Since the first days of December, A Line users have been getting on or off the subway at the station Plaza de Mayo They can borrow books on the platform, at The first BiblioSubte of the city’s public library network. As expected by the Buenos Aires government, it is the first in a series of six libraries that will be opened until 2027.
The BiblioSubte on line A is designed to bring reading closer to travel times (and other times too, since these are monthly loans), and it contains A catalog of two hundred titles for readers of all ages.
There are classics, bestsellers and new publications by authors such as María Elena Walsh, Han Kang, Mario Vargas Llosa, Agatha Christie, Mariana Enriquez, Haroldo Conte, Agostina Bazterica, Gabriel Rolón, Louisa May Alcott, Ernesto Sabato, Florencia Canale, John Grisham, and Martin Caparros. LA NACION has learned that the Buenos Aires government has received book donations from some publishers.
Passengers will be able to borrow books Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. To do this, it is enough to be a member of the city’s public library network. The procedure is very simple and is virtual: once you complete the form, you receive a confirmation email to start using the library services.
Members of the city’s public library network will be able to consult and check out up to three books per monthavailable through Central Catalog. Copies can be returned through the mailbox provided in the same BiblioSubte. Currently, a librarian has not been hired, but students and interns from the Library Science degree program have been hired.
The BiblioSubte was opened this Tuesday afternoon, in the presence of the Minister of Culture of the City of Buenos Aires, Gabriela Ricardes; Undersecretary of Cultural Administration, Alejandra Cuevas; President of Subterráneos de Buenos Aires, Javier Ibañez, and General Director of Book Promotion, Libraries and Culture, Javier Martinez.
“Adding readers, bringing books closer to people, Generating more love for reading in our city of books -Ricardes tells LA NACION newspaper-. This is what guides us, from the launch of the Jorge Luis Borges Digital Library to this initiative to add underground libraries. Because reading is more than just a literary experience: when you open a book, you open a new life and adventure. And nothing makes us happier with the city government than to see people holding a book in their hands. This is a new landmark of our city’s culture: the first public lending library within the Buenos Aires metro network, a free and accessible reading space designed to accompany thousands of residents on their daily journeys. In this simple and close way we add more reading and more reading to daily life, which is part of our DNA in Buenos Aires.
“Libraries today are where people are,” Martinez said at the opening ceremony. BiblioSubte was born from the idea of the movement of books and culture: at a stop, in the midst of the rush, as a possibility of stopping. “We want reading to be as accessible and everyday as riding the subway: simple, common, and part of our routine.”
Another activity to encourage reading that has already been implemented on the metro network in 2025 is the “Readers’ Cart”, an invitation promoted by the metro network. com. booktuber Cecilia Bona, and book editions.