page_title: Ponce Municipal Library
section_title: The first library
hierarchical_section_title: Ponce Municipal Library / History / The first library
caption_attribution_description: English: Former location of the Ponce Municipal Library next to Teatro La Perla in Barrio Tercero, Ponce, Puerto Rico, now (2011) serves as headquarters of the Ponce Municipal Band and other musical arts organizations
context_page_description: The Ponce Municipal Library, formally, Biblioteca Municipal Mariana Suárez de Longo, and also known as Biblioteca Publica de Ponce, is the library system of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1870, it is the oldest public library in Puerto Rico. The system has its main library on Miguel Pou Boulevard, in barrio San Antón, in the city of Ponce, and seven satellite library branches, three in the city's urban area and four spread out in the municipality's rural areas. The main library inaugurated a new building on Bulevar Miguel Pou in August 2007, where the former Puerto Rico District Court building was located.
context_section_description: The Ponce Municipal Library was formally founded in 1890 and re-organized in 1894. This first library was located on the first floor of Casa Alcaldia building, on what is now Calle Plaza Degetau, but at the time was considered part of Calle Villa. It contained 1,500 volumes that came from the "Gabinete de Lectura", the private collection of Manuel Rosich, a prominent local educator, and donations from citizens at large. The first librarian was Joaquin Figueroa. The library started with 809 books and 669 pamphlets. By 1913, the total number of volumes was over 4,754, including 2,818 books and 1,936 periodicals. In 1937, the library was restarted under the leadership of Luis A. Ferre.  The library later relocated to Isabel street in what is now the Ponce Historic Zone. In 1940, mayor Jose Tormos Diego reconditioned the northern annex of Teatro La Perla to be used as the headquarters of the Ponce municipal library.
  Originally a non-circulating library, in 1945 the Ponce Public Library instituted a home loan system guaranteed by deposits. The majority of its readers were school children. By 1946 the Ponce Public Library collection had increased to 9,648 volumes, mostly of general character, but completely catalogued according to the Dewey system. In 1946 the library was mostly supported by the Ponce Lions Club and the Asociación Bibliotecaria de Puerto Rico, a sort of "friends of the library" organization. At least by 1947, the library was located on the second level of the Teatro La Perla. Luis A. Ferre was one of the sponsors of the Ponce Public Library and, in the 1950s, several of the works of art that would later be part of the collections at Museo de Arte de Ponce, first hung from the walls of the Public Library on the second floor of Teatro La Perla.
  In 1971, construction on the north side of Teatro La Perla was completed and, during the administration of mayor Juan H. Cintron (1968-1972), the library moved to new facilities next to Teatro La Perla, where it remained until 2007.
caption: Former location of the Ponce Municipal Library next to Teatro La Perla in Barrio Tercero, Ponce, Puerto Rico, now (2011) serves as headquarters of the Ponce Municipal Band and other musical arts organizations
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