Elementary popular libraries

Nationalism, immigration and library policy during the 1910s

Abstract

In this article the author presents a study of the Elementary Popular Libraries created in Argentina during the 1910s, with the aim of consolidating a cultural policy of affirmation of national sentiment as a means of confronting the dilemmas caused by immigration and left-wing ideologies. Three aspects constitute the main variables of analysis: (a) the general characteristics of the proposal; (b) the political, cultural and social arguments that justified it; (c) its achievements between 1912 and 1921. Among the conclusions, the will of the State to intervene and model the Argentine library field stands out.