MIGRATION OF MEXICAN
LIBRARY MATERIALS
A Personal Recollection
Jesús Lau
jlau@uv.mx / jlau@uajc.mx
Juárez University / México
On sabbatical: Universidad Veracruzana
“89. The Legal Challenges to the Repatriation of Cultural Materials
(CLM)”
68th. IFLA General Conference and Council, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
August 19, 2002
Mexican Experience in Book
Repatriation
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Mexico’s experience in losing historical library
materials is long and striking
The worst experience was the Spanish
destruction of Indian printings in Amoxcallis
(Aztec Libraries) to wipe off the local religions
A less damaging experience was the export of
Mexican Codex to Spain and the rest of Europe
The Mexican experience is part of the historical
conditions of the time, therefore, facts cannot be
judged as good or bad
Mexico’s Historical Wealth
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Three thousands years of history enabled Mexico to be a
culturally rich country
A nation with one of the richest cultures in the American
Continent
Libraries (Amoxcallis) existed before the European arrival
The first Western-type libraries in the Americas were
first created in Mexico
The first European press was set up in Mexico, therefore
incunabula pre-dates any other Latin or North American
nation
A 500-Years Experience
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Three periods of book migration: Conquest
(1600), Independence (1800) and the
Revolution (1900)
Originally, the country had no power to keep its
own materials
Later, it did not have the infra-structure to
preserve its materials
Contemporary times, Mexico lacked a
preservation culture up to the 1950’s
European Libraries
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Several codex were painted before or during the
Spanish conquest of Mexico
Mexican Indian codex contain graphic
descriptions of pre-Hispanic Mexico
They are of great artistic and historical value for
the study of the country
Most Codex were taken to Spain and the rest of
Europe as presents to royal families
Many of them are part of national library
collections: London, Vienna, Paris
The Mexican government has claimed them back
although no real strategy has been taken to
repatriate them
Our Northern Neighbor
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Several collections and library items have been taken to
the US
The budget of US libraries enables them to acquire
Mexican materials of historical value
Latin American collections in the US have some of the
best Mexican library materials
However, American libraries’ acquisition of foreign
materials contributed to the preservation of Mexican
titles in the country’s during turmoil times
Difficult times, like the independence and the revolution,
proved to be good periods for book “migration” to the
US
The French Case
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A Mexican doing research at the National
Library of France took back a Codex in the
1980’s
There was a diplomatic and international
media upheaval about who was the owner
This was a test case that motivated
government to create legislation to
preserve and claim back local materials
The Mexican government decided to keep
the codex in the country
Book Stealing: A Case
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A Latin American researcher spent years doing
research in Mexican libraries
Little by little he stole hundreds of books from
several libraries
The books were taken to his home country
Now these books lay on the shelves of the
special collections area of a foreign national
library
The collection proudly bears the name of the
researcher
Legal Framework
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First steps to create a legal framework for
materials preservation began in the 1960’s
Better and more detailed legislation was passed
in the 1970”s
States began passing local laws in the 1980’s
Several states still lack proper legislation
Chihuahua, my home state, passed the first law
to protect bibliographic materials until 1999
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History
is history unless we can correct it…
THANKS!