Araceli García Carranza is a legend of library science in the Greater Antilles

February 13, 2023

That temple of knowledge, the National Library "José Martí" that she saw rise when she was a teenager, today constitutes her second home, or perhaps the first, due to all the time and care she has dedicated to it for more than half of her life

Araceli is over eight decades old and continues to show herself energetic. She preserves a voice as sweet as the melody of a harp and the tender smile of a teenager. Although she does not have the gift of granting wishes, she finds personal fulfillment in serving others, whether they are intellectuals or simple users. She attends to all of them with the same passion.

Araceli García Carranza has worked at the National Library of Cuba José Martí for 61 years. Dedicated to research and bibliographic work, contributing a valuable legacy for Cuban history and culture, she is a researcher and historian of major stature.

That temple of knowledge that she saw rise when she was a teenager, today constitutes her second home, or perhaps the first, due to all the time and care she has dedicated to it for more than half of her life. "I feel that it belongs to me, that I am its owner," Araceli acknowledged in the colloquium in her name, held in the library itself, as part of the celebration that the 31st International Book Fair of Havana is dedicated to her.

Regarding her work and dedication to that place, researcher Rafael Acosta de Arriba, director of the José Martí Magazine of the National Library, expressed: "She is an institution within the institution itself. However, she is a very modest person. More than a boss, she is a friend, teacher, an example to be followed by her colleagues; some even consider her as a mother."

As a librarian, she also assumes a pedagogical role, helping to find the information being sought, answering questions; which requires constant study. "The librarian needs to cover different branches of knowledge because, although life has led me toward the humanities, a user could come asking about topics in Physics or Computer Science, among others," García Carranza commented.

Regarding her intelligence and vast culture, Ileana Ortega Cerra, one of her disciples, expressed: "She constitutes a living encyclopedia. You can ask her about anything," she noted.

She was born to help others, a vocation cultivated by the influence, since her childhood, of the Apostle José Martí, author of the first literary works she read when she was a child; and, as an adult, she created a bibliography of him distributed in 45 volumes, the last of which she delivered recently. "The human improvement that Martí spoke about I see it through reading, because books always nourish the spirit," she said.

This "legend of library science in the Greater Antilles" – as Maibel Hidalgo Martínez, researcher at the National Library, referred to Araceli García Carranza – received two important recognitions in 2021. The first was the Order Carlos J. Finlay, the highest distinction granted by the Government for contributions to the development of science for the benefit of humanity. The second, the Order Félix Varela of First Degree, awarded by the Minister of Culture.

For her life's work and, in light of the celebrations for her 85th birthday and the 61 years dedicated to the National Library, she is one of the cultural figures to whom the 31st edition of the International Book Fair of Havana is dedicated.

"First I felt amazed and now, sincerely, I am very grateful, but it seems to me that it is too much. This fair is also dedicated to my generation and, especially, to the National Library. She is culture and homeland."