THE AMERICAS' FIRST ACADEMIC LIBRARY

Deniria Cornejo: This is Getting Good

This volume contains a collection of essays providing a detailed landscape of the first institutions dedicated to the preservation of books in the Americas, thought of as a means to secure the success of the natives’ conversion to Catholicism and acculturation into the Spanish way of life. As author W. Michael Mathes says in the introduction, “the printed book, much less costly to produce in quantity than manuscripts, allowed for the rapid and increasingly widespread growth of literacy, and along with it, education” (1). According to Mathes, libraries were the foundation for the great intellectual change that started in Europe during the XVI century (1).

The Spaniards, who were assigned to carry out the literacy enterprise, made a strong emphasis on linguistics and catechism. They mostly used graphics, ceremonies and fiestas as an efficient (and fun) method of instruction. At the beginning of the XVI century, the children of native leaders and officials received classes of reading and writing. Some scholars, like Bishop Juan de Zumárraga, envisioned ideal acculturation through the ordination of a native priesthood educated at a special seminary for outstanding descendants of caciques (7).

To develop the project of acculturation and education, many institutions were built in the New World. For example, the Colegio Imperial de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco and its library, which are explored in depth in the second chapter of Mathes’s book, were two of the well known spaces that offered the necessary didactic conditions fulfilling the Spaniards’ plan for “teaching” the natives. Tlatelolco was the site selected for the construction of the new seminary and other educational facilities. Permanent buildings were raised to protect books from humidity. The Colegio became the main center for research in native culture and linguistics. Yet, as Mathes affirms, the prohibition of the ordination of Indian Clergy eliminated the original function of the Colegio (18). Censorship and regulation of books created burdens upon the students by limiting the library (20).

The next chapter of the book refers to the Colegio of Ethnographic and Linguistic research. The continuous processes of repair and expansion of the institution are mentioned, as well as the belief that censorship caused the withdrawal of many important volumes from the library, creating an atmosphere of caution in relation to owning books while complicating their acquisition (33). However, the shipments of books continued to arrive in the New Spain with every fleet. Mathes uses two appendices as concluding materials for his book. The first of them presents an exhaustive record of contents of the Santiago Tlatelolco library from 1535 to 1600. The second appendix holds the Mexican imprints housed in it.

Bibliography

Mathes, W. Michael. The Americas' First Academic Library: Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco. Sacramento: California State Library Foundation, 1985.