Open letter to the Minister of Culture
Hon. Ms. Sonia Hernández.
I would like, in part, to congratulate you on the National Book and Reading Plan that is being carried out throughout the country. If we had not neglected culture (education), we would not now be waiting for the barbarians. But I have to talk to you about libraries, which are essential in relation to reading. Some town councils are beginning to outsource (privatize) their services, which could easily sink them in two days, but I want to focus on the reading groups that they host. These groups derive from the reading salons of the 18th century and constitute one of the most serious and effective activities in the promotion of reading, with great success and long queues. The best readers in the country are formed in these groups, without whom there will be no good writers, nor good books: no books, in fact.
Due to incompetence and ignorance, some city councils are killing these groups that have worked flawlessly for decades. So much so that they have had a hard time getting back on their feet! The explanation is the following. Given the general corruption, the city council puts it out to public tender – a tender with a higher cost than the service itself that is being tendered, however, being public money, they are not worried about that. The serious thing comes now. Let us imagine, to put it mildly, that neither the mayor nor the councillor for Culture read much. They do not even go to a single session of the reading group out of curiosity, nor do they know what it is. As they do not know, the competition they are calling for is delirious. Half of the points depend on whether the contestant offers a cheaper price (and we are not talking about paving a street but about a training activity based on the driver's aptitude and knowledge). The CV (which should be the most valued) counts for a quarter. The remaining fourth part is whether you are fluent in sign language (can you speak orally and in signs at the same time?) and have an electric car and environmental awareness. I don't want to think that such out-of-place requirements when talking about books will end up favouring private companies that then subcontract the service, because yes: the winner has the right to subcontract someone without sign language, an electric car, or, above all, any aptitude (and the users will have to put up with it). It's crazy. Add the arbitrary and unbridled bureaucracy and you'll understand why the competition is void.
In this absurd way, the libraries of Palafolls and Cabrera de Mar have closed reading groups that have been in operation for more than 15 years. The readers fought hard: meetings with the mayor, complaints, protests, requests. Nothing to be done. There is room for mourning.
