Library Map of the World

COPROBI is a professional association recognized nationally and internationally consisting of groups of responsible and committed librarians to provide society with greater and better opportunities to access sources, resources and information services. There are around 1,500 members from different types of libraries.

The National Library is responsible for collecting and conserving the national bibliographic heritage. It is the depositary institution of three copies of every publication made in the country (according to Printing Law and Law of Copyright and Related Rights).

The Ministry is responsible for the National Library and Public Libraries System. Through its  Directorate of the Library System (SINABI) is the governing body of the regulations and administrative and regulatory provisions for public libraries and the National Library. The SINABI is organized in the National Directorate of SINABI, Headquarters of the National Library and Headquarters of Public Libraries (67 public libraries).

The Ministry issues policies on school libraries in Costa Rica through the Department of School Libraries, which designs programs, plans,  and regulations to be applied in all Costa Rican school libraries. Within the 2015-2018 National Development Plan proposed as a Public Policy, provisions were established for the modernization and financing of libraries of educational sector, seeking the transformation of libraries and resource centers for learning (BIBLIOCRA) and the incorporation of technologies in the educational libraries. At the moment, 40% of the educational libraries became BIBLIOCRA.

SINABI is a network of libraries spread throughout the country, consisting of the National Library and the Network of Public Libraries; it also has a Portal (www.sinabi.go.cr) and a Bibliobus. The SINABI is organized in the National Directorate of SINABI, Headquarters of the National Library and Headquarters of Public Libraries (67 public libraries). SINABI also administers the ISBN National Agency and the ISSN National Agency.
It establish policies, programs, projects and actions aimed at the development of the National Library System that promote education, research, recreation and national culture for the efficient provision of services.

This document sets out the relevant rules, at ministerial level, to encourage the reading process at national level. In addition, it enhances language skills and makes it possible to strengthen the development of writing in the student community.    

The plan establishes objectives, strategies and financing models for  development and  modernisation of libraries of the educational sector (transforming libraries into resource centres for learning).

The National System of Libraries is created by decree N° 23382-C, constituted by the General Direction of the SINABI, the National Library Miguel Obregón and the Direction of Public Libraries with 57 official and semi-official public libraries.  This network of libraries is distributed in the seven provinces of the country.

According to law, documentary materials, published or produced in Costa Rica, and those published or produced abroad, related to Costa Rica or written by Costa Ricans, must be deposited in the National Library.
In compliance with the regulations those materials are: Books, brochures, and all types of documents published or produced in printed or electronic format, new editions or all publications, and reprints with any change in content or presentation; Periodic or continuous publications: magazines, newspapers, yearbooks, reports, journals, newsletters, in printed or electronic form; Graduate and postgraduate thesis in electronic format; Folding and printed sheets for historical, cultural and educational dissemination; Sheet music; Photographs; Posters, cultural, historical, and educational postcards; Maps, atlases, marina, aeronautical and celestial maps; Audio documents (CD, audio etc.); Audio-visual documents (DVD, etc.); Calendars, almanacs with educational, cultural and historical topics; Documents produced  in electronic format for educational, cultural, historical purposes; and other materials.
The National Library collects, preserves, and disseminates the Costa Rican documentary heritage. The Legal Deposit is the legal mechanism through which the National Library acquires the Costa Rican national documentary heritage, in order to organise it, to guarantee its preservation and conservation, and to facilitate access to information for current and future generations. The material is available both in person and online to all types of users, especially to researchers.

Costa Rican libraries can lend, copy and preserve their documentary collection for academic and informative purposes; this is according to the Law about creation of libraries in the country (Ley de creación de las Bibliotecas del país).
Libraries do not have the power to pay for the use of works; except for the subscription of periodicals.
The Copyright Law doesn’t include digital use in library services. It is not established in the Law 6683 to make and share accessible format copies of works for people with print disabilities. An amendment to the Law 6683 that includes free access to digital formats is urgently needed. At the moment, there is no project to amend the Law 6683.

The position of librarian in Costa Rica requires at least a bachelor’s degree from university. Three public and one private university offer the librarianship education. In the labour market, both in the public and private sectors, it is required to have at least the bachelor’s degree. Generally, librarians are trained in bachelor or master level degree; the wage will be different based on the level of the academic degree. Also, to work in the profession, librarians must register at the Costa Rican Association of Librarians, COPROBI (Colegio de Profesionales en Bibliotecología de Costa Rica), which is the body that oversees the legal practice of the profession in Costa Rica.

The Costa Rican librarianship training is in the hands of three public universities: The University of Costa Rica (Universidad de Costa Rica), the National University (Universidad Nacional), and the State Distance University (La Universidad Estatal a Distancia). There is also the Autonomous University of Central America (Universidad Autónoma de Centro América, which is private. These four universities offer different aspects of librarianship: Library Science and Information Science with emphasis on school libraries; Library and Documentation; Librarianship and Information and Communication Technologies with emphasis on school libraries and resource centres for learning. The private university offers it at the bachelor level. The preparation of librarians in Costa Rica is at the excellent level, given that the academic offer fits the labour and educational requirements demanded by the Costa Rican society.

e-Information Sciences is a free, open-access scientific-academic electronic journal which belongs to the School of Librarianship and Information Sciences of the University of Costa Rica. Its objective is to disseminate research in the different disciplines related to the information sciences: librarianship, documentation, information and communication technology, research, statistical analysis and bibliometrics, archives, and information systems. Its target audience is researchers, undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students, professionals in the area of information sciences as well as the general public interested in related topics.

Libraries Magazine is an academic journal of the School of Librarianship, Documentation and Information of the National University of Costa Rica. Its main objective is the dissemination of scientific knowledge resulting from research carried out by professionals in librarianship, documentation, information and related subjects. The journal is published every six months in the following periods: January – June, and July – December, with the methodology of continuous publication. The articles are received throughout the year, as well as editorial efforts for publication. It is aimed at professionals in the areas of librarianships, teachers, practicing librarians and students in training.

Every year in September, Costa Rican Association of Librarians (COPROBI) is organising the days of professional training for its members. In this event, specialists, both national and international, are getting acquainted with latest updates in various important professional topics. The event usually is two days long during which various lectures, conferences, workshops, seminars and exhibitions of successful projects are presented.