The Ministry of Culture announced on Mar. 18 that it has donated more than 1,000 books and inaugurated the first native library in the Loreto region through the National Library of Peru. The initiative aims to expand access to reading and knowledge for Amazonian communities.
The new library, named “Caurë”—which means páucar bird in the Ticuna language—was opened in Nueva Galilea, Mariscal Ramón Castilla province. The facility was designed and built with input from the local community and is shaped like a traditional maloca. It offers library services tailored to local needs, including materials in indigenous languages, computers, a multimedia area, audiobooks, and internet access.
Located next to Primary School No. 6010345 Nueva Galilea, the library is expected to support students and teachers by providing educational resources and encouraging reading habits from an early age. Local partners such as UGEL (Local Education Management Unit) and the Provincial Municipality of Ramón Castilla also supported this project. Nearby communities including Cahuide, San José de Yanayacu, and Cushillococha will benefit as well.
“This space has been thought out together with the community and for the community. We want it to be a place where children, young people, and families find in reading a tool to learn, imagine, and strengthen their identity,” said Juan Yangali Quintanilla, head of the National Library of Peru.
In addition to Nueva Galilea’s new library, the National Library donated 200 books—including works in Ticuna language as well as sensory books for early childhood—to Cushillococha in Caballococha district. In Belén district (Iquitos), another donation included a set of 150 books for Nuevo Campeón primary school featuring publications in indigenous languages alongside works by Peruvian authors César Vallejo and Alfredo Bryce Echenique.
The Ministry said these efforts reaffirm its commitment to promoting reading, equitable access to information, and appreciation for Peru’s linguistic and cultural diversity.
