THE CURRENT STATE OF RESEARCH ON THE HISTORY OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN SPAIN

Analyzes the research and publications on the history of Spanish public libraries (defined as free libraries run by public administration) covering the period beginning with the birth and development of public reading centres in the eighteenth century up to the present day. Three groups of researchers are identified: first, professional librarians, characterized by their erudition; secondly, general interest historians and historians of education, who began to apply the 'scientific' method and the systematic use of primary sources; and thirdly, university lecturers in the area of library and information science, whose work in the library history field has attained a certain maturity. The article concludes by highlighting the need to delve deeper into these studies and form research groups to that end.