The acquisition of the writer's archive Juan Marsé Barcelona has become the unexpected protagonist at the inauguration of the future State Public Library. "Despite being the second most populated province in the State, Barcelona still does not have a central public library," lamented Ernest Urtasun, current Minister of Culture, on the site next to França station where, if all goes well within five years, the long-awaited facility will be built. He was accompanied by representatives of the other administrations involved in the project: the Generalitat (Generalitat), the Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona), and the City Council. With a budget of 82 million euros, the State Public Library "will have a usable area of more than 16,000 m², spread over eight floors," the minister advanced: "In size only the National Library of Spain will surpass it."

Catalan libraries lent 11.4 million books in 2023, just over half—52%—in Catalan, and 45.7% in Spanish. This is a "high presence of Catalan in relative terms" given that Spanish dominates the publishing world, as Xavier Fina, the director general of cultural promotion and libraries, reminded ACN. Data from the last five years show that in Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona, Catalan is close to 60%. Even so, a detailed analysis of the data leads to some surprising conclusions.

The newspapers have reported that the library that was to be installed in the old Casa de la Prensa to renovate the Biblioteca Francesc Boix in Poble-sec will finally be installed in another space, yet to be determined. If it has to be to offer a good service to the citizens of that neighbourhood, we should be happy.