls for the deposit of copies
of all works in the National Library) that country's repeated complaint of
noncompliance may be exceptionally well based.
Given the existing geographical and historical circumstances, the lack of
a bibliographical tradition in Colombia is understandable. Recently, how-
ever, the country, with its internal communications vastly improved by air
transportation, has made great efforts to develop and maintain adequate
bibliographical records, and its progress has been remarkable. In a paper
entitled "Colombian Bibliography" written by Rub6n P6rez Ortiz for the
Sixth Seminar (1961), he stated that concern over the establishment of
bibliographical services in Colombia began with a paper which he prepared
for UNESCO in 1950 entitled "Improvement of Bibliographic Service." He
noted that credit was due UNESCO and the Organization of American
States for providing the initial stimulus for such progress as had been
made. He considered such stimulus a service which international organiza-
tions could and should render to countries "when there is no clear
knowledge of what... bibliography represents to the cultural and material
advancement of their people."
When Rub6n P6rez Ortiz wrote his 1961 account of the state of
Colombian bibliography, he had become the Head of the Bibliographic
Department of the Instituto Caro y Cuervo,* an Institute which had long
enjoyed an international reputation for its work on linguistics and in
bibliography related to that field, but which had only recently undertaken
responsibility for compiling and publishing the current national
The first Anuario bibliogrdfico colombiano was compiled by Pedro R.
An article by Guillermo de Z6ndegui, "Temple of the Spanish Language," in Americas
for January 1964, gives an excellent account of the Institute, with illustrations showing its
Hacienda Yerbabuena setting and its Director, Josd Manuel Rivas Sacconi. The icc has an
office in the National Library, but its files for national bibliography, current and retro-
spective, are maintained on the Yerbabuena premises.
Carmona and was published in Cali in 1951. Its contents were incorpo-
rated into the next volume, 1951/1956. This was compiled by Ruben
Perez Ortiz, as were subsequent volumes through 1962. The 1963 volume,
published in 1966, was entitled Anuario bibliogrdfico colombiano "Rubin
Pdrez Ortiz. In the preface the new editor, Francisco Josd Romero Rojas,
paid tribute to his predecessor, who died in April 1964. He reviewed
briefly the publishing history of the Anuario and stated that it would
continue along previous lines. Books and pamphlets would be listed on the
basis of the Dewey Decimal System, and a comprehensive index of names
would be provided. Annual lists of new periodicals were also to be
continued. Dr. Romero Rojas thanked those who had cooperated in
supplying data or in allowing their collections to be checked. However, he
urged fuller compliance in the national interest with Decree Number 2840,
dated November 14, 1961, and signed by the President and the Minister of
National Education.
This rather remarkable document stated that in accordance with a 1954
decree the Instituto Caro y Cuervo had been charged with the compiling of
the national bibliography and that a Department of Bibliography had been
created for the purpose. It was therefore decreed that all publishers should
send a copy of every item printed by them to the Instituto Caro y Cuervo
within one month of its publication date. It was provided that in the case
of noncommercial items they might be loaned to the Institute with a
written request that they be returned when bibliographic data had been
noted for the Anuario. Compliance was asked for, but no penalty was
indicated for failure to send the materials. Even though the supposed
requirement may be less than fully effective, the intent and language of
the decree, signed by a President of international stature-Alberto Lleras
Camargo, a former Secretary-General of the OAS -gave new prestige to the
concept of national bibliography in Colombia, and by extension through-
out Latin America: Considering "That it is the duty of government to
support every effort which makes for the diffusion of the intellectual
patrimony of Colombians and that the compilation and publication of
bibliographies is the most practical means of making known the contribu-
tion of Colombia to sciences, arts, and letters. .. "*
In spite of difficulties the ice's Department of Bibliography has suc-
ceeded in bringing the Anuario up to date. Dr. Romero Rojas stated to this
writer in May 1969 that the 1967/1968 volume was then in press and that
it was his intention to maintain a current publishing schedule. Publications
Translation by this writer. The decree is included in some issues of the Anuario, e.g.,
1962 and 1964/1965, with the unnumbered pages following the index.
which reached him tardily (and only items personally handled by him were
included) would be listed later. Work on a 1951 to 1968 supplement was
in progress, but no target date had been set for its completion. He reported
that the compliance of publishers with the 1961 decree was improving but
that it was not yet good. The 1967/1968 volume did in fact appear in
1969. The 349-page volume bears a colophon date of September 5, 1969.
The achievement is a landmark in the history of Colombia's national
bibliography and is a cause for hearty congratulations.
The effects of the 1950 UNESCO Conference on the Improvement of
Bibliographic Services on Ruben Perez Ortiz and through him on Colom-
bian national bibliography have been noted. Colombia proved to be
doubly benefited, since the early 1960s brought it the services of another
distinguished participant at that conference, Dr. Fermin Peraza. Dr. Peraza
and his wife had departed Castro's Cuba in late 1960 to serve in the
Escuela Interamericana de Bibliotecologia, where they remained until early
in 1962. While in Medellin, Dr. Peraza compiled and published, as a part of
the series "Biblioteca del bibliotecario," Fichas para el Anuario biblio-
grdfico colombiano, with a special section for "Libros de Medellin." This
section was dropped when the Perazas left Medellin for Gainesville,
Florida, in 1962 to join the staff of the University of Florida Libraries.
The title was changed in 1965 to Bibliografia colombiana. The Peraza
approach covered books and pamphlets published in Colombia or by
Colombians living elsewhere and foreign materials dealing with Colombia.
Official publications were included on a rather extensive basis. Arrange-
ment was alphabetical by author with a detailed subject index.*
Colombian national bibliography advanced during the 1960s in a spe-
cific area which has been generally neglected in Latin America-the listing of
official publications. In 1964 the Escuela Interamericana de Bibliotecolo-
gia in Medellin published the first issue of Bibliografia official colombiana.
It listed publications of national, departmental (state), municipal, and
autonomous agencies. Number 2 appeared in 1966. A "Presentaci6n"
(pp. iii-v), by Flor6n Lozano, head of the editorial board, indicated the
difficulties encountered in preparing the Bibliografias, but intentions of
quarterly publishing and of providing an annual cumulated volume were
expressed. The title is included in the EIB'S Lista de publicaciones para la
venta, updated to March 1969. It was hoped to have a recent copy at hand,
but international mail problems prevented the realization of the hope.
For a more detailed description of both the Anuario bibliogrdfico colombiano "Ruben
Perez Ortiz" and Bibliografia colombiana see Peraza's Bibliografias corrientes de la America
Latina, 1969, pp. 45-46.
The Bibliografia official colombiana had its origins apparently in two
papers prepared respectively by Fermin Peraza and Jos6 Ignacio Boh6r-
quez for the Conferencia sobre Administraci6n Pdiblica en los Paises en
Desarrollo, Bogoti, April 15-21, 1963. The Peraza paper was entitled
"Publicaciones oficiales colombianas, 1961-1962," and the one by Bo-
h6rquez was a "Lista de las publicaciones hechas por la Imprenta Nacional
de Colombia, 1958-1962." The two papers were published in 1964 by
Peraza under the title of Publicaciones oficiales colombianas in his series
"Biblioteca del bibliotecario" (no. 69). The foreword stated that the
papers, prepared for the April 1963 Conference, had been distributed in
such a limited edition that it had seemed desirable to make them more
widely available. Sr. Boh6rquez has continued to work with official
publications. He contributed to the Eleventh Seminar (1966) an extensive
"Lista alfab6tica de las entidades de la administraci6n piblica national de
Colombia, 1821-1966."
Mention should be made of the contributions to special phases of
Colombian national bibliography made by the Director of, or by students
in, the UNESCO- and foundation-sponsored Escuela Interamericana de
Bibliotecologia, which is now a part of the University of Antioquia in
Medellin. Of the list of publications for sale as of March 1969 several were
dated as recently as 1967, and the following three either specifically
covered through 1967 or were dated 1968:
Flor6n Lozano, Luis. Obras de referencia y generals de la bibliografia colombiana.
Medellin, Editorial Universidad de Antioquia, 1968. 226 leaves. Mimeo.
Lorenzo E., Concepci6n Pablo. Repertorio de las publicaciones corrientes colombia-
nas, 1960-1968. Medellin, EUA, 1968. 180 leaves. Mimeo.
Lotero Marin, Libia. Indice cientifico y ticnico colombiano 1964-1967. Medellin,
EUA, 1968. 148 leaves. Mimeo.*
There are several other indices compiled by various students as of their
respective years of graduation. In some cases work carried to a certain date
is continued later. An undated circular available as of May 1969 listed, in
addition to the Indice noted above, an Indice agricola colombiano,
1951-1960, the same for 1961-1966, an Indice antioqueflo de educaci6n,
1871-1965, an Indice econdmico colombiano, 1960-1966 (continuing an
earlier one for 1951-1960), an Indice military colombiano (1955-1967), and
an Indice odontol6gico colombiano (1887-1966.) The Director himself,
Luis Flor6n Lozano, has published Bibliografia bibliotecolOgica colom-
The three publications are available from the Editorial Universidad de Antioquia,
Medellin, Colombia, at U.S. $25.00, $30.00, and $30.00 respectively.
biana, first up to 1960, additional lists for 1963 and 1964, and in 1967 a
five-year cumulative list. The series will presumably continue.
The 1968/1969 Anuario bibliogrdfico lists also, with the Escuela as
author, a Lista de publicaciones peri6dicas y en series; actualizado al mes de
agosto de 1968, published by the Editorial Universidad de Antioquia in
Further information concerning Colombian periodicals comes from an
unlikely source, the Divisi6n de Informaci6n y Publicaciones of the
Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica. One reference to its
Publicaciones peri6dicas en Colombia as an annual has been noted, but a
belated effort to learn whether there have been other editions than the one
at hand, with data for 1965 but published in 1967, has not as yet been
successful. In this record the basic treatment is, as would be expected,
statistical. Charts show a breakdown of the 408 titles treated, first as to
their periodicity and next by type-scientific, literary, sports, etc. Most of
the bulletin (pages 10-62), however, is devoted to an alphabetical listing by
province and town of individual titles, with addresses. Only the kind
(agricultural, tourist, etc.) and periodicity of each are noted.
Colombia, in spite of a strong cultural tradition, lacked anything resem-
bling an anuario until after 1950, when Ruben P6rez Ortiz presented a
paper at a UNESCO Conference on the "Improvement of Bibliographic
Service." He credited UNESCO and the OAS with providing the stimulus
which led to the initial compilation of an anuario and for encouraging its
continuation. Since his death it is being prepared by a former associate of
Perez Ortiz, Dr. Francisco J. Romero Rojas, whose bibliographic work is
supported by the Institute Caro y Cuervo. With the publication in 1969 of
the 1967/1968 volume of the Anuario bibliogrdfico colombiano "Ruben
Perez Ortiz," Colombia's national bibliography has achieved currency and
can be expected to maintain its schedule. Colombia has within two
decades moved from the category of countries with no history of real
national bibliography to the ranks of the most advanced, both as to
quality and as to current publication.
Colombia benefits also from the bibliographical works produced by
students and faculty of the Escuela Interamericana de Bibliotecologia in
Medellin, which provide bibliographies on specific aspects of national
publications. Some of these compilations cover their materials to the date
of their publication.
Ecuador provides inadequate information about such publishing as is done
within its borders, but both the publishing and its record have distinctive
characteristics. A report on Ecuador in the UNESCO bulletin Bibliography,
Documentation, and Terminology for May 1968 says in part:
There are two main publishing houses in Quito: the Casa de la
Cultural Ecuatoriana and the Editorial Universitaria, which is
attached to the Universidad Central.... The Editorial Universitaria
keeps a very brief catalog of the works it offers for sale; it has no
catalog of books published in recent years.
The Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana is the only institution which
has been publishing since its creation (August, 1944) a biblio-
graphical catalog of the works by Ecuadorian authors. Special men-
tion should be made of the work entitled: 20 afios de labor de la
Casa de Cultura Ecuatoriana which lists 444 authors.
This catalog, cited above by its cover title, is officially a Catdlogo
general de publicaciones de la Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, 1944-1965,
published in 1965 by the Casa.* This 230-page volume (on good paper) is
indeed a valuable record. Arranged basically by the Dewey Decimal major
divisions, it lists chronologically each of the pertinent publications. Most
titles are annotated, and portraits accompany many of them. The intro-
duction notes that in many cases the books are ones which are "reappear-
ing." "Editions" are indicated, but these may include reprints, since the
distinction in Latin America is not carefully drawn. An alphabetical name
index facilitates location of works by specific authors.
One of the distinctive features of the work of the Casa is that while the
principal center, the "Casa matriz," is in Quito, there are others, called
nucleos, elsewhere in the country. In the 20-year catalog of the Casa pages
181-219 are devoted to the publications of the nucleos. Those of Guayas
and Azuay are listed separately, and seven additional ones are covered in a
section on "others."
An earlier catalog, Libros publicados por la Editorial de la Casa Matriz,
dated 1959, was simply a title-author list (on newsprint) arranged by
years, from the four publications in 1945 through the thirty-eight for
1959. The Editorial publishes an annual Catdlogo regularly and quite
An account of this remarkable organization is to be found in an article by Lilo Linke,
"House of Culture: What the Ten-year-old Casa de la Cultura Has Done for the Arts and
Sciences in Ecuador," in Americas for July 1954 (Vol. 6, pp. 13-15, 41-42).
promptly. However, these too are only title-author price lists arranged in
very general groups by type of work, and completely lacking in other
bibliographic detail.
The Catdlogo covering 1944-1965, on the other hand, was the work of
Alfredo Chaves, Director of the Archivo Nacional de Historia until his
death in 1963, and of Laura de Crespo, Librarian in charge of the Casa's
library, which includes the Archivo de la Cultura and attempts to keep
copies of all publications of the Editorial. The two were working direct
from the publications so far as those were available, and their data were
accurate and complete. The Catdlogo is important not only for itself but
because it sets a high standard for Ecuadorian bibliography, national or
Emphasis on the publication of Revistas is another of the distinguishing
characteristics of the work of the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana.
Although its own Revista suspended publication about 1957, various of
the provincial ntcleos were publishing theirs as recently as the mid-1960s,
as reported in 20 aflos de labor. Specialized periodicals dealing with such
fields as education, literature, and medicine are published by their respec-
tive agencies, all apparently affiliated more or less closely with the Casa.
The introduction to the cumulated volume for 1944-1965 mentioned
these periodicals as an important part of the work of the Casa as publisher.
The dearth of qualified bibliographers and librarians in Ecuador was
indicated by the Secretary of the National Library in the 1968 report cited
above. He stated that as of 1966 there were no certified librarians in the
country, but noted that an Escuela de Bibliotecologia had recently been
created at the Universidad de Guayaquil. A later report points up further
the lack of adequately educated and technically trained librarians in
Ecuador. Eleanor Mitchell, who served from 1963 to 1968 as a Saint Louis
University/uSAID library consultant at the Universidad Cat6lica del Ecua-
dor in Quito, provided an account of developments during those five years
in an article, "Pilot Project in the Andes" in the Library Journal for
November 15, 1968.
As a pilot project should do, the Ecuadorian experiment serves as a
more or less representative case study. A country with a low literacy rate
will not be book oriented. The possibilities provided by libraries, as made
possible by librarians, are not comprehended. Adequate library training is
not, under such circumstances, ordinarily available in the home country.
Students sent to a center which provides such training-in this case,
probably, the Inter-American Library School in Medellin, Colombia-are
upon their return in short supply and are highly mobile. It is possible that
in such a situation, as noted by Miss Mitchell, the coming or going of one
professional librarian can increase or decrease their number in the country
by 50 percent!
Two of Miss Mitchell's staff members at the Universidad Cat6lica del
Ecuador, Alfredo Alvear and Ximena Espinosa, prepared under her super-
vision a working paper for the Eleventh Seminar (1966). The paper,
"Ecuador, apuntes bibliogrificos," is valuable for (1) a sketch of the
history of printing in Ecuador, (2) for a good statement of the difficulties
encountered by authors and the book trade in general in most Latin
American countries, and (3) for information about retrospective Ecuador-
ian bibliography. However, data about current national bibliography were
The Ecuadorian situation is one in which the National Library has been
in no position to provide bibliographical records or leadership. Eleanor
Mitchell stated that the building in which it had functioned for a number
of years was a former skating rink, and that its collections and services
were limited. However, when she wrote her article in 1968 new quarters
were under construction.
The report in Bibliography, Documentation, and Terminology for May
1968 (but with 1966 data) stated that the National Library had very
limited funds but would gladly cooperate so far as possible with other
libraries in Ecuador or elsewhere. There was a law of legal deposit,
promulgated in 1934, requiring authors and publishers to send a copy of
every work not only to the National Library but to each of three other
places-the municipal library of the author's place of residence, to the
Biblioteca de Autores Nacionales in Ambato, and to the Municipal Library
of Guayaquil.
Hopes for a current bibliographical record were raised briefly by the
appearance of a Boletin bibliogrdfico ecuatoriano early in 1967. The
Handbook of Latin American Studies for 1967 described the Janu-
ary/March issue thus: "A much-needed and welcome source of informa-
tion. This first issue contains a section on current books and pamphlets."
The second issue (dated April/June), an attractively printed one, from the
Casa de la Cultura press, devoted most of its twenty-two pages to biblio-
graphical lists, the rest mainly to news notes and a brief article on the
library of the Universidad Central. The major section, "Libros y folletos
ecuatorianos," evidently continued the listing from the first issue. Items
were numbered from 64 through 130. Full bibliographical data showed
that the majority were pamphlets, mostly from universities and the Casa
de Cultura, including the ntcleos in the provinces, and other official
sources. However, a fair number of "books" (of over one hundred pages)
were listed, and some private presses were represented. An "Hemeroteca
ecuatoriana," an alphabetical list of 26 Ecuadorian periodicals, with pub-
lishing agency and number and date of the latest issue noted-chiefly 1967
publications-was a useful feature.
Unfortunately the Boletin bibliogrdfico ecuatoriano neglected to
furnish data as to certain important details-coverage, sponsorship, and
availability. No indication was given as to what access to materials had
been available, nor was there an estimate as to how complete the record
was considered to be. It was "Editado por Alfredo Alvear, Matilde Alti-
marano, Ximena Espinosa, and Mary Altimarano." Of the four "Editors,"
Alvear and Espinosa have already been identified as authors of the
SALALM working paper on Ecuador, and they mentioned Matilde Alti-
marano as the Librarian of the Universidad Central in Quito. A post office
box number was given, but there was no indication as to terms on which
the "quarterly publication" could be secured. An attempt by the Univer-
sity of Florida Libraries to place a subscription brought no reply. "Reli-
able sources" have established the fact that only two issues were pub-
lished. At least, those small bulletins provide useful information, and their
content and arrangement set an excellent standard for future publications.
On the other hand, the episode does point up several important factors
involved in the providing of national bibliography. Internal and supple-
mentary evidence, including "grapevine intelligence," do identify the
editors as well-intentioned young librarians who undertook to compile and
present the information on their own time, without institutional support
and without adequate working capital. For their good intentions, for their
considerable effort, and for their contribution to knowledge, they should
be given full credit. However, in general terms, there is a negative side to
the situation. A few generalizations based on this episode have wide
1. Any new periodical publication should provide-as many do-a state-
ment as to the identity of the editors and publishers, indicating their
objectives, their sponsorship, the intended periodicity of the publication,
and the terms upon which it may be secured.
2. Serial publications, which involve the setting up of an "open entry"
as a sort of birth certificate, are presumed still to be published until
definite information-preferably an official notice-provides a "death certi-
ficate." Until the latter is recorded, a fantastic total of hours of staff time
in American and other libraries can be spent in attempting to secure the
publication or to ascertain its status. The greater the prestige and circula-
tion of the bibliographic tools carrying the original entry, such as the
Handbook of Latin American Studies and New Serial Titles, the greater
the responsibility for providing adequate data.
3. Any serial publication should provide specific information as to the
source from which it can be obtained. Subscription price or terms of
exchange should be clearly stated.
4. Monographic publications which provide information of a given date
can be landmarks as such. If the group which assembles the information is
of an ephemeral nature, it is a more professional procedure to provide a
single dated pamphlet or book than to launch a periodical which will soon
be orphaned. If supplements prove feasible, they can be provided. If a
periodical should later emerge, given a solid working basis, good. In any
case, "responsible parenthood" will avoid contributing to a population
explosion in short-lived periodicals, which strew the records of Latin
American periodicals. Too many such corpses lack "death certificates,"
and have not, therefore, been given "decent burial."
Bibliographic information from commercial sources concerning Ecua-
dorian publications is understandably scarce. Even such data as are pro-
vided by the annual catalogs of the Casa de Cultura are deplorably
incomplete, a fact necessarily reflected in any use Fichero might attempt
to make of that basic source. What information Comentarios bibliogrdficos
americanos may be able to provide remains to be seen. At present the
Stechert-Hafner LACAP lists are among the better sources, together with
those from Latin American dealers who provide bibliographically accept-
able lists from other countries more or less frequently, notably E. Iturriaga
in Lima. Those of Fernando Garcia Cambeiro in Buenos Aires are often
excellent but are somewhat variable.
Ecuador has a low level of book consciousness with a correspondingly low
level of publishing and of demands for libraries and for bibliographical
services. Most of the publications issued in the country are sponsored by
the universities, especially the Universidad Central, or by the Casa de la
Cultura Ecuatoriana. The latter, the country's chief publisher, provides the
only regular and reasonably current source of information concerning
publishing in Ecuador through its own annual catalogs, but they are
deficient in bibliographic information.
Ecuador received significant assistance towards library development
from international agencies in the 1960s through the provision of out-
standing professional personnel in a leadership capacity and through
opportunities offered to young recruits to the profession. New library and
bibliographical standards were set, and there were indications that the seed
planted might be fruitful. The two issues of the "quarterly" Boletin
bibliogrdfico ecuatoriano, dated for the first half of 1967, provided valua-
ble information as of that date and set some excellent standards.
Paraguay was one of the countries to which the Ninth Seminar (1964) gave
special attention. Mrs. Mary Brennan, of the Order Department of the
University of Texas Library, wrote on "Library Resources and Acquisi-
tions," and Sofia Mareski, Librarian of the National Administration of
Telecommunications' Institute of Telecommunications, contributed "The
Present Situation of Book Publication: Means of Production, Exchange of
Publications, List of Official Organizations, and Bibliography of Official
Periodical Publications." No attempt was made to treat specifically
national bibliography, current or retrospective, perhaps because there was
so little to say.
Mrs. Brennan, who had sent out a questionnaire, felt that there were so
many qualifications attached to the 39 replies received that any statements
made should be hedged by "a private mds o menos." However, she
provided some interesting facts and comments. Bibliographic tools used in
acquiring current materials concerning Paraguay, as reported by the ques-
tionnaires, were "the generally familiar ones." Of the nonspecific tools,
"publishers' and dealers' catalogs," with 14, was nearly double any other
source. Of 11 specific sources used, the top 5 were: Fichero bibliogrdfico
hispanoamericano, 17; Pan American Union, Columbus Memorial Library,
List of Books Accessioned..., 8; National Union Catalog, 7; Revista
interamericana de bibliografia, 7; Stechert-Hafner lists (LACAP), 7.
With regard to exchange programs, only 17 of the 39 questionnaires
returned marked this section in any way. Of these, few had dealt with
more than one or two institutions, namely: Library of Congress, 16;
University of Florida, 8; University of Texas, 7; Pan American Health
Organization, 6; University of California, Berkeley, 4. Principal difficulties
at the Paraguayan end were considered to be the extreme degree of
decentralization in government agencies and academic institutions. In the
United States hampering factors were lack of staff and of publications to
offer in exchange.
One section has so much application to other Latin American countries,
as well as Paraguay, that it merits quotation in full:
V. A recitation of the problems surrounding Latin American acquisi-
tions makes a doleful dirge indeed. In the order of diminishing
emphasis, these are the problems:
1. Lack of reliable, up-to-date bibliographies
2. Lack of reliable dealers
3. Failure to elicit replies to correspondence
4. Difficulty in obtaining government documents
5. Decentralization of academic and government agencies
6. Refusal to accept standing orders
7. Necessity of prepayment
8. Inadequate printings
9. High prices
10. Lack of interest here in the United States
The suggested solutions, some well within the realm of possibil-
ity, some not, are the following:
1. Improved exchange programs
2. Larger printings
3. Greater academic and government centralization
4. Better organized book trade in Latin America
5. National agencies patterned after Her Majesty's Stationary
The section of the paper by the Paraguayan librarian, Sofia Mareski,
which deals with "Exchange of Publications in Paraguay and Abroad" is of
particular interest when viewed conversely to the foregoing presentation as
a statement of the difficulties encountered at the southern end of the line.
The exchange of official publications in Paraguay takes place
more inside the country, among Ministries and institutions, than
outside. There are very few Ministries or institutions who keep an
exchange service with the outside because of the following reasons:
1. According to the information received from some ministries
there is no provision in the budget for mailing costs. This
problem is solved locally by the use of messengers.
2. Another obstacle is the language factor involving correspond-
ence regarding requests, receipts, and other information of
that nature.
3. There are very few Ministries that have a library, or if they do
it does not accomplish this task because of the lack of
professional librarians; the exchange is a specific library task.
Generally, the Publications Departments do not distribute
their own publications; it is usually done by the Public
Relations offices and secretaries.
Miss Mareski stated that the Library of the National Administration of
Telecommunications (her post) maintained a good exchange service with
five continents on the basis of two bulletins available to it free of charge
for this purpose. Its statistical bulletin, which had "a circulation of 200
issues," was mailed to 103 centers in the different continents. Teleinforma-
tivo, with a circulation of 1,000 copies, was distributed among executives
of local private enterprises and a small number to the same abroad. She
considered the exchange as advantageous to her library, but she mentioned
regretfully the cancellation of the contract with the United States Book
Exchange, which, "according to correspondence received through USAID
in Paraguay was done because of the reduction in foreign aid. But since
they expressed, though, that they would like to continue receiving our
publications, we have decided to keep them on our mailing list."
The withdrawal of the AID subsidy (primarily a matter of transporta-
tion costs) was a decision which compelled the USBE to cancel without
warning its contracts with Latin American countries. The cancellation of
the subsidy was particularly disastrous in situations such as that of Para-
guay, a country which is almost a complete void in bibliographical terms.
The fact that USBE had been able to secure from the country publications
whose existence might otherwise be unknown and could make them
available to its customers at cost, by means of its lists, was highly
advantageous. Since USBE lists are prepared with publications in hand, the
bibliographic data can be relied upon for completeness and accuracy. The
USBE program is still important, but it can no longer make available the
quantity or quality of materials from places such as Paraguay which its
lists formerly offered.
One of the useful features of the Mareski paper was the appendices: a
list of official agencies and a list of official periodical publications. The
special importance of government documents, as the chief publications
produced in the country, pointed up particular difficulties in the produc-
tion of any type of book materials in Paraguay. An obvious limitation was
the geographical factor of proximity to the publishing centers of Argentina
and Brazil. Another was heavy customs duties and taxes on the materials
and equipment required for printing, which made it less expensive to
import the finished publications themselves. A third limitation-one
common to most of the less developed countries-was a lack of artisans
with the required skills for printing and binding. Since government agen-
cies were exempt from the levies of duties and taxes, they had a great
advantage over private enterprise.
A section on existing facilities for the printing and reproduction of
books (which bears on the question, what is a "publication"? ) listed them
in two categories: (1) Private enterprise-publications of the "40 graphic
establishments in the country," mostly mimeographed and stapled
("Almost all the colleges, schools, offices, and private firms have a mimeo-
graph"); (2) governmental-a detailed listing of the mimeographing or
other means of reproducing "printed matter." A "lynotype, model 31, and
a disc type ruling press" listed for the National Printing Office put it far in
the lead. There is no mention that any one of the agencies keeps any kind
of record of what comes from its rollers or presses.
It seems clear that the reasons for a lack of national bibliography lie
deep indeed. There is a new National Library building, but as an institu-
tion it is, at best, not expressing leadership.*
As in other national situations, the more difficult the publication of
books, the greater the role of official bulletins or reviews and of those
published independently or by societies. The two SALALM papers both
present useful information regarding Paraguayan periodicals in their
respective appendices. Mareski provides as "Anexo 2" a list of ten minis-
tries and periodicals published by them. An apology for its incomplete-
ness, due to a lack of time for its compilation, is itself an indication of the
lack of bibliographical resources at her command.
The Brennan paper provides a list, "Periodicals Currently Received
from Paraguay" (Appendix 2). This appendix, with data compiled from a
variety of sources, including questionnaires and the Union List of Serials
and New Serial Titles 1961-1962, provides useful information of two
kinds. First is a list of 35 institutions in the United States and Canada
"which have indicated they currently receive the periodicals (or hope they
do)." Of the 35 libraries, the only ones indicating the current receipt of
Mrs. Rosa Q. Mesa, Latin American Documents Librarian at the University of Florida,
reports that on the occasion of her visit to Paraguay in March 1969 she went twice to the new
Biblioteca Nacional but found only a caretaker on duty. According to her Paraguayan con-
tacts, the move to the new building had been considered an opportunity to do some house-
cleaning, and only the better looking materials had been transferred.
more than 5 titles were the following: Library of Congress, 41; New York
Public Library, 16; University of Texas, 13; Pan American Union, 10;
University of Florida, 10; University of California, Berkeley, 9; and the
Department of State Library, 6. The second part of the list is, in fact, a
union list of current Paraguayan periodicals based upon the sources indi-
cated. It merits wider availability than is offered by its appendix status.
Under the circumstances described, the bookdealer substitutes to some
extent for the bibliographer. The best known bookdealer in Paraguay is
the Agencia de Librerias Nizza, S.A., in Asunci6n. The bookstore is
reported to be well organized, and it distributes a price list, "Bibliografia
paraguaya," at unstated intervals. Another dealer who prepares occasional
lists of books by Paraguayan authors and of books about Paraguay is the
Libreria Juan de Salazar. However, the two seen by this writer were
unpaged, and items were neither numbered nor alphabetized. A third
Paraguayan firm, the Librerfa Comuneros, ordinarily sends out general lists
of Latin American materials. However, the proprietor, Ricardo Rol6n, did
prepare on request a list of Paraguayan documents in January 1969, and
he might prepare other catalogs of Paraguayan materials. His lists are well
presented and provide full data except for publisher.
Such sources at best, however, supply only a limited amount of
unorganized information, with scant offerings of current publications. As
elsewhere, the providing of such data as are available about current
publications to Fichero bibliognifico hispanoamericano for use there and
in Libros en venta would make the information more nearly available as
current national bibliography. The same may prove true for the new
Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos and its proposed annual cumulation.
Once the information is available in some form, it is always possible
that a bibliographer may appear to convert the raw data into an organized
bibliography. The chances for this eventuality have been increased by the
instituting recently of the University of Paraguay's School of Library
Sciences under the direction of Dr. Gast6n Litton.
Paraguay seems to concentrate in one spot most of the difficulties of the
Latin American book world in the production of books and in providing
adequate bibliographical information about what does get published cur-
rently. In the absence of bibliographical sources as such, we are largely
dependent upon dealers for information, provided either directly or
through commercially produced international bibliographies.
Peru's coverage of its national bibliography may well be the most nearly
complete of that of any Latin American country. Its Anuario bibliogrdfico
peruano (1943-), which now holds the longevity record among its kind,
began publication within a few months after the fire which destroyed the
National Library in May 1943. Much of the manuscript and other mate-
rials were tragically irreplaceable, but library officials, notably Alberto
Tauro and Jorge Basadre, requested and received international cooperation
in the rebuilding of a Peruvian collection and in its organization. One of
the various constructive results was the establishment of an extensive and
well-organized system of bibliographic coverage.
The Anuario provides a classified list of Peruvian books and pamphlets
published within the years covered and also a separate listing by agencies
of official publications, supplemented by a list of foreign publications
concerning Peru. An author index covering the relevant years is provided.
The listing of periodicals is exceptionally complete ard well organized.
Classified listings of periodicals published in Lima and in the provinces are
given with full data, including the numbers and dates of issues published
during the period, or at least of the most recent issue received by the
library. Similar treatment is given official serial publications. A compre-
hensive title index covers both sections.
"Biobibliografias de peruanos desaparecidos" is given only one line in
the table of contents, but the detailed data are awarded what may be a
disproportionately large amount of space. In the 1958/60 volume, for
instance, the national bibliography, as listed above, covered pages 1-431,
and "Biobibliograffas de escritores peruanos desaparecidos en los afios
1958-1960" took up pages 433-743. To the extent that the labor and costs
of providing such personal data, even for outstanding writers, may infringe
upon the possibilities of prompt publication of the current national
bibliography, the devotion of so much space to them in the Anuario seems
of dubious justification. Inclusion in the Library's Boletin or in its review,
Finix, would seem more appropriate.
The Anuario fell several years behind date in the 1950s, but the Library
has made a strenuous effort to achieve currency. A volume covering
1958/60 was published in 1964 and one for 1961/63, the twentieth
anniversary number, is dated 1966 on the title page but bears a colophon
date of December 11, 1967. The Library's Memoria for 1962/66, pub-
lished in 1967, stated that the Anuario for 1964/66 would be published in
1967. Apparently a delay in publication occurred, but at least the Library
had fulfilled its responsibilities for compilation of the data. That fact is a
cause for congratulation.
The quarterly Boletin de la Biblioteca Nacional, which also dates from
1943, carries a classified list of recent publications, with full bibliographic
data but without an author index. There are periodic lists of copyright
entries, arranged on a daily basis, with names in signature form and with
no index. The bibliographic value of such a listing is scant, if not nil. The
Boletin is currently received by United States libraries up to two years or
so behind date.
Peru may claim not only the oldest current Anuario of Latin America
but also the dean of university bibliographic bulletins and one which in
most of its sister republics would have been the country's principal source
of national bibliography for nearly half a century. Fittingly enough, it is
the Boletin bibliogrdfico, organ of the Biblioteca Central de la Universidad
National Mayor de San Marcos, which is the oldest and best of such
publications. Founded in 1923, it has been published continuously except
for the period January 1930 to October 1934. It is numbered as a
quarterly but of recent years has usually appeared on a semestral or annual
The Boletin bibliogrdfico publishes a classified list of the books and
pamphlets received by the University's Central Library, complete with
author index. Its most distinctive contribution to the current national
bibliography, however, is the selective, classified index to periodical arti-
cles appearing in the Peruvian journals received, and to some extent to
outstanding articles in national newspapers of the period covered. A time
lag of two years or more in publication limits the value of the information
provided as "current" bibliography but not its later value for research
Peru is fortunate, bibliographically speaking, in the supplementary
information provided by its book trade. There are several Lima firms
which publish catalogs of varying quality more or less frequently. Of these,
E. Iturriaga & Cia., S.A., has been providing for more than twenty years
semiannual catalogs with at least a section devoted to recent Peruvian
publications. It was a helpful measure when, beginning not later than
mid-1967, Iturriaga began to separate his mimeographed catalog into two
parts; the shorter one is a separately numbered list, Libros recientes.
Peru was one of the countries considered by the Ninth Seminar (1964),
but there was no working paper which dealt specifically with its bibli-
ography. James McShane Breedlove, in his paper on "Library Resources
and Acquisitions and Exchange Policies Relating to Peru," was critical of
the Anuario bibliogrdfico peruano because of its tardy appearance. In
reply to his question, "Which bibliographic tools do you use for current
materials? the leading source was given as "Bookdealers' and publishers'
catalogs." The answers to "Which bookdealers do you use for current
materials? were: (1) for the United States, Stechert-Hafner, which led by
nearly triple the total for the other five, (2) and for Peru, Iturriaga, with
double the total for the other three.
Bettina Summers Pag6s, Chief of the Department of Acquisitions of the
National Libraries of Peru, contributed a brief paper on "The Publishing
Industry in Peru." She stated that the publishing industry was not devel-
oped, and that the Cimara del Libro was devoted almost exclusively to the
interests of bookdealers. The scant production in the provinces came from
the cities of Arequipa, Cuzco, and Trujillo, but there was no bibliographic
record even in newspaper advertisements (because of their high prices),
and acquisition was therefore a matter of chance. The fact reflects,
obviously, the chances that provincial publications would reach the Biblio-
teca Nacional for inclusion in the Anuario.
Breedlove had found Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoamericano to be the
leading specific tool used for the selection of current materials by more
than double the number of any other two sources. However, Peru is
meagerly represented in Fichero. The lack would seem easily remediable
by Iturriaga's providing to it periodically the information assembled for his
semiannual catalogs, a step which would surely be to their mutual advan-
tage. Potential buyers would benefit immediately, and a bibliographical
record would be provided pending the publication of Libros en venta and
of the Anuario bibliogrdfico peruano. The first two issues of Comentarios
bibliogrdficos americanos included several Peruvian firms, notably Mejia
Baca listed both as publisher and distributor.
The Biblioteca Nacional provides excellent coverage in its Anuario biblio-
grdfico peruano of all materials acquired by it. However, the Anuario,
which includes lengthy biobibliographies, appears too late to provide a
really current record. The Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
provides a useful supplement to the official record by its Boletin biblio-
grdfico, but it too lags behind date. One bookdealer, E. Iturriaga & Cia.,
S.A., provides, semiannually, reliable and bibliographically excellent lists
of recent Peruvian publications. Peru has been poorly represented in Fichero
but is less so in early issues of Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos.
"Book Publishing in Uruguay" was prepared for the Ninth Seminar
(1964) by Miguel Angel Pineiro, a professor of the University Library
School of Uruguay, and Luis Alberto Musso, Director of the Technical and
Bibliographic Divisions of the Library of the Legislative Power of Uruguay.
They provided an excellent account of the past and the current publishing
and bibliographical situations as of that date. They noted that, although
Uruguay's literary rate was among the highest in Latin America, its book
production was low. Geographical location was held largely responsible,
since the country is so near to Buenos Aires and is not far from Santiago,
both major publishing centers. Other factors mentioned included high
costs of materials and labor in an inflationary economy, a relatively small
market, and a lack of an efficient system of international distribution.
The authors noted that the National University and the Ministry of
Education were both active publishers, and that important books had been
produced by them. They stressed a fact-one which is applicable through-
out Latin America-that in situations where publication of their works in
monographic form is impractical, writers depend heavily upon reviews as
an outlet. They added: "Fortunately, also, the organizations already
mentioned publish a series of journals of outstanding literary and scientific
value to which many of the national authors have contributed with im-
portant pieces which otherwise might have never been published" (p. 3).
The Anuario bibliogrdfico uruguayo, published only from 1946 to
1949, was an attempt to compile a national bibliography based on books
and pamphlets received on legal deposit by the National Library. Pifieiro
and Musso indicated that information from that Library led them to
believe that the 1962 and 1963 volumes were to be expected soon, as was
also a 1950 volume. It was hoped that a volume covering the years 1951 to
1961 would be published. As of the date of the paper, 1964, the report-
edly forthcoming volumes would have brought the national bibliography
up to date, but apparently none of the volumes then in preparation has
been published.
Bibliografia uruguaya was initiated in 1962 by the Biblioteca del Poder
Legislative as an attempt to produce a record of the current production of
Uruguayan nonserial publications. It was first numbered as a quarterly
with an annual cumulation in two volumes. However, the two volumes for
1963, published in 1964, were dated as an annual. A small addenda
volume for 1963, published in 1966, was the last published as of late
In the first volume arrangement was alphabetical by author. Annota-
tions were the rule. Bibliographical data included a Dewey Decimal
number as an indication of content. In keeping with the declared objec-
tives of making Uruguayan works better known elsewhere, their availa-
bility was enhanced by the inclusion not only of publisher but of price.
The second volume consisted chiefly of biobibliographies. Both volumes
included sections providing information about related matters, such as
series, publishers, pseudonyms, and prices.
'Bibliografia uruguaya, mimeographed on newsprint, was designed in
part for distribution on an exchange basis with the Library's world-wide
network of exchange partners. The material represents a great investment
in the time of skilled and knowledgeable bibliographers, and the contents
are a valuable record. The bibliography served its objectives creditably, and
it is to be hoped that its publication can be resumed.
The authors of the SALALM paper noted that since the only institution
in the country which was designated as a legal depository was the National
Library, the compilation of the national bibliography elsewhere was diffi-
cult. As of 1964 they were hoping for the passage of a bill which would
extend the privilege to the congressional library as well. Meanwhile,
compilation ofBibliografia uruguaya was continuing.
Since Uruguay's political and financial problems of the late sixties are
well known, it may be supposed that they account for an apparent lack of
support, and for the loss to their country and to others of data compiled
but not made available in printed form. Uruguay is a country not only of
above average literacy for Latin America but also one with even more
political and ideological cross currents than the average among its neigh-
bors. Rivalries naturally abound, and as is too commonly true in the
Americas, legislative bodies pressed for funds assign a low priority to
requests concerning libraries and bibliographies.
Bibliography, Documentation, and Terminology for July 1968 provided
among its several national reports a rather full one regarding the situation
in Uruguay as of 1966. Nothing was said of updating the Anuario biblio-
grdfico uruguayo, but it was stated that the National Library was compil-
ing a retrospective bibliography, with data for 1807-1850 assembled but
not yet published. Mention was made of several specialized bibliographies,
notably a contribution by Luis Alberto Musso, whose Bibliografia del
Poder Legislativo desde sus comienzos hasta el aflo 1965 was published by
the Crmara de Senadores in 1966.
That Uruguay should have a flourishing book trade is to be expected.
The lack of officially produced national bibliography lends added impor-
tance to the fact that bookdealers and publishers distribute catalogs which
rank them among the top two or three Latin American countries in the
supplying of information about their national publications by this method.
Some catalogs regularly include sections on reviews, not necessarily
devoted exclusively to Uruguayan titles by including them, and are a major
source of such information as is available about Uruguayan periodicals.
The dearth of information is the more unfortunate because of the wide
spectrum of political and social thought reflected in them.
Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoamericano listed some twenty Uruguayan
publishers or dealers during a three months' period in 1969. Of these it
seems fair to single out for mention the one included in an article
attributable to the editor of Fichero, Mary C. Turner, in the October 1968
issue. The choice of the monthly or bimonthly bulletin of the Libreria
Albe was due to the proprietor's having undertaken to add the name of the
publisher to the bibliographical information provided, thereby making it
possible for her to utilize the data for Fichero. One result is that the best
single established source currently available for information as to the
national bibliography of Uruguay is Fichero.
Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos, a new, unorthodox, and inter-
esting attempt to provide a cultural approach to information about the
Spanish American book world, appeared in Montevideo in 1969. The
initial issue was dated for the first quarter, but the editor, Eduardo Darino,
indicated that the second issue was being published as a double, bimonthly
number, after which the expectation was to publish the bibliography on a
regular bimonthly basis. Since it quite naturally gives wider coverage of
Uruguayan publications than does Fichero, it may well become the chief
source of information concerning current Uruguayan publications, pending
the time when an official agency can gain sufficient financial support to be
able to carry out the bibliographic aspects of its responsibilities.
Uruguay experiences most of the difficulties common to its neighbors in
attempting to produce a record of its national bibliography, but it has an
advantage over many of them in the number and quality of the biblio-
graphical services available. On the other hand, the country has some
unique problems in that respect. Since the problems have so far out-
weighed the solutions, there is at present no effective national bibli-
ography. The experience of Uruguay illustrates the possibility that recent
developments in attempts to provide self-supporting, continent-wide bibli-
ographies of current book production in the Spanish-speaking countries
may offer a partial alternative to the traditional preparation of national
bibliographies by national libraries on a non-self-supporting basis.
Venezuela has a sizable book production, but it lacks a strong biblio-
graphic tradition. Although scholars had published important special bibli-
ographies, the country owed the appearance of its first Anuario biblio-
grdfico venezolano to a Spanish 6migr6, Pedro Grases. Under his able
direction an Anuario covering materials published in Venezuela in 1942
and foreign ones about the country received in that year was published in
1944. Of the five additional volumes, the last covered 1947/1948. A later
effort was made by Felipe Massiani and Carmen Luisa Escalante to update
the Anuario. Two volumes covering the period 1949/1954 were published
in 1960. The first listed books and pamphlets published in Venezuela. The
second was devoted chiefly to foreign publications concerning Venezuela.
It contained a comprehensive index to both volumes.
A Boletin de la Biblioteca Nacional has so far experienced three
epocas: 1923-1933; 1936; 1959-1960.* It has contained some useful spe-
cial bibliographies, but at least in its later periods it was not a source of
information concerning the national bibliography.
In 1959 Venezuela, along with Argentina, contributed to the expansion
of what had been for the three previous years the Bibliografia de Centro-
america y del Caribe, but which for that one year became the Bibliografia
de Centroamerica y del Caribe, Argentina y Venezuela. The 1959 volume
was to have been an intermediate step towards the publication of a
comprehensive "Bibliograffa de Am6rica Latina," an ambitious under-
taking which did not materialize.
Meanwhile, for information about Venezuelan national bibliography
the book world relied chiefly on information provided by periodicals. In a
paper on "General Aspects of Bibliographic Activities in Venezuela"
prepared for the Sixth Seminar (1961), Pedro Grases listed six reviews that
he found helpful. Of these the most useful was the well-known Revista
national de cultural, published by the Ministry of Education beginning in
1938. For many years it carried more or less regularly lists of "Obras
ingresadas en la Biblioteca Nacional." At times these lists separated Vene-
Suspended publication with 6poca 3, No. 9, julio/septiembre 1960. Letter from Blanca
Alvarez, Directora de la Biblioteca Nacional, June 30, 1969.
zuelan titles from those published elsewhere, but the arrangement was on a
classified basis, without indexing. In 1965 the sponsorship was changed to
the Institute de Cultura y Bellas Artes. Its emphasis was shifted, and the
bibliographic features were dropped.
During the early years of the 1960s the National Library was publishing
its own record of publications received by it in what appears to have been
a little known bulletin. The semiannual Indice bibliogrdfico de la Biblio-
teca Nacional was first published in 1956. It contained lists of library
accessions arranged by (a) Venezuelan books or books relative to Vene-
zuela and (b) foreign publications presented by country of origin. A single
index of authors and anonymous works helped make the Indice a useful
tool, but it became a retrospective one. Number 21, for July/December
1964 was the latest published until 1969. Numbers 22 and 23, covering
1965, were published in 1969 because the data had previously been
assembled, but further issues were not planned.*
During the latter half of the decade the bibliographer and the would-be
purchaser or research worker had to depend primarily on commercial
sources for their information about Venezuelan books. However, for a
country as advanced in many ways as Venezuela, its book industry has
been exceptionally lacking in organization, and such catalogs as have been
provided have often been deficient in basic information. The situation
improved somewhat towards the end of the decade. It was a noteworthy
event when one bookdealer, the Libreria Polit6cnica, agreed to supply to
Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoamericano full data concerning as many
Venezuelan publications as possible.t This cooperation was apparently
responsible for the listing of five Venezuelan publishers in the April 1969
issue of Fichero as compared with one each in earlier issues for the year.
Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos, which began publication in Monte-
video in 1969, also lists Venezuelan publishers as contributors.
Useful as Fichero and Comentarios may be for relatively current infor-
mation, they are inadequate substitutes for a national bibliography, and it
is good news that 1970 should see publication of the Anuario bibliogrdfico
venezolano resumed, with excellent prospects for its being maintained on a
current basis. In June 1969 there was named as the Director of the
Biblioteca Nacional the first professional librarian to hold that office,
Blanca Alvarez. Miss Alvarez holds a library science degree from one of the
Letter from the Director of the National Library, dated August 7, 1969.
t Mary C. Turner, "Bibliograffas corrientes de libros en nuestro idioma," Fichero 8:1
(Oct. 1968), pp. 6 f. Note on the catalog, Libros nuevos venezolanos, p. 8. Also, interview
with Mrs. Turner, Editor of Fichero, May 2, 1969.
major universities in the United States and has had experience in various
types of Venezuelan libraries.
Upon assuming office, Miss Alvarez gave high priority to resuming
publication of the Anuario. In late June she stated* that the Biblioteca
Nacional would try to publish an Anuario for 1967/1968 as soon as
possible. It would then work on filling the gap since 1954 with a volume
to cover 1954/1960 and another for 1961/1966. Clearly the state of the
art in Venezuela is entering a new and promising phase.
The first Anuario bibliogrdfico venezolano, listing publications of 1942,
was the work of a Spanish 6migre, Pedro Grases. Later volumes covered
only through 1954. In the absence of the other sources, great dependence
has necessarily been placed on periodicals for information concerning
Venezuelan publications. These have been supplemented recently by
Fichero and Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos. In June 1969 a profes-
sional librarian was appointed to head the National Library. She immedi-
ately gave high priority to the preparation of the Anuario for 1967/1968.
Plans called for the filling of the gap from 1954 to 1966 as well as for the
current publication of the Anuario.
Letter, dated June 30, 1969. A letter dated August 7, 1969, stated that work on the
1967/1968 Anuario was well along and it should be ready for the printer soon.
THE CARIBBEAN AREA, in the broader sense, comprises a hetero-
geneous group of republics and other political entities, with a correspond-
ing variety of people and institutions. For present purposes the term
"Caribbean area" includes not only the Greater and the Lesser Antilles but
also Mexico, Central America, and Guyana.
The area, for all its diversity, has been the first in Latin America to
develop regional bibliographies. Current Caribbean Bibliography, inaugu-
rated in 1951 to provide a bibliographical record of publications in the
dependent territories, has led a precarious existence, holds great possibili-
ties, and is now at a critical stage. The Bibliografia de Centroamerica y del
Caribe, an Havana-based and UNESco-sponsored project designed to serve
the island republics, the six Central American countries, and Puerto Rico,
got off to a good start with a listing in 1958 of publications issued in
1956, but it foundered all too soon on difficulties such as finances,
personnel changes due in large part to situations created by Castro, and to
an overly ambitious expansion of the area for which coverage was
attempted. Because the BCAC became, in the expanded 1959 volume, the
Bibliografia de Centroamerica y del Caribe, Argentina y Venezuela and was
to have become, beginning with the 1960 volume, the "Bibliograffa de
America Latina," its story was told in Chapter I. The Bibliografia de
Centroamirica y del Caribe remains a basic point of reference for Central
America, and frequent reference will necessarily be made to it in discussing
that area.
In Mexico only the Yucatan peninsula specifically belongs with the
Caribbean area. Since the country is in fact a separate entity, it will be
treated first.
Mexico is one of the chief publishing centers of Latin America, and it has a
relatively strong bibliographical tradition. However, the records of its
current national bibliography have, until recently, been relatively weak.
No full-length SALALM paper has been devoted to Mexican bibli-
ography. The Second Seminar (1957) was concerned strictly with the
acquisition of Mexican library materials. Papers dealt with that topic as
such or the Mexican book industry and the status of exchanges in Mexico.
(Possibly, at that early point, the relationship between bibliography and
acquisitions was not yet established. At the next Seminar a paper included
an appendix on "Bibliographical Sources Used in the Selection of Mate-
rials ..." and the precedent was followed quite consistently later.) At the
Fifth Seminar (1960) Mexico was one of a number of countries covered
briefly by Fermin Peraza in his paper on "Bibliography in the Caribbean
Area." About this time there were several contributions towards the
Mexican national bibliography which were more or less attributable to
interest generated by SALALM.
The Centro Mexicano de Escritores published in 1959 a 262-page
Catdlogo de publicaciones peri6dicas mexicanas which it had compiled "as
a result of the need expressed at the Second Seminar." It listed some 450
titles published in the Federal District and another 250 or so in the states,
plus additional lists for titles found recorded in the Hemeroteca (Serials
Section) of the Biblioteca Nacional or elsewhere, but of which copies were
not available for examination.
In 1961 Josefina Berroa, a Cuban librarian resident in Mexico, pub-
lished Mdxico bibliogrdfico, 1957-1960: catdlogo general de libros
impresos en Mexico. This list of 4,332 works, chiefly trade books, was
primarily an author list, followed by a subject index. It was distributed in
Mexico by the author and in the United States by R. R. Bowker, publisher
of Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoamericano and Libros en venta.
The Boletin de la Biblioteca Nacional, which had been published
sporadically from 1904, began a new dpoca in 1950. By 1960 it included a
section, "Fichero," which consisted of the Library's quarterly list of
recent acquisitions, chiefly Mexican imprints of various dates. In 1963 the
title of the section was changed to "Bibliografia mexicana," but it
remained a classified list with no author index and with no cumulation.
Under the administration of Manuel Alcald, beginning in 1958, the
National Library improved its relationships with the Direcci6n General de
Derecho de Autor, and a much larger portion of the country's production
of books and pamphlets was listed than had previously been possible. It
was quite true that the bibliographic section of the Boletin contains much
useful information about Mexican publications, but it could scarcely be
called a current national bibliography.
In the absence of other records the bimonthly Boletin bibliogrdfico
mexicano, published regularly from 1940 by Porrfa Hermanos, became by
default the chief source of information concerning current publishing in
Mexico. It has contained various lists, such as "Nueva bibliograffa mexi-
cana" arranged alphabetically by author under an alphabetical list of
subject headings, the firm's own list of its recent publications, and a list of
books recently received from various sources "for its exclusive distribu-
tion." There is no cumulative feature, no author index is provided, and
searching it for a particular item is a prohibitive task.
The factor of "exclusive distribution" is in fact a limiting one, since by
the same sign no one Mexican dealer has access to all the publications
appearing even in the Federal District. (The twenty-nine states have had
very little coverage at any time.) The situation was improved somewhat
with the appearance of Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoamericano, since
Mexico is one of the countries most extensively represented in the list of
contributors to its monthly issues.
Within Mexico there has been no effective organization of dealers, such
as the Sindicato Nacional do Livro in Brazil, an agency largely responsible
for the BBB: Boletim bibliogrdfico brasileiro, which provided a useful
supplement to the official bibliography during the 1950s and early 1960s,
and the Camara Argentina del Libro, which published Biblos from 1942
until the mid-1960s.
Still less has there been cooperation among dealers and librarians which
might have led to the assembling of a more comprehensive bibliography
than could be provided by any one publisher or dealer. Paul Bixler, a
prominent college librarian whose recently published The Mexican Library
is a report on a study made under Ford Foundation auspices, was struck
by the lack of communication and cooperation he found among pub-
lishers, librarians, and educators. "Libraries and the publishing and distri-
bution industries should be allies or at least friendly cooperators in the
promotion of books and reading, but in Mexico they are not even friendly
enemies; they do not speak to each other." Mr. Bixler was, as he indicates,
much more familiar with library and publishing situations in Southeast
Asia than in Latin America, but as a newcomer to the scene he was in a
position to be objective. Similarities in some cases and differences in
others served as bases for interesting and thought-provoking comparisons.
During the 1930s and the early 1940s an Anuario bibliogrdfico mexi-
cano was published by various groups and individuals. The record is
furnished by Arthur E. Gropp in his Bibliography of Latin American
Bibliographies (1968). For a quarter of a century the title ofanuario lay
dormant, but in 1967 the Biblioteca Nacional, under the direction of
Licenciado Emesto de la Torre Villar, produced a 713-page Anuario
bibliogrdfico, 1958, listing 4,289 titles published in that year. The date has
already been noted as the point at which the effectiveness of the law of
legal deposit had been greatly improved, largely through the efforts of the
previous director, Manuel Alcald. Selection of materials of the Anuario is
based on the UNESCO specifications for statistics. Consequently, books
and pamphlets (of 50 pages or less) published by government agencies and
academic theses are included, as well as commercially produced publica-
tions, but serial publications of all types are excluded. Arrangement is on
the decimal system pattern. In order to avoid cross references, an extensive
"Indice analitico" (pp. 393-713) is provided, including subject references
as well as a comprehensive name index. The preface stated that the
Anuario was the first of a series and that the hope was to bring the
Anuario up to date within a relatively short time. To the great credit of
the Biblioteca Nacional, the expressed intentions are being realized. As of
late August 1969 the Director stated that the volume for 1959 had been
published and the 1960 volume was to be ready by early fall.*
Simultaneously with the appearance of the Anuario bibliografico,
which was to progress from the 1958 volume towards becoming a current
annual publication, the Biblioteca Nacional and the Instituto Bibliogrifico
Mexicano started, as the current record, a bimonthly bulletin, Bibliografia
mexicana. The foreword to the first issue, January/February 1967, stated
the intention to include all significant books and pamphlets published in
the Mexican Republic. The chief difficulty was seen as the chronic one of
securing information from the various states, and assistance in that respect
was requested in order that the Biblioteca Nacional and the Instituto
Letter from the Director, Lie. Eresto de la Torre Villar, dated August 30, 1969.
BibliogrAfico Mexicano might comply with one of their basic objectives
-to assemble the Mexican bibliographic production, to register it, and to
diffuse the information.
The Bibliografia mexicana is to continue to appear in its six bimonthly
issues, plus one or more supplements as needed, each with its own index.
No cumulation is planned until such time as the Anuario bibliogrdfico shall
have been produced through 1966. At that time, with the gap filled in, the
Anuario will be updated from 1967 until it overtakes the bimonthly bul-
letin and can supersede it within a short time.
In addition to supplying this information, the Director stated that
various other bibliographic projects were under way, such as bibliographic
guides for humanities students at the University to accompany others
already in progress in history, Mexican and Hispanic American literature,
classics, pedagogy, and geography. Assistance had been given to other
agencies to prepare Mexican bibliographies of philosophy and of juris-
prudence. Additional bibliographies in preparation dealt with Mexican
political parties and with writers of Jalisco, Chiapas, and San Luis Potosi,
respectively. All this further explained why resources were not to be
expended upon cumulating the Bibliografia mexicana as such.
Some confusion may arise from the fact that the Anuario bibliogrdfico
and Bibliografia mexicana bear the imprint of the Biblioteca Nacional as
publisher while "Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de M6xico" appears at
the head of the title and also on the verso of the half-title page and
title page respectively. In the latter case, below the name of the
Rector (President) of the University and that of the Director of the
National Library the words "Biblioteca Nacional e Instituto Bibliogrifico
Mexicano" are prominently displayed. The explanation is that late in the
1930s the National Library was made a division of the National Autono-
mous University of Mexico. The Instituto Bibliogrifico Mexicano func-
tions primarily as a technical institute within the university, so the rela-
tionships are interwoven. A discussion of the history and merits or dis-
advantages of the situation is beyond our province here, but some relevant
questions are raised by Bixler in The Mexican Library (1969).
Official monographic publications appear frequently in the Anuario but
less so in the bimonthly Bibliografia mexicana, an apparent discrepancy
which may have a logical explanation. In any case, the 1940 compilation
by Annita M. Ker, Mexican Government Publications: a Guide to the More
Important Publications of the National Government of Mexico,
1821-1936, has recently been updated. Las publicaciones oficiales de
Mexico: guia de publicaciones peri6dicas y seriadas, 1937-1967, by Rosa
Maria Fernindez Esquivel was called by the editors of the 1968 Handbook
of Latin American Studies the most important work of its kind seen
during the year. The guide was prepared as a thesis for a library science
degree in the UNAM Facultad de Filosofia y Letras. Arrangement is by the
legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. Descriptive
bibliographic information is provided as are also historical notes on
the more important agencies. It is to be hoped that, now that a precedent
has been established, a way will be found to keep the record more or less
up to date.
Bibliographic developments in Mexico since the mid-1950s have been
remarkable. The appearances in 1967 of a bimonthly bulletin, Bibliografia
mexicana, and of an Anuario bibliogrdfico, 1958, first of a series which is
working rapidly towards currency, are highly important developments.
They remove Mexico from the ranks of the countries which are dependent
chiefly upon the bulletins of bookdealers and other interested groups for
information about the country's bibliographic output, and place it among
the most advanced American countries in terms of the recording and
publishing of its current national bibliography.
In any discussion involving the intellectual history of the Central American
area, a few basic facts concerning its geography and history must be kept
in mind. The six countries-Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua,
Costa Rica, and Panama-occupy a narrow isthmus extending about 1,200
miles from Mexico to Colombia. The total area, some 220,000 square
miles, is approximately that of California and New York combined.
Mountains extending through most of the area affect climate, industries,
and cultural life and have been an important factor in the shaping of
historical events.
During the colonial period the area between Mexico and Panama
constituted the Captaincy-General of Guatemala, under the Viceroyalty of
New Spain, the seat of which was in Mexico City. For a few years,
1821-1838, the area became the United Provinces of Central America.
Since that time the five republics have, generally speaking, gone their
separate ways. In the 1960s there were evidences of a growing Central
American consciousness, but not as yet in ways which have affected
significantly the bibliographic record. Panama belongs with the group
geographically and economically. Historically, it was included in the Vice-
royalty of New Granada during the colonial period and was thereafter a
part of Colombia until 1903, when it became independent.
The third centennial of the introduction of printing into Central
America was celebrated by Guatemala in 1960. In contrast with the 1660
date of the earliest printing press in the former seat of the Captaincy-
General of Guatemala, the first press in Honduras, its next-door neighbor,
was set up in 1829. In Costa Rica the corresponding date was 1830.
Central American countries were considered individually in a paper on
"Bibliography in the Caribbean Area" prepared by Fermin Peraza for the
Fifth Seminar (1960). With respect to the Central American republics, it is
particularly useful for its listing of the more important retrospective
bibliographies, since there was little to be said otherwise beyond mention
of the then current coverage by the Bibliografia de Centroamerica y del
Caribe. Of the six countries, only Costa Rica could be credited with a truly
current national bibliography.
The Seventh Seminar (1962) was devoted primarily to the considera-
tion of Central America. Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama were repre-
sented by both working papers and participants. El Salvador and Nicaragua
were not represented by either. In the absence of a paper or representative
from Costa Rica, Carl Deal of the University of Kansas, which has
Farmington Plan responsibility for Costa Rica, made some useful contribu-
tions. Representatives of Costa Rica and El Salvador presented papers
later, at the Tenth Seminar.
The one Seventh Seminar paper which dealt with the entire area was
that of Mrs. Edith Bayles Ricketson, Librarian of the Middle American
Research Institute of Tulane University, whose topic was "The Acquisition
of Research Materials from Central America and Panama and Their Selec-
tion." Her attempt to secure information by means of a questionnaire
met with poor response. In reply to the question, "To what extent do you
use non-national bibliographical data in your selection," the only positive
answers scoring four or more were the following: Stechert-Hafner, 6;
bookdealers' catalogs, 5; Pan American Union, List of Books Accessioned,
5; Inter-American Review of Bibliography, 4. Of national tools, the only
one to score as high as four was, understandably, the Anuario biblio-
grdfico costarricense.
Of the papers dealing with the countries of Central America, the one
from Guatemala was the most informative. So much of it applies to other
Central American countries that certain points may well be mentioned
here. Gonzalo Dard6n C6rdova entitled his paper "Four Topics Concern-
ing Books in Guatemala." The "Four Topics" as treated in their respective
sections were: "The Book Industry in Guatemala," "Present Status of
Exchange of Publications in Guatemala," "Extent to Which Guatemalan
Publications Are Included in Bibliographies," and "Facilities Available in
Guatemala for Photographic Reproduction." The same four topics were at
least touched upon in the papers from Honduras and Panama, in compli-
ance undoubtedly with specifications included with the invitation from
SALALM to submit papers.
Since the only grist supplied to the bibliographer's mill consists of
writing which has managed to get itself published in some form-whether
as a mimeographed pamphlet, as a handsome letterpress volume, or in
some intermediate form-it follows that the bibliographer is much con-
cerned by the situation of the publishing industry in any country under
discussion. (However, as Dard6n C6rdova pointed out, much of the most
valuable material appears in periodicals and is therefore outside the range
of the usual national bibliography.)
In summarizing his paper, Dard6n C6rdova made the following points:
(1) in countries with a high illiteracy rate the vast majority of commer-
cially published books are elementary texts; (2) the best publishers are the
government and the national university; (3) few original works are pub-
lished in editions as extensive as the 500 copies required for a book to be
considered "commercially published"; (4) most of these works are in the
humanities and the social sciences; and (5) there is need for technical
works either in translation or as adaptations of parts or of the whole of
useful materials, but much difficulty is encountered in securing the neces-
sary permissions because of copyright restrictions.
In the paper itself and in the resulting discussion, a number of points
applying to the region as a whole were brought out. Most of the partici-
pants had been aware that in Latin America small editions were the rule,
but it was startling to learn that printings might be as diminutive as fifty
copies. Of these, several or perhaps most would be for presentation to the
author's friends. A few copies might be left on consignment in one or
more bookstores. Once the author had settled his account, taking with him
any unsold copies, the dealer might have no idea where to reach him, even
if it occurred to him to do so. The normal reply to a request for the book,
should one be made, would be agotado. Realistically, of course, in con-
sideration of the effort involved, any commission received for the securing
and, even more, for the mailing of a single copy would be very inadequate
It is for such reasons that the chief possibilities that the publications of
the smaller and less developed countries may achieve such immortality as
is afforded by bibliographical record lie in their being acquired by some
more sophisticated method than has yet become customary. The regional
bibliographical approach attempted by the Bibliografia de Centroambrica
y del Caribe deserves credit as a "noble experiment." However, a basic
weakness was that by the time information as to the existence of a given
publication reached those who would be interested in securing it, the
material was seldom to be had.
At present, chances seem dubious that the Central American countries,
with the exception of Costa Rica, will soon develop effective means by
which their own people and others can learn what national publications
exist and can secure them if they wish to do so. As matters stand, the best
immediate prospects for improving both the situation as to the acquiring
of purchasable materials and of a corresponding bibliographic record's
being made by some institution would seem to be further developments in
those now existing, such as: (1) the Stechert-Hafner cooperative acquisi-
tions plan, LACAP, (2) standing orders placed by libraries with local
dealers equipped to handle them, where such dealers exist; (3) occasional
visits by librarians or other institutional representatives. Resident national
agents who might serve one or more institutions have been suggested, and
perhaps the experiment has been tried. For publications which are not
produced for sale, notably government documents and society publica-
tions, the exchange method will presumably continue to be the most
effective one.
Assuming that the universities which have Farmington Plan response.
ability for securing current publications of research value from a given area
do acquire more materials from that area than does any other institution,
it might be helpful for those libraries which are responsible for the various
Central American republics to publish annual acquisitions lists. Such
records would be of value to the countries themselves, which-again
excepting Costa Rica-are apparently not now in a position to prepare and
publish their own.
In the absence of lists from Farmington Plan libraries, there are two
others which cover the area to a limited extent. Both, however, include
publications of any date, as received by their respective libraries, thus
restricting their value as "current bibliography."
The University of Florida Libraries have Farmington Plan responsibility
only for the West Indies area, interpreted to include the Guianas and
British Honduras (Belize), but University interests include the entire Carib-
bean region. This fact is reflected in the Libraries' acquisitions policies.
Beginning in 1959 the Technical Processes Department of the University
Libraries has published annual volumes entitled Caribbean Acquisitions:
Materials Acquired by the University of Florida. At first the countries
covered were those bordering on the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of
Mexico, but since 1964 Mexico has been excluded. As stated in the preface
to the 1967 volume:
Caribbean Acquisitions includes three different types of mate-
rials. First, it includes materials about the Caribbean published any-
where in the world. In this sense it serves as a selective subject
bibliography. Secondly, it includes materials published in the Carib-
bean on any subject. In this sense it serves as a selective national
bibliography. And finally, it includes works published by Caribbean
authors who are living abroad.
Arrangement is by large topics: Art, Bibliography, Historical Sciences,
Philosophy and Religion, Sciences and Technology, Social Science, and
Other, with regional subdivisions under the principal subjects. An author
index is provided. Beginning with the 1965/1966 volume, catalog cards
have been reproduced, including Dewey Decimal numbers as assigned by
the University of Florida Libraries.
The University of Texas Library, which began in the early sixties to
publish national acquisitions lists, has more recently added regional ones
where appropriate. In 1967 it published its first list of Recent Acquisitions
of Books, etc. from Central America by the Latin American Collection of
the University of Texas Library, covering 1962/1965. Arrangement is by
country, with subject lists under some fifteen headings. There is no
prefatory statement, nor is there an index. Catalog cards are reproduced,
including Dewey Decimal numbers as assigned by the University of Texas
Libraries. Assuming that later lists may be published at intervals of from
two to four years, as has been the case with others of the Texas lists, they
qualify as "current" only as compared with the occasional anuarios or
other bibliographical records published at long and irregular intervals, if at
all, by most of the countries themselves.
As elsewhere in Latin America, when national tools are lacking the
Exceptions to the "annual" term have been the first volume, covering 1957/58, and one
for 1965/66. Materials catalogued by the Law, Agriculture, and Health Center Libraries are
not included.
most apparent avenues for making known the existence of newly pub-
lished materials are (1) through the pages of the two commercially spon-
sored bibliographies, Fichero bibliogrdfico hispanoamericano (1961-) and
the recently inaugurated Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos (1969-)
and (2) through dealers' catalogs-primarily, for Central America, the
Stechert-Hafner LACAP lists.
It is to be hoped that national authors and printers will increasingly avail
themselves of these services and that they will endeavor to make the
publications listed available to potential purchasers for a longer period of
time than is now the case. As a result of increased sales, editions could be
larger, dealers' profits would increase, and even the author himself might
receive at least token remuneration. Also, some of the manuscripts now
unpublished because of lack of means or of inducement might emerge
from limbo and become a part of the national patrimony of the country in
An additional source of information about Central American publica-
tions should be mentioned here, although for present purposes bibli-
ographies appearing in periodicals are generally excluded. An important
feature of Caribbean Studies, the quarterly journal of the Institute of
Caribbean Studies of the University of Puerto Rico, is the extensive
section "Current Bibliography." Primary emphasis is upon the Antilles,
but the Caribbean area in general and the various Central American
countries (as part of the "Circum Caribbean") receive attention in more or
less alternate issues. Coverage for periodical articles is superior to that for
books and pamphlets. Of the latter group, a considerable portion are
government documents, but a significant number of monographs are
included, both commercial and noncommercial publications.
Costa Rica is the one Central American country which really has a current
national bibliography. Its record is in fact one of the best among those of
the Latin American republics.
The lack of a working paper devoted to Costa Rica at the Seventh
Seminar (1962) was remedied at the Tenth (1965), when Srta. Nelly
Kopper (Assistant Director of the University of Costa Rica Library), as the
General Secretary of the Asociaci6n Costarricense de Bibliotecarios, pre-
sented an excellent one. Miss Kopper was listed as the compiladora
national for Costa Rica in the first volume (1956) of the Bibliografia de
Centroamerica y del Caribe. Later volumes, 1957-1959, credited the
group, the Asociaci6n Costarricense de Bibliotecarios, with serving in
that capacity.
For a number of years previously, a Boletin bibliogrdfico, published by
the Biblioteca Nacional, had provided an alphabetical author list of Costa
Rican publications. It was superseded in 1956 by the Anuario bibliogrdfico
costarricense, a subject list, based on a long, alphabetical list of subject
headings, with an author index provided. The data were the same as those
provided to the BCAC, but publication in the Anuario retained national
identity, which was largely lost in the subject approach employed by the
The Anuario was compiled, according to the foreword, by the Comit6
Nacional de Bibliografia Adolfo Blen, a committee of the Asociaci6n
Costarricense de Bibliotecarios. Acknowledgment to several institutions,
such as the Ministerio de Educaci6n Piblica, the Biblioteca Nacional, the
Biblioteca de la Universidad de Costa Rica, Biblioteca del Banco Central,
and the Imprenta Nacional, as well as to individuals who had collaborated
in the preparation of the Anuario, intimated something as to the scope of
the Comit6 Nacional in whose name the bibliography was published.
The Anuario has continued to appear regularly and promptly, published
by the Ministerio de Educaci6n Publica. The address given is that of the
Asociaci6n, but it had seemed possible that there had survived in Costa
Rica one of the national bibliographic committees set up in the mid-1950s
under UNESCO auspices. However, in reply to a question concerning the
situation, Miss Kopper stated that although the group designation con-
tinues, she has been entirely responsible for the compilation for the past
four years.* In the same letter in which she acknowledged her present full
responsibility for the Anuario, Miss Kopper paid tribute to Fermin Peraza,
the Director T6cnico de la Bibliografia de Centroam6rica y del Caribe,
saying that he and his wife, Elena, had taught her what she knew of library
science in the courses they offered in Panama a number of years ago. This
illustrates how much the personal factor enters into the nature of biblio-
graphical developments in Latin America.
In her SALALM paper (1965) "The Booktrade in Costa Rica; the
Present State of Costa Rican Bibliography ..." Miss Kopper supplied a
bibliography of Costa Rican bibliographies. Of the most famous, the
Indice bibliogrdfico de Costa Rica by Luis Dobles Segreda, she listed the
nine volumes published and stated that two additional volumes-volume
10, on Education (1843-1935) and Sociology and Demography
Letter to this writer, dated October 3, 1969.
(1843-1932), and volume 11, Poetry (1851-1930)-were in press. In her
recent communication she stated that they were published in 1967, and
noted that the editing had been done by the Asociaci6n Costarricense de
Bibliotecarios. The Dobles Segreda work is prepared, as indicated by the
nature of the two new volumes, as a subject approach.
The Anuario includes official publications on a subject basis, but the
index, arranged by author, individual or corporate, provides references to
publications of the various agencies. Periodicals are not included. A Lista
de tesis de grado de la Universidad de Costa Rica has been published
annually since 1957, according to Miss Kopper's SALALM paper. It is
arranged by colleges but is indexed by author and subject.
The limited amount of publishing done in Costa Rica, one of the more
literate Latin American countries, is accounted for by Miss Kopper in a
brief but excellent statement. A small market, rising costs of labor and of
materials, and taxes on paper and on machinery and equipment were
blamed. She noted that many editions consisted of a few mimeographed
copies. She placed the production of books and pamphlets in 1963 at 220.
A list of four firms which would export books was given.
At the Seventh Seminar (1962) Carl W. Deal, representing the Univer-
sity of Kansas (which has Farmington Plan responsibility for the acquisi-
tion of materials from Costa Rica) commented that Antonio Lehmann,
proprietor of the Libreria Lehmann, could be depended upon to supply
commercial publications. The chief difficulty lay in the securing of govern-
ment documents and those of semi-autonomous agencies, for which no
adequate listing was found. There are also several important international
agencies with headquarters in Costa Rica for which no regular listing or
source of procurement exists.
The number and nature of Costa Rican publications are limited by the
high costs involved. However, the country has provided a continuous
record of its publications since 1946. It is the one country which still
maintains the system it established in 1956 for providing information to
the now defunct Bibliografia de Centroamerica y del Caribe.
El Salvador, like Costa Rica, was not represented at the Seventh Seminar
but did submit a paper for the Tenth (1965). "Book Publishing in El
Salvador," by the General Direction of Libraries and Archives of El Salva-
dor, includes a long list of publishers and printers, not only in San Salva-
dor but in other municipalities as well, and a correspondingly long list of
bookstores. Together they would indicate that there is a considerable bibli-
ographic output in this smallest, but most densely populated, of the
Spanish American republics.
The section on "Bibliography" consists of half a page of text followed
by "Works Which List the Titles of Publications." An Anuario biblio-
grdfico salvadoreflo was listed only for 1952. Authorship was attributed to
the Biblioteca Nacional. It was described as including books published in
El Salvador, books by Salvadorean authors published elsewhere, and books
which refer to El Salvador.
A paragraph in the introductory section of this Tenth Seminar paper
stated that the National Library was reorganizing its catalogs. It was taking
advantage of the situation to begin "the work necessary for the Salva-
dorean bibliographical annual." At the same time it was working towards
the preparation of various tools for the use of persons interested in the
retrospective bibliography of the country.
Bibliography, Documentation, and Terminology for September 1968
contained a section on El Salvador, but the data were for 1966. As
"National Bibliography" it listed, without identification, Bibliografia
salvadorefia, Bibliografia de publicaciones oficiales, and a Bibliografia
cronol6gica salvadorefia. Of these, none was included in the 1965 SALALM
paper except the first, which is presumably a Lista preliminary de la biblio-
teca salvadorefia, a 430-page mimeographed list prepared by the Biblioteca
Nacional in 1952.
El Salvador is a country in which the government has had an extensive
and long-maintained program for the publishing of literary works by its
Ministry of Culture. During the years covered by the Bibliografia de Cen-
troamerica y del Caribe (1956-1959), when Baudilio Torres, Director of
the National Library, was the National Compiler, they were included in
the BCAC. Since 1956, inasmuch as the works have been distributed rather
widely to the national libraries of other countries and to institutions which
maintain exchange arrangements with the ministry, they do appear in the
bibliographies prepared by foreign recipients.
Since the publications of the Ministry of Culture include so large a
portion of important Salvadorean contemporary writing and of reprints of
earlier works, the record as presented in Gui6n literario, the monthly
bulletin published from 1956 by the Editorial Department of the Ministry
of Culture, which includes a section listing its publications, does provide a
significant, though partial, record of the national bibliography. The Gui6n
literario is the only item listed by Fermin Peraza for El Salvador in the
1969 edition of his Bibliografias corrientes de la America Latina. At pres-
ent it runs considerably behind date but is still being distributed (1967
issues in 1969).
El Salvador appears to have published no Anuario bibliogrdfico since 1952.
The only dependable bibliographic tool is the Gui6n literario (1956-),
prepared and distributed by the Ministry of Culture, which itself maintains
an extraordinary program of publishing and distributing important
national works.
Various sources, including the Fermin Peraza Bibliografias corientes de la
America Latina (1969), list the Anuario bibliogrdfico guatemalteco, 1960-
and the Indice bibliogrdfico guatemalteco, 1951- as "current," presum-
ably because of their open entries and the lack of any specific information
that they have suspended publication. However, it seems that only the one
issue of the Anuario has been recorded, and the latest issue of the Indice is
that for 1959/1960.
The Anuario bibliogrdfico guatemalteco for 1960 was apparently dis-
tributed to some extent as a separate work, but the copy at hand consti-
tutes pages 137-67 of an issue of the Revista de la Biblioteca Nacional
which appeared in 1962 (6poca 4, afio 1, 1962) and which seems to have
been the only issue to date of the fourth epoca. This corresponds with the
entry in "A Selective List of Latin American Bibliographies Appearing in
1962," as presented by Jorge Grossmann to the Eighth Seminar (1963).
However, Arthur E. Gropp in his Bibliography of Latin American Bibli-
ographies (1968) gives it a separate entry as a publication of the Biblioteca
Nacional. Gonzalo Dard6n C6rdova in his above cited contribution to the
Seventh Seminar (1962), "Four Topics Concerning Books in Guatemala,"
also listed the Anuario separately, noting that it was prepared in "Home-
naje de la Biblioteca Nacional de Guatemala en el CXL aniversario de
nuestra independencia national" and that the compilation was by Enrique
Polonsky C61cer (Guatemala, 1961).
Of the Indice bibliogrdfico guatemalteco, 1951-, Gropp (1968) says:
"1951-1952 published by the Servicio Extensive of the Biblioteca Nacio-
nal, and 1958 by the Instituto Guatemalteco-Americano. Publication
suspended 1953-1957. Last issue received at PAU: 1959-1960."
What these facts do not indicate is that the compiler in both cases was
Dard6n C6rdova. In his Seventh Seminar paper he included in a list of
works' in progress the Indice bibliogrdfico for 1961-1962. However, it
appears not to have achieved publication. In the Indice, which combined
an author and subject approach, Dard6n C6rdova listed only works which
he himself had handled, and he attempted to bring it out as promptly as
possible. A large portion of the items indexed were articles which had
appeared in periodicals or newspapers.
In Latin America the state of the national bibliography is often largely
dependent upon individual efforts, such as those of Gonzalo Dard6n C6r-
dova. He studied library science at the University of Michigan in
1945-1946 under a grant from the United States Office of Education.
Upon his return to Guatemala, he became active in promoting intera-
tional cooperation. He has compiled various special bibliographies in order
to make the work of national authors better known at home and else-
where. According to information reaching this writer, Dard6n C6rdova left
the Instituto Guatemalteco-Americano to return to the Biblioteca Nacio-
nal to teach in the Library School conducted by it. This would account for
the lack of later issues of the Indice guatemalteco than the one for
With respect to its official publications Guatemala does provide a par-
tial record which is unique in Latin America. Its Tipografia Nacional,
which was established in 1892, observed a half-century of service by pub-
lishing in 1944 a Catdlogo general de libros, folletos, y revistas editados en
la 7Tpografia Nacional de Guatemala desde 1892 hasta 1943. The prece-
dent has been followed by later volumes, one covering 1944-1953 and
another for 1954-1962, published in 1954 and 1963 respectively. We may
therefore hope that this important record will continue to be updated at
ten year intervals.
Inasmuch as the government is the chief publisher of the country, this
list is a valuable as well as an intriguing one. It lists in chronological order
of publication memories of various ministries, decrees, presidential
speeches, and some less obviously official documents, such as books pre-
sumably intended as history or other texts, and even such items as a
program for a concert sponsored by El Comit6 de Damas Leones de Guate-
mala and given by a Chilean pianist (October 1961). Periodicals listed
range from apparently local bulletins to the important Anales de la Socie-
dad de Geografia e Historia de Guatemala (1924-). Bibliographic informa-
tion provided by the Catdlogo is complete, including the number of copies
printed of a given item. However, in Guatemala, as elsewhere, not all
agencies issue their publications through their government printing office.
The ability of the Tipograffa to print nondocumentary items is undoubt-
edly determined by financial and other limitations. During the latest
decade reported, the number of items printed per month seldom was as
high as ten, and for some months a single item was listed. In spite of its
limitations, the Catdlogo does provide in its successive volumes a continu-
ing record of an important part of the national bibliography.
Guatemala may be at present a laggard in its production of "current"
national bibliography, but it stands unrivaled in the Americas for having
achieved a published record of its retrospective bibliography, down to a
comparatively recent date. In January 1960 the Consejo de Ministros, with
presidential consent, declared "el afio del Tricentenario de la Imprenta en
Centro America" and commissioned the Ministerio de Gobemaci6n to set
up a suitable Central American program. A month later the designated
ministry named a Central Committee in Guatemala and recommended that
similar committees be formed elsewhere in Central America. Apparently
the latter recommendation had no significant outcome, but in Guatemala
the result was a monumental series of ten volumes, which constitute the
Colecci6n Bibliografica del Tercer Centenario de la Fundaci6n de la Pri-
mera Imprenta en Centro America. The entire record of the project is
given in the final volume, which also provides in the preface a valuable
historical outline of Guatemalan bibliography. The preface is signed by
David Vela, Chairman of the Executive Committee, whose members were
elected from among those of the Central Committee.
The final volume of the series, Bibliografia guatemalteca, afios
1951-1960 (Una decada), was compiled by Gilberto Valenzuela Reyna (as
were also volumes 6 to 9, covering the years 1861-1950). It was published
by the Tipografia Nacional in 1964. The Executive Committee, having
thus fulfilled its mission of providing a record of Guatemalan publishing
from 1660 to 1960, was dissolved. The series is, therefore, definitely con-
cluded. However, it has helped, among other things, to establish for Guate-
mala a strong bibliographic tradition.
Bibliografia guatemalteca, 1951-1960, lists 1,070 numbered items.
Arrangement is chronological by year, with entries alphabetical by author
for each year. Not only are full bibliographic data provided, but so also are
descriptive annotations which add immeasurably to the value of the work.
Official publications and university theses are included. In extraordinary
cases presidential decrees or congressional resolutions are given in full.
Individual issues of periodicals are noted, sometimes with contents notes.
An author index is provided.
The record of publishing in Guatemala is important not only for itself but
for what it represents for the rest of Central America. This fact was illus-
trated recently by Guatemala's publication of the ten-volume Bibliografia
guatemalteca covering the three centuries, 1660-1960.
Neither the Anuario bibliogrdfico guatemalteco nor the Indice biblio-
grdfico guatemalteco has appeared since 1960, but their compilers and
others have demonstrated that the necessary skills for the preparation of a
creditable national bibliography exist, and it is to be hoped that the
resources for the resumption of its publication can be made available soon.
In any case, it seems a reasonable assumption that the Tipografia Nacio-
nal may be expected to follow its own precedent and will publish for the
decade 1963-1972 its own important part of the record.
For the Seventh Seminar (1962), which concentrated on Central America,
a paper was submitted on "The Booktrade, Bibliography, and Exchange of
Publications in Honduras" with an annex, "Recent Official Publications of
the Government of Honduras." The authors were Emesto Alvarado
Garcia, Julio Armando Ponce, and Emesto Alvarado Reina.
The government has been and is the country's chief publisher, both
under its own imprint and that of the Imprenta Arist6n. Letterpress print-
ing shops now exist and do good work, but the few books they produce
are (as elsewhere under similar circumstances) in small editions and expen-
sive. Authors are still expected to give their books away free. The same
point, but with a suggestion as to means of improving the situation, had
been made by Licenciado Jorge Fidel Dur6n, who was quoted as follows:
"Even though it is still the exception to sell a book, since we cling to the
custom of giving and expecting to be given books by national authors, it
would still be possible to seek, through book fairs and literary exhibitions,
to inform the great reading public about authors who are making an at-
tempt to have their Works published."
In the section on the exchange of publications, the authors of the
SALALM paper stated that for economic reasons the international exchange
of publications had declined, although official agencies still maintained
exchange service with other countries. However, the postal authorities
were not currently allowing the "Pan American postal exemption on publi-
cations, letters, and postcards addressed to foreign countries for the pur-
pose of international relations and exchange." Therefore, all offices "have
to pay the required postage, which constitutes a further serious obstacle to
the exchange of publications." Action by the Pan American Union was
solicited. It was noted that some Honduran authors sent copies of their
works to libraries in other countries.
The exchange situation illustrates the fact that a lack of a national
bibliography may be compensated for to some extent if a country's publi-
cations are widely distributed elsewhere, so that a record is provided (for
instance, by Caribbean Acquisitions of the University of Florida Libraries,
and eventually, by the Library of Congress's Subject Catalog: Books) from
which information can later be retrieved by national bibliographers.
The one-page account of "The Inclusion of National Works in Bibli-
ographies" in the Seventh Seminar paper began: "The pioneer of national
bibliography in Honduras was Prof. Rafael Heliodoro Valle, who was fol-
lowed by Jorge Fidel Dur6n. .. ." Rafael Heliodoro Valle (1891-1959) was
an important bibliographer not only of Honduras but of Central America,
and to a lesser extent of Latin America. The list of references under his
name in the Author Index to the Handbook of Latin American Studies,
Nos. 1-28, 1936-1966 (1968) is perhaps the longest found there. He was a
frequent contributor of bibliographic notes, including occasional ones on
current publications, to Honduras rotaria (1943-) the remarkable Hon-
duran organ of International Rotary, which has recently celebrated its
twenty-fifth anniversary. Celebration of the Honduras rotaria anniversary
properly included homage to its editor, Jorge Fidel Dur6n. As a devotee of
the international principles of the organization, he has done much to
subsidize this most important general periodical published in Honduras
through a great expenditure of time (and quite possibly of his own funds)
in order that it may the better serve its purpose at home and elsewhere.
The relevant point here is that Sr. Dur6n comprehends the needs both
for a people to know its heritage of the written word and for that record
to be available to others. Consequently, in the same year Honduras rotaria
was founded, he assembled and published the Repertorio bibliogrdfico
hondurefio, calling it "the first tentative and rudimentary attempt in Hon-
duras to create a national bibliography." In 1946 the Imprenta Calder6n
published his revised and enlarged work, Indice de la bibliografia hondu-
refia. The prefaces indicate that both works were compiled as a service, in
the absence of other records, and that he hoped the task would be better
performed by others.*
However, lacking a substitute, Sr. Dur6n continued to do what he could
in the interests of national bibliography. He served as the Honduran com-
pilador national for the Bibliografia de Centroambrica y del Caribe during
the first three years of its existence, 1956-1958. (In the final volume,
1959, Honduras was not listed as being among the countries represented.)
He also contributed from time to time comments on either individual
Honduran writers and their works or notes concerning publications of a
given year. In an article "Los Libros y publicaciones de 1960," in Hon-
duras rotaria for May/June 1961, Dur6n not only provided the informa-
tion indicated but stated that his Indice de la bibliografia hondurenio had
been brought up to date as of 1957 but that his duties as a government
official had prevented his editing and publishing the new edition.
After a lapse of several years (since 1961? ) Sr. Dur6n published in
Honduras rotaria for February/April 1968 a bibliographic essay on "Libros
y publicaciones de 1967" which provided a very useful descriptive account
of monographs (number of pages not stated), government publications,
and periodicals published during the year. In the concluding paragraph
he wrote eloquently of the importance of the record of national writings
for the social and cultural history of the country and emphasized the need
for a complete imprint for both books and periodicals, indicating by
whom and when they were published. He concluded by restating his hope
that soon, in the national interest, someone with more ability and re-
sources than he possessed would develop this intangible wealth.
It appeared early in the 1960s that the more sophisticated record which
Dur6n has urgently advocated was to become a reality. In their 1962
SALALM paper, the authors stated flatly: "No bibliographical yearbook has
been published by any official or private body." No mention was made of
a work in progress, but a year later, in June 1963, there appeared the first
such record. The Anuario bibliogrdfico hondurefio for 1961, published by
the Editorial del Ministerio de Educaci6n Piblica in 1963, was prepared by
the Director of the National Library, Miguel Angel Garcia. It is a 49-page
printed pamphlet which presents an extensive listing of books, pamphlets,
mimeographed reports-well organized and with complete bibliographic
data-followed by an 8-page list of newspapers and newssheets and a 3-page
list of "Revistas" and of "Boletines." For none of these periodicals, however,
are dates or addresses given. Arrangement of the monographs is by
For further description and comment, see Zimmerman, Guide to Current Latin Ameri-
can Periodicals (1961), p. 128.
subject, the ten groups being those of the decimal system. In the foreword
Professor Garcia urged managers and proprietors of printing establish-
ments to provide full bibliographic data, including in particular the year,
and to send copies of their publications for future Anuarios.
That the publication of this Anuario was a landmark in Honduran
bibliography is attested by an interesting article, "Bibliograffa retrospec-
tiva," by "Microbius Bibliothecarius" in Honduras rotaria for January/
March 1969. In Part I, written originally in 1964, the author stated that
the period to be covered as retrospective bibliography would be from 1830
when the first printing press was set up in Honduras through 1960, since
the Anuario bibliogrdfico hondureflo began publication in 1961.
That the Anuario was first published in 1963 with a listing of publica-
tions for 1961 is an established fact. What later issues were prepared and
distributed is less clear. Abel Rodolfo Geoghegan, in his Obras de referen-
cia de America Latina (1965), says that the 1962 issue of the Anuario
appeared late in 1963 in typewritten form. It seems that a cumulated issue
for 1961/1963 was distributed also, perhaps on a limited basis. The 1968
volume of the Handbook of Latin American Studies lists an issue for
1961/1963 and says about it: "National bibliography for the period
cited... ."
Whatever the record, it is certain that an important precedent has been
established by the Biblioteca Nacional. Besides providing a record for a
limited period, it demonstrated that the essential bibliographic skills do (or
did) exist in Honduras, and it strongly advocated to publishers that they
supply the needed data.
Honduras has no established current national bibliography, but it has an
intriguing bibliographic record. Two eminent Hondurans, Rafael Heliodoro
Valle (1891-1959) and Jorge Fidel Dur6n (1902-) made the chief contribu-
tions up until 1960. Dur6n continues to provide occasional important
bibliographical essays on current national publications through the
medium of Honduras rotaria. In 1963 the Biblioteca Nacional published an
Anuario bibliogrdfico for 1961, thereby establishing an important precedent.
Nicaragua is the only one of the Latin American republics which did
not provide the Seminars with some account of its publications and
bibliographic activities by 1965, date of the Tenth Seminar. By that
time the Seminars had attempted to cover all of Latin America and the
Caribbean area.
Until now the only systematic record of Nicaraguan publications is
contained in the three small volumes of the Bibliografia de trabajos publi-
cados en Nicaragua which were compiled by the American Library of
Nicaragua for the years 1943, 1944, and 1945-1947 and published as
numbers 1, 6, and 7-9 of its bibliographic series.*
When the Bibliografia de Centroamdrica y del Caribe (1956-1959) was
inaugurated, it was expected that it would be able to include Nicaraguan
publications on the same basis as was done for other countries. However,
for the first three years, lacking a national compiler, Marietta Daniels
provided such information as was available from the files of the Pan
American Union Library. In 1959 Fidel Colombo Gonzalez was listed as
the compilador national. A section on Nicaragua in the UNESCO bulletin
Bibliography, Documentation, and Terminology for March 1969 listed as
"National Bibliography" only the following:
Universidad Napional de Nicaragua. Biblioteca Nacional. Lista de tesis de la Facultad
de Cencias Juridicas y Sociales que hay en la Biblioteca Central. 1941-1965. Vol.
I: in chronological order (published in 1966). Vol. II: in alphabetical order,
according to subject (in preparation).
Under these circumstances it appears that the "best" source for infor-
mation concerning Nicaraguan publications is the one ranked highest by
the returns to the questionnaire circulated by Edith Ricketson for the
Seventh Seminar (1962), the Stechert-Hafner LACAP lists. When and if
these lists begin to supply the necessary bibliographical data, including
publisher, to qualify the items for listing in the Fichero bibliogrdfico
hispanoamericano, at least the cumulated record should become available.
What information will be supplied by the new Comentarios bibliogrdficos
americanos, which began publication in Montevideo in 1969, remains to be
seen. Otherwise, information will continue to be limited chiefly to data
provided by the records of acquired items catalogued by institutions which
secure significant numbers of publications from Nicaragua.
Nicaragua has given scant evidence until now of interest in establishing and
maintaining a record of the few publications issued in the country or of
The extraordinary story behind their compilation, as related in the introductions to the
first two numbers, is summarized in Zimmerman, Guide to Current Latin American Periodi-
cals (1961), p. 163.
having developed competent national bibliographers who might compile
such a record.
Panama was represented in person at the Seventh Seminar (1962) by Sra.
Carmen D. de Herrera and by a 14-page paper prepared by her and by
others and entitled '"The Booktrade, Bibliography, and Exchange of Publi-
cations in Panama." In her section on 'The Book Industry in Panama,"
Sra. Herrera mentioned several publishers well equipped but faced with
such difficulties as a shortage of professional personnel, the high cost of
paper, and a lack of capital. She listed four factors which had impeded the
development of the book industry in Panama:
1. Because of a lack of stimulus, writers are few, and unpublished
works are many.
2. Publishing costs are very high, and many authors resort to
foreign publishing houses where their books can be published more
3. The very limited editions are soon exhausted.
4. The high cost of books limits the market and thus it is not
possible to distribute Panamanian books inside and outside the coun-
try as would be desirable.
Among the conclusions she draws from these facts is "that the lack of
books, especially textbooks, leads us to use foreign texts in teaching, thus
affecting the national economy and education."
At the same Seminar the Guatemalan representative, Sr. Gonzalo Dar-
d6n C6rdova, complained about copyright restrictions on the translation of
textbooks, but Panama is the only Central American country which, so far
as is recorded in SALALM papers, has noted that many of its authors have
their writings published outside the country. Special characteristics of the
Panamanian situation, both historical and geographical, explain this addi-
tional limitation upon the data available within the country as material for
a national bibliography.
Enrique A. Noriega was responsible for a one-page section, "The Inclu-
sion of National Works in Bibliographies." He cited a 1946 law which had
provided that the National Library should be the repository for published
works and that the national bibliography should be maintained. In 1955 a
National Bibliographic Center had been founded, "composed of a group of
librarians, educators and historians." The compiladora national, Carmen
D. de Herrera, had been providing the requisite data to the Bibliografia de
Centroamdrica y del Caribe for each year through 1960, and for 1961 in
what was to have become the "Bibliograffa de Am6rica Latina."
Sr. Noriega wrote of the efforts of the Panamanian Association of
Librarians and of resolutions made in connection with the Second Biblio-
graphic Seminar, directed towards securing compliance with the law of
legal deposit and for the compilation of the national bibliography. Two
working groups had been formed to compile the bibliography, "one in the
National Library charged with the bibliography on periodical publications
and the other in the Library of the University to work up the bibliography
of books and pamphlets."
The Seminar to which Sr. Noriega referred was the Segundo Seminario
Bibliogr~fico de Centro America y del Caribe, held at the National Univer-
sity of Panama on February 24-28, 1958. This writer gladly testifies to the
extraordinary efforts of the Grupo Bibliogrifico (which had been formed
in 1955 under UNESCo auspices) not only to provide suitable conditions
for a successful seminar but to make important contributions to the
national bibliography through special compilations, most of which were
unfortunately not otherwise published. It was in accordance with the
working arrangements of the Bibliographic Group that the National Com-
piler, who was responsible for sending to the Technical Director of the
BCAC the entries for Panama, should be the Director of the Library of the
National University.
Some attempt was made to continue the record of the national bibli-
ography after the demise of the BCAC. Fermin Peraza's Bibliografias co-
rrientes de la America Latina (1969) carries this entry:
Panama (ciudad) Universidad. Grupo Bibliografico. Bibliografia de libros y folletos,
1958-1960, por la Lie. Carmen D. de Herrera. Panama, 1960. 44 h.
However, the sixties were a troubled decade in Panama. Its troubles in-
volved the closing down at intervals of the National University, thereby
making it impossible for its Librarian, Sra. Herrera, to continue to carry
out the bibliographic responsibilities originally assigned to her by the
Grupo Bibliogrifico.
As it is, credit must be given to the small country which profited so
greatly from two summer sessions of library science offered in 1949 and
1950 by Fermin Peraza, Marietta Daniels, and others that in 1958 it could
organize a bibliographic group and could produce the bibliographies pre-
pared for the Segundo Seminario Bibliogrifico. It can be hoped that files
are being maintained, and that in better days Panama can prepare and
publish regularly the record of its national publications.
Meanwhile, as in similar cases, we are dependent for current Panaman-
ian information largely upon (1) the "Current Bibliography" section in
Caribbean Studies and (2) the broader coverage in Fichero bibliogrdfico
hispanoamericano, Comentarios bibliogrdficos americanos, and LACAP
catalogs. For cumulative data we must depend upon such sources as the
bibliographic publications made available by institutions which systemati-
cally acquire materials from the area and publish annually or at other
intervals the records of the items catalogued.
Panama has no current national bibliographic record, nor has an anuario
been published. However, it does have competent bibliographers who have
made individual contributions through other means, and it seems a repson-
able assumption that both the National Library and the library of the
National University of Panama are doing all that circumstances permit to
maintain current records of Panamanian monographs and serials. Mean-
while, for both current and cumulated information we must rely entirely
upon secondary sources.
In terms of current "Latin American" bibliography, as it is generally
thought of, consideration of the West Indies would be limited to the three
"Latin" republics and to Puerto Rico. For three of these, the paper by
Fermin Peraza on "Bibliography in the Caribbean Area," submitted to the
Fifth Seminar (1960), concluded after some discussion of bibliographic
backgrounds that the Bibliografia de Centroamerica y del Caribe
(1956-1959) was the principal tool. The exception was Cuba, whose Anua-
rio bibliogrdfico cubano he was still editing from his home base at the
Municipal Library in Havana.
The 1960s proved to be a decade of ferment. A significant portion of
the yeast came from the Caribbean area-most notably, of course, from
Fidel Castro's Cuba. But other events were also taking place, and move-
ments were in process that were changing political, economic, cultural, and
social facts and relationships. New countries were emerging. The character
of the Organization of American States was beginning to be modified by
the admission of the first English-speaking countries other than the United
States of America.
Such circumstances affect bibliographic records directly and indirectly.
Lines of regional development during the last quarter of a century, and
particularly in the past decade, were toward cooperation among the
English-speaking dependencies and Puerto Rico. The latter, if only theoret-
ically bilingual, is sufficiently so among persons equipped to function in
responsible library positions that it alone has participated in both the
experience of the Bibliografia de Centroamrrica y del Caribe and that of
the "dependencies" group which Current Caribbean Bibliography (1951-)
was primarily designed to serve.
The circumstances which made the BCAC experiment possible belong
to a bygone era, as do also those which brought the CCB into being.
However, the fortunes of the latter have been closely related to the evolu-
tion of new economic and political patterns in the area. Current Caribbean
Bibliography was designed as a tool to promote regional development. The
fact that it survives and is part of a situation which has brought modem-
age bibliographic services for the area to the threshold of realization is no
accident. Too great credit cannot be given to the British tradition and
practice of providing its colonial areas with public servants equipped with
career training. For their part, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have
shared fully in the possibilities for self-improvement offered by the "G.I.
Bill of Rights," the National Defense Education Act, and the Library
Services Acts. It is to their credit that they have taken full advantage of
the proffered opportunities.
The three "Latin republics," meanwhile, have gone their separate ways.
Of the three, only Cuba has an established basis for library and biblio-
graphic services, and unfortunately its present situation precludes full par-
ticipation in bibliographic or other regional enterprises. The Dominican
Republic and Haiti have only recently begun to evince any interest in the
possibilities of cooperative bibliographic developments.
In the interests of continuity, it seems best to consider areas in the
following order: (1) "The Caribbean" as an emerging entity, (2) Puerto
Rico, (3) Cuba, (4) the Dominican Republic, (5) Haiti, and (6) the English-
speaking West Indies.
As a bibliographic point of reference, the Fifth Seminar, held at the New
York Public Library June 14-16, 1960, is basic. It was seminal in several