Abstract
Karen Cana, Director of La Casa del Libro; Rafael Linares, Registrar of La Casa del Libro.
Founded in 1955, LA CASA DEL LIBRO Book Museum and Special Library (LCDL) houses a world–renowned collection of rare books from the 15th Century on, historical documents, printing and book arts related objects as well as artworks from Puerto Rico. It holds two royal decrees signed by Spanish Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Fernando, in 1493, related to Christopher Columbus’ second voyage; a page of the first bible printed by Johannes Gutenberg circa 1454 and an exemplar of the most extensively illustrated book of the 15th century, the Liber Chronicarum. The collection houses circa 11,000 books including a research collection which supports the study of book arts. La Casa del Libro, the museum is located in two Spanish colonial houses from the 18th Century in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. LCDL programming includes educational and cultural activities aimed to support the preservation, development, study, interpretation and presentation of the collection to foster knowledge and stimulate creativity through the oldest object created to preserve the work and thought of mankind: the book.