Benalmádena's longest-serving librarian retires after 46 years of 'making people happy'

Mari Carmen Martín Lara, who started in the 1980s in a room that contained only a few books, is now retiring and leaving as a legacy facilities with more than a thousand visitors every day

Lorena Cádiz

Benalmádena

Thursday, 27 March 2025, 07:36

Mari Carmen Martín Lara has been the librarian in Benalmádena's Arroyo de la Miel neighbourhood since before there was a proper library building. Now, after 46 years of service and "making people happy", she is retiring, leaving behind her legacy and love for books.

She started as a volunteer while they were still setting up the first library room in town. Barely 18 years old at the time, she was studying to be a teacher. Shortly after starting as a volunteer, she was offered a contract and the rest is history.

Mari Carmen has walked as a librarian from that first room, which was built in the place of the old public schools, through the new building of the Casa de la Cultura, to the one next to the Paloma park.

This building was born to "revolutionise" the library world in Malaga and Andalucía - an initiative which is still alive and successful despite the decline in book lending. Through the years, Mari Carmen has adapted to the ever-changing state of the service.

"I have been very lucky professionally and I feel very happy. I have seen almost all my professional objectives fulfilled in one of the noblest and most beautiful jobs that exist, because if working for culture is pleasant, working among books is even more so," said Mari Carmen.

"We librarians are intermediaries who make people happy and few people in Benalmádena have had the chance to serve as many citizens as I have, which makes me very proud," she said. However, Mari Carmen believes she was so good at what she was doing thanks to the support of her colleagues, family, children and, of course, her husband, who was there for her as she was balancing family life and three degrees (Teaching, Library Science and History). In addition, Mari Carmen has carried out a lot of research work, published a few books and attended numerous conferences.

Born and raised in Benalmádena, she knew practically everyone who came through the door. "I'd see them come in and I'd take out the card. I knew what books they had been reading. What's more, if someone asked for a book and it wasn't there, I knew who had it and if they didn't return it on time, I would go to their house and tell them to return it," she said.

For Benalmádena residents, she is still that girl that would spend the day reading.

A library that keeps advancing

When the Paloma building was erected, the library world and local culture took a giant step forward. For the first time, Benalmádena had a space with a children's and young people's room, a newspaper and periodicals library, a media library, a reading area for the press, a place to display local collections, and a large section of books in several languages, among other things.

In 2008, the entire library team underwent a change, which completely transformed the concept of the library. The focus shifted from silence to socialisation, with the library becoming a place for gathering. "We never stop organising activities of all kinds and for all audiences. Many public forums have been lost over time, but there is still one here - here, the word takes over," said Mari Carmen.

The library has recently undergone a refurbishment, with the creation of a study room isolated from the rest of the building in a way that guarantees silence. The rest of the space has also been renovated, constantly adapting to the modern and the traditional needs of library visitors.

Mari Carmen Martín Lara might be taking a back seat, but she will surely watch and celebrate the history that this cultural centre still has to write.

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