The more controversy, the more books. The Provincial Council of Valencia has announced an increase in funds of historical memory books in municipal libraries. Specifically, the Democratic Memory delegation led by the first vice president, Natàlia Enguix, has distributed among the 131 municipalities adhering to the project ‘Memory in libraries’ a batch with 11 new titles, which are part of the 4,000 copies that the provincial corporation has made available to more than two million Valencian men and women.
The news comes in the midst of controversy surrounding democratic memory, on the same day that the Consell Valencià de Culturaissued a critical report against the Concord Law promoted by PP and Vox. And at a political moment in which libraries have also become scene of the Vox cultural battle in many Valencian municipalities. In fact, in the last year there have been cases of censorship of books and films, such as Barbie, cancellation of subscriptions and movements to create differentiated spaces for copies linked to diversity.
In the opinion of Natàlia Enguix, “this type of publications help us to know that part of the story that has been told to us incomplete and that we must all discover so that it never happens again.” “The initiative is much more than a shipment of books, since the Democratic Memory technicians of the Diputación They study the map of the province to incorporate new municipalities and new titles every year, with the aim of bring these works and research closer to every corner of the regions Valencians,” adds Enguix.
The management of the program, promoted during the previous mandates in the corporation, culminates each year with the sending of the batches of books to the participating libraries. This time, each of them has received a box with 11 titles, from ‘The Spider of Oblivion’ to ‘The Hidden Transition’, passing through ‘Stolen Lessons’, ‘Blood on the Forehead’ or ‘The Letters of Memory’‘, among other works. Among the new features stands out ‘Unworthy daughters of the country’, published by the Alfons el Magnànim Institution and whose copies have been provided free of charge by the Diputación’s publishing house.
25,000 euros this year
Regarding the joining of new municipalities to the project, in 2024 Moixent, in the Costera, Bocairent in the Vall d’Albaida and La Pobla Llarga in the Ribera Alta will join. In the last two years, the libraries of Tuéjar, Titaguas and Villar del Arzobispo in the Serranía; Bellreguard and Rótova in the Safor; Casinos in Camp de Túria; Foios in l’Horta Nord; and Atzeneta d’Albaida in the Vall.
The Democratic Memory delegation led by Enguix This year, it has invested 25,000 euros in an initiative that has already served to distribute more than 4,000 copies in dozens of municipalities in all regions., with more than thirty titles that are being renewed with the incorporation of new works and works related to the recovery of historical memory. It should be noted that, despite the noise generated around memorial policies after the policy change a year ago, the provincial corporation has maintained both the endowment and the memory policy programs that were being deployed.
