n exhibition at the National Library shows book censorship in modern Spain

This exhibition offers a journey in which there are books that have been banned, lost, burned, hidden, expurgated or containing censored contents. From the first book banned in Paris in 1544, to its abolition as a measure of control. All these productions allow us to reflect on the impact of censorship on the bibliographic heritage of European culture and intellectual history.

The exhibition starts with a part entitled “Malos libros” [Bad Books], and then continues on to two sections entitled “En la oficina del censor. Los índices de libros prohibidos y expurgados” [In the Censor's Office. Index of Burnt and Expurgated Books] and “Libros castigados. El impacto de la censura en la cultura hispánica” [Punished Books. The impact of censorship on Hispanic culture]. After that comes an interlude on "Donoso escrutinio de los libros de Don Quijote" [Gentle Scrutiny of Don Quijote's Books] and an epilogue on "Hacia la libertad de imprenta" [Towards the Freedom of Printing].

Throughout the exhibition, emphasis is placed on book censorship as a way of limiting and eradicating the different political and religious options of the society of the time, and it is shown as a tool of individual and social control that creates a lack of freedom of expression.

The exhibition was created within the framework of the project “Censura, expurgació i lectura a la primera era de la impremta. Els índexs de llibres prohibits i el seu impacte al patrimoni textual (PdC2022-133136-I00)” [Censorship, expurgation and reading in the first era of printing. The indexes of banned books and their impact on textual heritage (PdC2022-133136-I00)] with the financial support of the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation and the agreement signed between the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the National Library of Spain.