The origins of the Spanish library system: features and usefulness of the bibliographic holdings of the first public libraries in the middle decades of the nineteenth century

The study offers a historical analysis of the liberal library system in Spain during the middle decades of the nineteenth century, while describing the library holdings, the diverse functions of provincial libraries and their usefulness to society. Finally, we outline the typology of the library that arose from policies hampered by various inherent shortcomings. We conclude that the resources available were insufficient to achieve stated objectives, resulting in deployment of centers that resembled depositories of cultural heritage, rather than places for reading.