Municipal Library
The Municipal Library of Sant Joan d’Alacant has had several venues until its definitive relocation in the current building of the Cultural Center. It was born in the early seventies, where it was proposed in the City Hall, but finally the project was postponed.
After ten long years of waiting the funds of the Library were installed in a small building on Mercat street, which also housed cultural associations. It began its journey in that building of “La Cultural“, towards 1980, by the hand of our first librarian D. Maximiliano Pastor. But five years later it was decided to demolish the building, again moving all the furniture and documentary collection to a temporary place on 6th December. There they slept in oblivion 4 or 5 years.
In 1989, through an agreement with the CAM, the City Council temporarily relocated the Library in a central location until the construction of the new building of the House of Culture, whose project was being addressed. On 9 October 1993, the new House of Culture on Calle del Mar opened with great expectations. The new library was planned in its facilities, but the reality is that it did not satisfy the huge volume of books required and the amount of public that it should host.
Finally, on March 27, 2011, thanks to the Government Aid Plan, the Sant Joan d’Alacant Library was inaugurated in the new building called the Municipal Cultural Center, on Avenida Rambla de la Libertad, shared space with the Municipal Archive.
The Public Library of Sant Joan d’Alacant is integrated into the Valencian Public Reading Electronic Network.
Services
The Municipal Library of Sant Joan d’Alacant dependent on its City Council is a public service of free access, except for the interlibrary loan that may generate some cost for the user.
On-site consultation: here you will find a quiet and bright place to search, discover, browse and read.
Information and Reference: with this service we take care of your information needs. This service deals with general information queries (operation of the library, organization of funds, use of automated catalog) and specific character (bibliographical consultations, obtaining of documents, practical information of varied nature, legislative documentation, etc.).
Loan of Documents: with this service you can take home documents from the Library for a certain time, provided you have a reader card.
E-book loan through E-Biblio: eBiblio Comunitat Valenciana is a service of the Valencian Public Reading Electronic Network that makes it possible to read e-books through the internet. E-Biblio offers citizens a technological platform, which allows them to access the catalogue and borrow the main editorial news in digital format to read them on different devices: tablets, smartphones, personal computers or e-book readers.
Reading proposals in the Sant Joan d’Alacant Municipal Library
Interior of the municipal library of Sant Joan d’Alacant
E-readers or e-readers loan: according to our objective of giving citizens the possibility to access information and knowledge in all the media that new technologies offer, the Library of Sant Joan d’Alacant launches its service E-reader, which allows all people with an adult card from the Valencian Public Reading Network, to borrow an e-book reader device.
Interlibrary loan: you can obtain from another library any type of document that is not available in our fund.
Collective Loan: the library offers public entity, association or citizen collective to benefit from a special loan of lots of documents for a maximum duration of 30 days renewable once.
Internet and Office Services: you can surf the Internet and use office software for free. To do this you have five computers on the first floor and one on the ground floor, and wifi connection in all rooms of the Library.
User Training: User training allows us to teach our users tools to know and use the Library, its services and its document search resources.
Cultural and Reading Activities: from the Library we try to organize activities that aim to publicize the library and encourage its use as a public center of access to information and culture: School visits, “La Hora del Cuento”, workshops….
Ask: the libraries respond: the «Ask, the libraries respond» system is an online public information service, managed and run cooperatively by provincial and municipal libraries of the different Autonomous Communities.
Activity in the municipal library with children, dogs and letters
Did you know that...?
In 2015 we visited 54,787 people.
In the Library we have 6 computers for public use and free.
The Library is also a laboratory.
In the Library we share experiences through the project “What do you know”?
Sometimes we visit trained dogs to read with us.
In the children’s area, children can dress up, paint and do crafts.
You can borrow an e-book reader.
As a curiosity, we offer a DIY workshop.