The Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute (IPCE)

The Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute (IPCE) is a Sub-directorate General attached to the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture. Its primary mission is to preserve, restore, research, document, and promote the cultural assets that constitute Spanish Cultural Heritage.

This is a complex task that the IPCE tackles from a multidisciplinary perspective, drawing on the expertise of over 150 professionals, including architects, archaeologists, art historians, ethnographers, restorers, physicists, geologists, chemists, biologists, administrative staff, documentalists, computer scientists, librarians, archivists, curators, and many others.

The current building housing the IPCE was designed by renowned Spanish architects Fernando Higueras and Antonio Miró. In 1965, they were commissioned to design a centre for restoration and training of conservators. However, due to a variety of political and economic issues, the project was stopped, and construction did not resume until 1985. The building, constructed using raw concrete, is inscribed within a circular plan with a radius of 40 meters, divided into 30 main sections. It is spread across four circular floors, which are connected vertically by two stairwells and elevators. A distinctive feature of the building is the integration of vegetation, both inside and outside, which is characteristic of Higueras’ architectural style.

Interior view, IPCE.

Interestingly, the building has come to be known colloquially as the “Crown of Thorns” due to its diamond-shaped skylights that define its silhouette. These skylights provide not only a unique and recognizable shape but also ensure a steady influx of natural light into the building. This architectural style can be classified as organic architecture, making the building one of the finest examples of Spanish Brutalism due to its prominent use of exposed reinforced concrete. In 2001, the building was declared Heritage of Cultural Interest, which is noteworthy as it occurred during the lifetime of its architects, an exception to the normal process of designation.

The IPCE is involved in various activities related to cultural heritage conservation. Its missions include the intervention in immovable cultural assets (such as architecture, archaeology, and intangible cultural heritage), as well as the intervention in movable cultural assets (such as paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, textiles, books, documents, and graphic works). The IPCE also focuses on research, which includes physical studies, material analysis, biodeterioration, photogrammetry, and preventive conservation. Additionally, the Institute is involved in training through its other headquarters at the Monastery of Santa María La Real de Najera in La Rioja, which houses the School of Historical Heritage,Footnote ⁴ and through an annual training program. The IPCE also handles the documentation of cultural assets, including the management of a specialized archive, library and photo archive, and the registration and documentation of cultural heritage. Finally, the Institute is dedicated to the dissemination and communication of cultural heritage knowledge, as well as coordinating the National Conservation Plans for Spanish cultural heritage.Footnote ⁵

The IPCE Library: History, architecture and collections

The IPCE LibraryFootnote ⁶ is located beneath the main hall of the building, making it one of the first circular floor libraries to be designed and constructed in Spain. The library is distributed into three stepped rings that form the reading room, with two underground rings functioning as storage areas, and an additional two storage spaces. The holdings of the library have contributed to becoming one of the most important specialized libraries in the Spanish-speaking world for the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage.

Surprisingly, although the library was designed by the same architects who designed the building, it was not part of the original project. The initial plan for the space allocated to the library envisioned an open courtyard filled with vegetation. It was only in 1985 that the decision was made to incorporate a library into the design. In this area, concrete gives way to wood, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere that contrasts with the more raw concrete of the rest of the building. The library was officially inaugurated in October 1991, alongside the rest of the IPCE building. All the furniture, including bookshelves (which double as study tables), the central black table, and other furniture was designed by the architects themselves, adding to the cohesion of the architectural concept.

This unique architectural design gives the IPCE Library an almost singular character, making it a highly photogenic space. As a result, the library has become a sought-after venue for several events, although it is important to emphasize that its primary function as a library always takes precedence over any other use. Nevertheless, its architectural beauty and unique layout have made it a popular location for photographs and special events, such as conferences, interviews, exhibitions, and cultural activities.

The IPCE Library provides an extensive documentary service for all the departments of the Institute, as well as for external researchers and users. The library is open to the public and is free of charge for consultation and research of its holdings. Visitors only need to request an appointment in advance and present identification upon entry to the library. This open and inclusive approach to access ensures that the valuable resources of the library are available to anyone with an interest in the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage.

The documentary collection managed by the library originated in the 1990s with the merger of the institutions that preceded the IPCE: the National Center for Artistic, Archaeological, and Ethnological Information (which later became the National Center for Historical Heritage Information and Documentation), the Institute for the Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art (I.C.R.O.A.), and the Book and Document Restoration Service (currently known as SELIDO). Since its creation, the library collection has grown substantially and is now home to over 50,000 items. This includes 10,000 brochures, 8,000 exhibition catalogues, 3,000 rare books, more than 500 conservation and restoration conference proceedings, and nearly 1,700 titles of specialized national and international journals, both scholarly and popular. These materials are acquired through purchases, exchanges and donations.

IPCE Library.

The collection is organized across three rings within the library. The first one, located at the top of the library, contains materials organized alphabetically by autonomous communities and provinces. The reason is that each architect working at the IPCE only carries out interventions in the autonomous communities assigned to them. and it was felt that this would be an effective way to organize the resources. The second and third rings, meanwhile, house materials categorized by subject. These subjects include a wide range of disciplines relevant to the field of cultural heritage, such as painting, sculpture, architecture, archaeology, photography, history, book techniques, textiles, urban planning, decorative arts, cultural heritage legislation, landscape architecture, art history, carpentry, and more. In addition, the collection also includes resources on topics such as biology, library science, archival studies, Latin American studies, music, and iconography.

In addition to the regular collection, the IPCE Library include two important donations (and soon, one more will be added). The first one comes from the personal archive of Spanish architect José Lino Vaamonde Valencia, which was donated in 2001 by his son, José Lino Vaamonde Horacada. This collection consists of brochures and newspaper clippings in various languages, documenting Vaamonde’s efforts to protect Spanish art during the Spanish Civil War, particularly his role in relocating artworks from the Prado Museum. The second donation, made in 2007, comes from Leonardo de Villena Pardo and includes approximately 3,000 documents, mainly books and pamphlets, related to Spanish and European defensive architecture.

Over its 30-plus years of history, the IPCE Library has generally adhered to a conservative approach, focusing on maintaining an open and accessible library with up-to-date bibliographic holdings and offering essential services for specialized library users. However, in recent years, as the number of staff has increased, there has been a marked expansion of services and outreach efforts.

Current services at the IPCE Library

The IPCE Library offers a wide range of servicesFootnote ⁷ to both internal and external users. Some of the key ones currently offered include:

• In-room consultation: The library has 16 reading stations equipped with internet access, one computer acting as an OPACFootnote ⁸ (Online Public Access Catalogue), and books available for free access across three rings.

• Loan and return services: These services are available exclusively to internal staff; external loan is not permitted, and no materials can leave the building.

• Bibliographic information and reference: The library provides in-person assistance from Monday to Friday during morning hours, as well as support via email and telephone. Specialized bibliographies are created as needed.

• Document reproduction: The library allows for the reproduction of up to 20% of any document, either through photography or scanning, in accordance with current regulations set forth by the National Library of Spain. Additionally, Spanish intellectual property law allows for the reproduction of non-public domain works for private use and research purposes.

• User training: The library offers both in-person and email-based training sessions to inform users about the library’s services. On-site sessions are also held to introduce new projects and developments.

• Summary bulletins: The library publishes quarterly summary bulletins containing the indices of printed journals received by the library.

• Recommended bibliographies: In collaboration with the IPCE’s Training Service, the library produces bibliographies related to the courses offered by the Institute.

• Publication exchange: The library exchanges doubled monographs and journals’ items with other institutions, particularly museums, in order to build networks of cooperation and collaboration with other research centres.

• National and international interlibrary loan: According to the document Prospectiva 2020: The Ten Areas That Will Change the Most in Our Libraries in the Coming Years,Footnote ⁹ ‘the need for cooperation is based on the fact that no library, on its own, can meet the informational needs of all users’. In this regard, the IPCE maintains constant cooperation with BIMUS, the Network of Museum Libraries of the Ministry of Culture,Footnote ¹⁰ as well as with BIBLESPAGE (the Collective Catalogue of Specialized Libraries of the General State Administration).Footnote ¹¹ The IPCE has an agreement with these networks to allow the free exchange of monographs or scanned pages from books or journals. Similarly, the IPCE requests items, copies and reproductions from any library, both within Spain and abroad.

Public programme and outreach

Additionally, in recent years, the library’s activity has grown considerably, and it has become necessary to draft external contracts to complete the services, outsourcing certain processes such as the cataloguing of monographs or the creation of an inventory. However, without a doubt, in recent times, the library has experienced a significant increase in its outreach, based on the words of Nobel Prize in Literature winner Gabriel García Márquez: ‘What is not communicated, does not exist.’

This has been materialized in several projects:

• The library is the final stop of the official guided tour that takes place every working Thursday throughout the year at the IPCE.

• Another branch of the library has been established at the Monasterio de Santa María La Real de Nájera (La Rioja), within the School of Historical Heritage.

• It is part of the BIMUS Network (Network of Museum Libraries) and BIBLESPAGE (the Collective Catalogue of Specialized Libraries of the General State Administration), with agreements for reciprocal interlibrary loans.

• It is also part of the Art Discovery Group Catalogue, an international collective catalogue of art libraries managed by OCLC. Along with its presence in BIBLESPAGE and Worldcat Spain and Worldwide, the IPCE library becomes the only institution in Spain with its catalogue included in four catalogues managed by OCLC.

• It is involved in several Teaching Innovation Projects from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Complutense University of Madrid.

• It organizes book presentations and guided tours for Book Day and Library Day.

• The library maintains a subscription to AENOR, which allows IPCE staff to access and read the entire catalogue of UNE standards and several ISO standards from a computer located in the library.

• Offering IPCE staff access to eLibro, a virtual library that allows the reading and downloading of over 126,000 eBooks.

• Joining SEDIC, the Spanish Society of Documentation and Scientific Information,Footnote ¹² as an institutional member.

• Collaborating with the IBERMUSEOS Documentation Centre, the main cooperation program for museums in Ibero-America.Footnote ¹³

• It collaborates in managing the loan of spaces for numerous national and international audiovisual recordings: interviews, filming of series and movies, television programmes, etc.

Future plans

The future of the library is shaped by the continuation of previous projects and the initiation of new ones:

• Resuming the subscription to electronic journals.

• Starting the digitization of the rare book collection.

• The library’s catalogue will soon be incorporated into BCIN, the bibliographic database of the Conservation Information Network (BCIN), managed by ICCROM.

• The library’s catalogue will be included in the Single Consultation Point (PCU), a collective catalogue of all libraries within the General State Administration of Spain, coordinated by the Ministry of Culture.

• Adding holdings to DIALNET, the most important portal for disseminating Hispanic scientific production, specializing in human and social sciences, managed by the University of La Rioja.Footnote ¹⁴

• Publishing the library’s service charter.

• Joining several projects managed by the Ministry of Culture: HISPANAFootnote ¹⁵ (portal for access to Spanish digital heritage and the national aggregator for Europeana content), CCPBFootnote ¹⁶ (Collective Catalogue of Bibliographic Heritage), BVPHFootnote ¹⁷ (Virtual Library of Historical Press), and BVPBFootnote ¹⁸ (Virtual Library of Bibliographic Heritage).

• Revising the OPAC interface and the content of the website. A future project will be to explore creating a shared platform for the IPCE’s Archive, Library, and Photographic Archive.

The coming years will be crucial in realizing a vision of the IPCE library as a specialized institution up to date with new library trends, prioritizing user service and satisfaction at the core of its daily activities.