Buenos Aires – This morning, at the facilities of the Department of Naval Historical Studies (DEHN), known as Casa Amarilla and located in the La Boca neighborhood, a ceremony was held for Librarian Day, where an allegory in tribute by the artist Carlos Martínez was also inaugurated.
The ceremony was chaired by the Director of Institutional Relations of the Navy, Captain Jorge Javier Raimondo, who was accompanied by the Director of Cultural Management of the Ministry of Defense, Valentina Melhem. Military and civilian authorities and Navy personnel also participated, who gathered to recognize the work of the institution’s librarians.
After singing the verses of the Argentine National Anthem, the Head of the DEHN, Lieutenant Commander Stella Maris Guaymás, offered some allusive words, in which she highlighted that “Mr. Carlos Franco Martínez, author of this allegory, has captured his idea in an open book that allows a small silver-coloured sailed ship to peek out from between its pages, just as the moon illuminates librarians in their dreams of letters and paper. A chain links the book and its ship to a rudder, which is in turn a compass rose, a symbol of direction and strength. All together it represents progress,” explained Captain Guaymás, adding that this symbolic testimony “revalues the activity of information professionals who assist authorities, researchers, historians and other users interested in Naval and Maritime History issues.”
After the speech, Captain Raymondo, together with the Institution’s Librarian, Marta Pupín, unveiled the commemorative plaque of the sculpture made by Martínez, after which Captain Raymondo himself, now together with Director Melhem, presented a certificate of recognition to the sculptor.
Finally, the Navy General Staff Band played the Navy March.
National Librarian Day
It was established in 1954 by Presidential Decree No. 17,650, maintaining what was established in the professional congress held in Santiago del Estero in 1942. Its foundation is found in the “Gazeta de Buenos Aires” of September 13, 1810, a newspaper founded by Mariano Moreno.
The pioneering idea promoted by Moreno was consolidated with the creation of the first Information Unit, thus forming the Public Library of Buenos Aires. Its directors, Saturnino Segurola and Fray Cayetano Rodríguez, are considered the pioneer librarians of our Nation, whose main task was the promotion of equal opportunities, the possibility of implementing social mobility and public education for all.
Since the creation of the National Library of the Navy in 1913 and the Library of the Department of Naval Historical Studies in 1957, among many others, the Argentine Navy has followed institutional progress by incorporating digital information into its traditional bibliographic collection.
Today, users’ information needs require fast, effective and relevant responses, taking into account the large number of sources available in different formats, which highlights today, more than ever, the importance of the profession.
For 214 years, libraries have been institutions designed to protect freedom of thought and preserve national memory. The Armed Forces and Security Forces have libraries throughout the country, and in each of them the librarian is a key intermediary between information and users, collaborating in a committed manner in their social, academic, professional and intellectual development.
