Alicia Girón García facts for kids
Alicia Girón García (born in 1938 – died on February 22, 2020) was a very important Spanish librarian. She helped make libraries better and more modern in Spain. Alicia was the first woman to become the director of the Biblioteca Nacional de España, which is Spain's national library. She worked hard to make sure more people could use libraries and access books.
Alicia's Early Work
Alicia Girón started working in libraries in 1969. She first worked in the public libraries of Madrid, the capital city of Spain. She helped plan how to add more libraries and make them bigger so more people could visit them.
In the 1980s, Alicia also helped create a plan to turn books and documents into digital files for the Madrid libraries. This made it easier for people to find information using computers.
From 1983, she became a top leader in libraries at the Ministry of Culture. This is a government department that looks after culture and arts. She helped write new laws to make sure towns with more than 5,000 people had library services. Alicia also encouraged everyone to read more and helped set up libraries in schools.
Leading the National Library
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Later, Alicia Girón joined the Biblioteca Nacional de España, which is like the biggest and most important library in Spain. She led a department that organized all the books and materials. She also started a special program called SABINA to turn the library's huge collection into digital files. This meant people could access old books and documents online.
On May 24, 1990, Alicia made history! She was chosen to be the director of the National Library. She was the first woman ever to hold this important job. She stayed in this role until January 9, 1992.
During her time as director, Alicia helped the library become an independent organization. This meant it could make its own decisions more easily. She also created a system for libraries across Spain to lend books to each other. This was called the interlibrary loan system. She also set up a special national lending library.
Alicia also worked on other important projects. She helped organize special collections of books that all libraries must keep. She also started putting old art collections and newspapers from before the 1900s onto microfilm. Microfilm is a way to store many documents in a very small space.
Later Years and Legacy
After her time at the National Library, Alicia Girón continued to lead other important libraries. She directed the National Lending Library and the National Newspaper Library.
In 1995, she became the director of libraries at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. She worked there until 2008. During these years, she wrote many research papers and translated important works.
Alicia also led a group called the Association of Friends of the Library of Alexandria. This was a project with UNESCO and the government of Egypt to support the famous Library of Alexandria. She also helped with a group that focused on information and documents for UNESCO in Spain.
Alicia Girón passed away on February 22, 2020. In October 2021, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria honored her by naming their main reading room after her. This way, her important work in libraries will always be remembered.
See also
In Spanish: Alicia Girón García para niños
