Conventual Libraries of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites in Spain. From the 16th to the 21 st century

Abstract

From the very beginning of the Carmelite Reform in 1562, its prime drivers, Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross, instilled in the members of the Order the need to acquire a solid and ongoing education. This would serve as the basis to build up a spiritual experience and an ecclesial commitment that lived up to the historial moment the Catholic Church was facing at that time. With this purpose the first conventual libraries appear, and in the following centuries they will be the cultural and educational cause of change for the communities. In this process, we must value the discreet bus essential importance of the librarian,
who will be responsible for selecting, acquiring an conserving volumes of very diverse nature, that at all times, better respond to the educational needs of the friars and the Discalced Carmelites nuns and the will ultimately shape the extraordinary bibliographic fund that the Order amasses today. Our work also addresses the present moment of that legacy, and the process that ODC is carrying our for its correct diffusion, in collaboration with researchers, public entities and universities, making use of the opportunities offered by new technologies, without losing sight of the essence of Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint John
of the Cross we come from.