The longing to achieve their prime purpose to which they were elected by the people, leads lawmakers from both Bodies –the House of Representatives and the Senate – to provide their committees with different resources and sources of information, useful for their legislative work. Small growing numbers of libraries were, thus, created, which when unified, resulted in the creation of the Library of the Legislature.

The first attempt to collect such funds dates from December 16th, 1900, made by Mr. Dr. Mariano H. de la Riestra, the President of the House of Representatives; however, it was just in 1919, by means of a Bill introduced by Representative Roberto Parry, when such an idea would come true. A year later, that Bill was also passed on by the Senate. Therefore, it is June 15th, 1920 the date considered as the foundation of the Library. It is worth mentioning lawmakers’ thought is reflected in this Act whose nature is to create a State Library available to the people.

The Library technical and administrative matters were in charge of a two-chamber committee, made up by both Representatives and Senators, so that it would state the regulations necessary to create a body efficient enough as a source.

This review highlights the historical main features of this Library, which becomes available to the people in 1941.

The Library provides sundry services whose main mission is to serve Lawmakers and the public. Its staff, made by about 60 employees, develops the following services and work:

1.- This office provides with service of auxiliary information and other sources related to the specific work of the Lawmakers and their Committees.

2.- It also gives such information to Governmental institutions, the Judiciary, State’s Attorney’s Office, General Government Advisor’s Office, as well as other institutions at Provincial and National level.

3. It provides its services to any individuals.

Sector of Bill processing: It processes:

Formalities, file Nº and letter, filing date, author, initial body (either House or Senate), committee of destination and legislative procedure in both chambers, if appropriated Act or veto nº.

Sector of Laws/Acts processings: It processes:

Amedments, enactment, and publication, subjects, numbers.

At present, Laws from number 1 to 13897 are in paper storage. In magnetic device 4,000 texts are stored, since Law 10129 – the first Act under Democracy- to the present. Some other texts dated before said period, enforced which are usually required are also under this backup system. This material is constantly updated and a growing number of texts are regularly being incorporated.

Official Bulletins from the Nation and the Province of Buenos Aires, Executive Orders, Session Statements of the House and the Senate, as well as subjects filed, are daily received.

Documental bibliographic material is catalogued, classified and processed.

It is in charge of University Licensee Librarians.

Advice, research of, and reference to legal source, based on well-known publications about jurisprudence and constitutional matters as well as on legal and social sciences are provided. Such activities are performed at request of lawmakers, advisors, legislative committees, and the public.

There are about 40,000 volumes of different subjects, mainly legal matters; such material is available to be lent to both indoors and outdoors readers.

Such readers are registered. They may look up these books in the reading room, and which are lent, as well. Files classified by subject and author my also be looked up personally.

This sector is in charge of selecting and obtaining documents for the Library; the methods to reach this purpose may be by donations, exchange, or purchase. Having achieved any of these, the material is filed and distributed later on to the relevant office. Besides, this office is responsible of coordinating the material of the whole Library in need to be bound, that is, both to bind booklets as well as to restore any books in bad condition.

In order to maintain and provide reader with appropriate material, necessary procedures of material out-taking have been agreed.

In this office national morning newspapers, opened collections, are daily received, such as Clarín, La Nación, Página 12, La Prensa, Crítica, Ámbito Financiero and El Cronista. Among the latest subscriptions there are Perfil, magazines such as, Caras y Caretas; and some publications from Hogar de la Madre Tres Veces Admirable del Padre Cajade La Pulseada (a welfare NGO).

From the city of La Plata, the newspapers El Día, Hoy and Diagonales are received.

This office has also a close collection of newspapers fron the 19th Century: El Argentino, Democracia, La Vanguardia, La Razón, La Época, El Pueblo, El Tribuno,Buenos Aires, El Mercurio, La Mañana, La Crónica, El Demócrata, El Orden, El Nacional, La Pampa, El Progreso, La Libertad, La Revista Comercial y Administrativa, El Río de La Plata, El Siglo, Tribuna, La Tribuna, El Pueblo Argentino, Registro Gubernamental, Los Intereses Argentinos, Tribuna Alemana, El Porvenir Argentino, La Verdad, El Diario del Pueblo, El Plata. It also has a facsímile edition from 1910, of la Gazeta de Buenos Ayres by Mariano Moreno; written reports at local, provincial, and national level, about different subject, mostly national and provincial Statement and Messages from different governmental administrations, census and statistics, publications from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (National University of La Plata), which are constantly updated.

This material can only be look up in the reading room of this Library.

Here, all the legislative files of bills which have not been passed arrive. Lawmakers and employees of both the House and the Senate look up this information.

All the material the Library considers necessary to have in an alternative storage device so as to preserve it as our patrimony reaches this office, for example, newspapers.

The officers have this service available for any material to be translated from English into Spanish and vice-versa.

This office, recently organised to preserve and keep the material which exists in the Library, is in charge of qualified staff to do such task, together with the Library staff

The staff has been trained, by means of courses on preservation, maintenance and cleaning of books. These courses have been given by FADAM (a NGO) Fundación Argentina de Asociaciones Amigos de Museos. And Fondo Antiguo de la Compañía de Jesús en la Argentina.

"Preservation and restoration of antique material requires skilful hands and a lot of intelligence and attention in order to make the decision and perform the most appropriate intervention, as being this a source of memory and a boost to go on writing the history.”