The Ponce Municipal Library, formally, Biblioteca Municipal Mariana Suárez de Longo (English: Mariana Suárez de Longo Municipal Library), and also known as Biblioteca Publica de Ponce (English: Ponce Public Library), is the library system of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1870, it is the oldest public library in Puerto Rico.Lawrence S. Thompson and Jorge Rivera Ruiz. The Libraries of Puerto Rico. The Library Quarterly. Volume 16, Issue 3. Page 227. July–September, 1946. The system has its main library on Miguel Pou Boulevard, in barrio San Antón, in the city of Ponce, and seven satellite library branches, three in the city's urban area and four spread out in the municipality's rural areas. The main library inaugurated a new building on Bulevar Miguel Pou in August 2007,Junto con la Biblioteca Municipal: Proxima la Conclusion del Nuevo Archivo Historico. Jason Rodriguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 20–26 September 2006. Year 24. Issue 1190. pages 6-7. Accessed 18 April 2018.Junto con la Biblioteca Municipal: Proxima la Conclusion del Nuevo Archivo Historico. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. where the former Puerto Rico District Court building was located.Carmelo Rosario Natal. Ponce En Su Historia Moderna: 1945-2002. Published by Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2003. p. 300, 341. The central library building on Bulevar Miguel Pou was designed by Ponce architect Juan Dalmau Sambolín.Jose Enrique Ayoroa Santaliz. Un hito en su tiempo: la fuente de agua subterránea de la Plaza Las Delicias. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 39. Issue 1993. 9–15 February 2022. pp.8-9. Archived.
History Gabinete de Lectura The origins of the Ponce Municipal Library date to the establishment in Ponce of the "Gabinete de Lectura" in 1869–1870, founded by Alejandro Tapia y Rivera.De bibliotecas y gabinetes de lectura. Marta Aponte Alsina. "Angelica Furiosa". 21 May 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2011.Lawrence S. Thompson and Jorge Rivera Ruiz. The Libraries of Puerto Rico. The Library Quarterly. Volume 16, Issue 3. Page 227. July–September, 1946.Emilio del Toro Cuevas. Influencia de la biblioteca publica moderna en la familia y en la cultura social. Conferencias Dominicales dadas en la Biblioteca Insular de Puerto Rico. Volume I (1913) page 52.Luis O'Neill de Milan. Bibliotecas Publicas de Puerto Rico. In, Eugenio Fernandez Garcia and Eugenio Astol (editors), El Libro de puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico: El Libro Azul Publishing Co., 1923. Page 451. The books from the Gabinete de Lectura, the personal collection of Don Miguel Rosich and miscellaneous purchases were used to stock the Public Library.Socorro Giron. Ponce, el Teatro La Perla, y La Campana de la Almudaina. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 3rd edition. 1992. page 279. The Gabinete de Lectura was the first educational, cultural, and scientific center in Ponce."Education" Hall, Museo de la Historia de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 9 March 2001. The Gabinete was established in 1870 by Federico Perez, Antonio Molina Jr., Diego Vicente Texeira, Rafael Rodriguez, Luis R. Velazquez, Angel Aguerrevera, and Eduardo Neumann Gandía, and was located on Calle Sol.Ramón Marín y su Tiempo. Socorro Girón. In, "Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce." Page 20. Retrieved 5 December 2011. The central government in San Juan closed it down in 1874 out of fear that the common people would become educated and rebel against the government. However, it was reopened in 1876 by a group of people that included some of its original founders plus Dr. Rafael Pujals, Oscar Schuck, Alfredo Casals, Antonio Molina, Ramon Rivera, Jacobo Tur, Sergio Cuevas Zequeira, Juan Cuevas Aboy, Oriol Pasarell, Francisco Oliver, Manuel Mayoral Barnes, and Manuel Yordan."Education" Hall, Museo de la Historia de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 9 March 2001. It was re-established on 8 April 1877 with Rafael Pujals, Jose A. Renta, Julio Chardon, Ramon Marin, Baldomero San Antonio, Luis Lassise, Antonio Perez Guerra, Eduardo Salichs, Juan J. Mayoral, Pedro P. Valdivieso, Eduardo Neumann Gandia, Rafael Rodriguez, and Luis Velazquez as its directors.Socorro Giron. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce 1992. p.161. (Citing Emilio J. Pasarell's Esculcando el Siglo XIX. p. 26.)
The first library The Ponce Municipal Library was formally founded in 1890Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce. Ramon Marin. Page 40. Retrieved 7 October 2011.Bibliotecas que Transcienden Bibliotecas: Integraccion, Innovacion, e Informacion para Todos. Congreso Mundial de Bibliotecas e Informacion. 77ma. Conferencia General y Asamblea de la IFLA. 13–18 August 2011. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 7 October 2011. and re-organized in 1894.The History of Puerto Rico From the Spanish Discovery to the American Occupation R.A. Van Middeldyk. 1903. Retrieved 6 October 2011. This first library was located on the first floor of Casa Alcaldia building,Socorro Giron. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Ponce Municipal Government. 3rd edition, 1992. p.360 on what is now Calle Plaza Degetau, but at the time was considered part of Calle Villa. It contained 1,500 volumes that came from the "Gabinete de Lectura", the private collection of Manuel Rosich, a prominent local educator, and donations from citizens at large."Education" Hall, Museo de la Historia de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 9 March 2001. The first librarian was Joaquin Figueroa."Education" Hall, Museo de la Historia de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 9 March 2001. The library started with 809 books and 669 pamphlets.Lawrence S. Thompson and Jorge Rivera Ruiz. The Libraries of Puerto Rico. The Library Quarterly. Volume 16, Issue 3. Page 227. July–September, 1946. By 1913, the total number of volumes was over 4,754,"Education" Hall, Museo de la Historia de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 9 March 2001. including 2,818 books and 1,936 periodicals.Lawrence S. Thompson and Jorge Rivera Ruiz. The Libraries of Puerto Rico. The Library Quarterly. Volume 16, Issue 3. Page 227. July–September, 1946. In 1937, the library was restarted under the leadership of Luis A. Ferre.Puerto Rico Grieves Over The Loss Of Its Premier Statesman Four Months Short Of His 100th Birthday: Luis A. Ferre Aguayo (1904-2003). Marialba Martinez. Caribbean Business. Puerto Rico Herald. 30 October 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2013. The library later relocated to Calle Isabel in the Ponce Historic Zone. In 1940, mayor Jose Tormos Diego reconditioned the northern annex of Teatro La Perla to be used as the headquarters of the Ponce municipal library.Information retrieved from the commemorative plaque in the lobby of Teatro La Perla in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Its complete name in 1940 was "Auditorio y Libreria Publica La Perla".
Originally a non-circulating library, in 1945 the Ponce Public Library instituted a home loan system guaranteed by deposits. The majority of its readers were school children.Lawrence S. Thompson and Jorge Rivera Ruiz. The Libraries of Puerto Rico. The Library Quarterly. Volume 16, Issue 3. Page 229. July–September, 1946. By 1946 the Ponce Public Library collection had increased to 9,648 volumes, mostly of general character, but completely catalogued according to the Dewey system.Lawrence S. Thompson and Jorge Rivera Ruiz. The Libraries of Puerto Rico. The Library Quarterly. Volume 16, Issue 3. Page 229. July–September, 1946. In 1946 the library was mostly supported by the Ponce Lions Club and the Asociación Bibliotecaria de Puerto Rico, a sort of "friends of the library" organization.Lawrence S. Thompson and Jorge Rivera Ruiz. The Libraries of Puerto Rico. The Library Quarterly. Volume 16, Issue 3. Page 227. July–September, 1946. At least by 1947, the library was located on the second level of the Teatro La Perla.Carmelo Rosario Natal. Ponce En Su Historia Moderna: 1945-2002. Published by Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2003. p. 77. Luis A. Ferre was one of the sponsors of the Ponce Public Library and, in the 1950s, several of the works of art that would later be part of the collections at Museo de Arte de Ponce, first hung from the walls of the Public Library on the second floor of Teatro La Perla.Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce, Notas para su Historia. Second edition. 1986. p. 64.
In 1971, construction on the north side of Teatro La Perla was completedCarmelo Rosario Natal. Ponce En Su Historia Moderna: 1945-2002. Published by Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2003. p. 114.Informe Anual, 1972. Jose Casanova Perez (Corporacion de Renovacion Urbana y Vivienda, "CRUV") a Juan H. Cintron, Alcalde. 18 de Junio de 1970. Correspondencia Recibida. Caja de 1969-1970. Archivo Historico de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. (Yearly Report, 1972. Jose Casanova Perez (Corporacion de Renovacion Urbana y Vivienda, "CRUV") to Juan H. Cintron, Mayor. 18 June 1970. Received Mail. Box for years 1969-1970. Ponce Historical Archives. Ponce, Puerto Rico.) and, during the administration of mayor Juan H. Cintron (1968–1972), the library moved to new facilities next to Teatro La Perla,Law Number 101 of Year 2011. Ley Núm. 101 del año 2011. (P. del S. 1855); 2011, ley 101. Para designar con el nombre de “Centro de Convenciones Juan H. Cintrón García”, al nuevo edificio del Centro de Convenciones de Ponce. Ley Núm. 101 de 23 de junio de 2011. where it remained until 2007.Junto con la Biblioteca Municipal: Proxima la Conclusion del Nuevo Archivo Historico. Jason Rodriguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 20–26 September 2006. Year 24. Issue 1190. pages 6-7. Accessed 18 April 2018.New Central Library La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Current facility Construction of the new facility at Bulevar Miguel Pou started in December 2004, completed in January 2007, and the library opened in April 2007.Junto con la Biblioteca Municipal: Proxima la Conclusion del Nuevo Archivo Historico. Jason Rodriguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 20–26 September 2006. Year 24. Issue 1190. pages 6-7. Accessed 18 April 2018. The building cost was $8.5M USD, with another $2M used to furnish it, for a total cost of $10.5M.Junto con la Biblioteca Municipal: Proxima la Conclusion del Nuevo Archivo Historico. Jason Rodriguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 20–26 September 2006. Year 24. Issue 1190. pages 6-7. Accessed 18 April 2018.
The city moved its central library to the new facility in August 2007.Junto con la Biblioteca Municipal: Proxima la Conclusion del Nuevo Archivo Historico. Jason Rodriguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 20–26 September 2006. Year 24. Issue 1190. pages 6-7. Accessed 18 April 2018.New Central Library La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. (20 September 2006?) The modern facility opened over three years after the untimely death of its proud mastermind and instigator, "the beloved Ponce Mayor Rafael Churumba Cordero".Municipal Library Mariana Suarez de Longo. TravelPonce.com. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
Main library building