The Lafragua Collection of the National Library of Mexico: Organization and Current State

Abstract

The Lafragua Collection is one of the first special bibliographic sets incorporated into the National Library of Mexico collection as a legacy of its creator, José María Lafragua [1813-1875]; it arrived with two handwritten catalogues that unfold its richness as documentary heritage. In the second half of the 20th century, 75 % of the 1 580 miscellanies composing the corpus were organized. In 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the systematization of the unregistered part was resumed with an updated bibliographic perspective based on property marks and provenance identification, as well as legal preliminary and literary paratext registration. The Koha Integrated Library Management System was used remotely to incorporate the descriptions and analysis of the resources. Besides, the organization of the corpuses corresponding to the Viceregal period and the Modern period that exceeded José María Lafragua’s death date progressed. Currently, there are 19 191 records of bibliographical prints and manuscripts dating from 1575 to 1925, a sum of 350 years of written heritage produced in America, Europe, and Asia, coming mainly from Spain, the Philippines, and Mexico, compiled by José María Lafragua, and subsequently increased with copies from other collections of the National Library of Mexico.