Costa Press Club members advised to 'watch this space'

The title of the talk promised to Costa Press Club members this week was "The resurgence of the library in the digital age” and the venue was the new Centro Cultural Mirador del Carmen in Estepona - an interesting topic in a modern, sea-front high rise building, of which eight storeys are occupied by open-plan library spaces with magnificent views. To make the event even more engaging, the centre’s director, Estepona-born writer, poet and university lecturer Alejandro Simón had changed his schedule in order to give the group a guided tour and explain his personal vision of the function and future of libraries.

Introducing the visit, Aleksandra Broch, Head of Estepona’s tourism and foreign residents departments, put this cultural hub in context, explaining that while Estepona was already established as a major tourist resort, it had opted to differentiate itself in several ways, including the use of colour in the form of hundreds of plant pots and other floral decoration, and street art. It also aimed to provide cultural spaces and gave Alejandro Simón the opportunity to design a library in the heart of the traditional “barrio del Carmen”.

The guided tour of the building revealed light and airy spaces housing not only books, but various areas for study, relaxation, audio-recording, video games and workshops. One sign declared that the library was not a place to be silent, but also not a place to make noise, and it was clear that users were encouraged to use the facilities in different ways to suit themselves. Particularly noteworthy was the space for children, which offered a wigwam and a beehive of open, cushioned cubicles for curling up and reading. An auditorium where a pianist was practising with a view to the promenade and the sea, and an exhibition of work by ten leading Spanish exponents of Realism ended the tour.

José María Guerrero, the centre’s cultural advisor, then sat down with Alejandro Simón to discuss the function of a modern library. It has to be a democratic space, they agreed, where users have input and participate rather than just doing and reading what the directors decide they should do and read. And it must be a place of communication between people. To this end Estepona is organising several projects, including sessions based on books in the original language and in Spanish, starting with The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian writer Carlo Collodi.

Alejandro Simón, father of the project, once wrote that books “free our minds of fog” and says he still tells his students that when they get up in the morning, instead of grabbing their mobiles, they should read a poem.

Before the cocktail provided by the local restaurant Take a Wine, Neil Hesketh, Costa Press Club president, thanked all the Estepona representatives for a fascinating evening and added to everyone present: “Watch this space!” It is a space which its director intends to establish as one of the top five libraries in Spain.