SPONSORSHIP OF THE LIBRARY OF THE SPANISH ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES
In order to further convert the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences into an essential and compulsory benchmark in the development and promotion of cinema in Spain, and thanks to an initiative by José Luis Borau, the project to create the Archive and Library of this institution was launched.
The Library was opened to the public in January 2010, in the hope of becoming a permanent and active source of information and consultation, particularly for academics, institutions and any other cinema lovers. From the outset, the María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Foundation has supported and sponsored this important initiative which aims to promote education and dissemination of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Spain.
The Library and File’s public funds are made up of more than 4,000 books, 2,000 films, including feature films and short films, and a collection of restricted-access documents consisting of more than 500 scripts, 700 soundtracks, 1,500 film posters and a series of the Acadamy’s publications, photographs, journals and yearbooks. The extensive independent documentation, which includes all of the graphic documentation pertaining to the Goya Awards and other awards won by the Academy throughout its history, is of particular interest.
All of this material is available at the Library, which has twelve reading posts, two viewing posts and several computers that are available throughout the Library with access to the full database and to the Internet.
The María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Foundation has been collaborating for four years to help the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to achieve important progress:
- Inauguration of the Library’s Reading Room
- Cataloguing of 3,400 films
- Cataloguing of 5,000 books
- Cataloguing of 1,325 short films
- Cataloguing of 13,258 film slides
- Cataloguing of 2,424 photographs
- Inclusion in the Network of Public Libraries of the Community of Madrid.
The Library is located in the headquarters of the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in an early 20th Century residential palace on calle Zurbano nº 3 in Madrid.
