Virgilio Barco Library

Virgilio Barco Public Library, situated in the western sector of Bogotá, Colombia, is part of BibloRed, the District's Public Library Network. .. Conceived by the esteemed architect Rogelio Salmona, it forms an instrinsic part of the Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park, boasting an expansive area spanning 14 hectares. Its inauguration took place on December 21, 2001, named after former President Virgilio Barco Vargas.

Architecture
The library building was designed by Rogelio Salmona, also known for the Torres del Parque, the National Archive building, Gabriel García Márquez's house in Cartagena, the National University's Postgraduate Building in Social Sciences, among others.



For the construction of the library, Salmona took into account its interrelation with the public space, forming a series of geographical, landscape, historical, and experiential values. . The design features a circular structure with three floors. However, from the outside, it appears as a low-rise structure that integrates with the eastern hills of Bogotá. A system of internal and external ramps with gentle slopes enables the communication between its various spaces, extending to the exterior to offer a pleasant journey through interconnected terraces that allows visitors to have a panoramic view of the city.

Its roof are covered with ceramic tiles that evoke the amphorae of the pre-Columbian Quimbaya culture.

The budget for the Virgilio Barco Library was 16,000 million pesos. It has a total area of 38,816 square meters and a built area of 16,000 square meters. The library houses a collection of 150,000 volumes, including books, tablets, e-books and audiovisual materials. Its pleasant spaces and its varied and innovative programming awakens a particular interest in reading, writing, and artistic expressions among children, youth, adults, and seniors.

Rooms

 * The general reading room offers reference and research services for all knowledge areas, organised according to the Dewey Decimal Classification system. It has 640 reading seats.
 * The children's room aims to promote reading and research in boys and girl, enhancing family integration and reading habits through different collections and services. It has a reading room for babies, and a playroom, oriented towards children from 0 to 12 years. It has 20 reading seats.
 * The Bogotá room is a space conducive to the development of civic culture, thanks to its specialised collection on Bogotá and Cundinamarca. The bibliographical material is available to anyone who wishes to consult on topics such as economics, civic and social issues, history, urban planning, environment, politics, and legislation of the city and its district institutions.
 * The video and audio library room specialises in the consultation of video and audio materials. The Braille collection includes materials in braille format and large print format. It has 29 seats.
 * Circulation and loan services include membership, external loan, return box, and self-loan machine operated by the BibloRed library network.
 * Through the library extension services, the library serves populations or communities that cannot physically access it or are of minority groups: the disabled, incarcerated, displaced persons, and homeless people. These include the travelling library, with suitcases or travelling boxes containing between 20 and 100 ítems selected according to the information needs of each institution requesting for the loan. Each suitcase or box will remain at the benefiting institution for two months.

Programmes
The library offers user training programs, such as the Friends of the Library Club, for sequential and systematic training in the use of the public library aimed at users of all ages. These programmes should also seek to form groups or collectives that embrace the meaning of the library.

The programme "Library, Literature, and School" provides attention to District Schools with components such as library recognition, approach to reference and documentary material, and reading promotion.

Guided tours allows visitors to become acquainted with the spaces, services, programmes, and cultural activities offered by the library, enabling citizens to access them in a free, autonomous, and mucho more productive manner.

Promotion of reading and writing

 * Literary Café: This type of activity allows readers to participate in a process of socializing reading. Sharing opinions makes it possible to talk about critical readings and active readers, that is, those who can express opinions regarding what they have read. thumb|[[Eduardo Ramírez Villamizar sculpture.]]
 * Text creation: In this workshop, participants will create their own texts based on the analysis of works by famous author and basic writing techniques.
 * Literary creation: In this workshop, participants will share a space of critical reflection on literature with the goal of fostering high-quality literary production among them.
 * Writing for Information Use: Practical workshops on Summarising, Reviewing and Bibliographical referencing.
 * Youth and literature: Reading promotion programme where young attendees are introduced to reading and creative writing practices through the exploration of literary works, music, images, and open conversation.
 * Reading in Family: A family reading space where activities and readings are recommended to promote reading at home, allowing parents and children to enjoy and share the best selection of books together.
 * Grandparent's Corner: Space aimed at the elderly community provinding support for their information needs, reading, development of creativity, and recreation.

Library extension programmes

 * Reading in the hospital: A reading promotion activity aimed at offering children, young people and adults who are in hospital a space to share different cultures. Reading there is a humanizing element that tries to counteract suffering or disability.
 * Reading without barreers: A reading promotion activity aimed at men and women incarcerated in prisons and penitentiaries. It contributes to the resocialisation of the inmates through programmes that allow them to understand reading as a positive influence for the leveraging of their cultural and intellectual level, preparing them for their reintegration into society.
 * A encounter with words: A reading promotion activity aimed at children, youth and adults who are temporarily or permanently in situations of vulnerability.