In recognition of International Library Day, which takes place annually on 24 October, the town hall of Alcázar de San Juan has launched the fourth edition of the 'biblioparada'. This established initiative promotes reading by converting urban bus shelters into direct and free lending points, aiming to decentralise cultural offerings and bring books closer to various neighbourhoods and residents, extending the municipal library's reach beyond its institutional walls.
Mayor Rosa Melchor, accompanied by the Councillor for Culture, Cristina Perea, visited one of the selected bus shelters located in front of the Mancha Centro University Hospital on Thursday morning. This location is part of a circuit that features between 70 and 100 volumes on various topics available to all passers-by and public transport users.
In this 2026 edition, residents can find books distributed at strategic stops throughout the city, including: Calle Goya (Cultural Centre), Cultural Bus (only in the afternoons, depending on the service's itinerant location), Senior Citizens' Centre, Avenida de la Constitución (in front of Mancha Centro Hospital), Barrio del Porvenir, and Plaza de España.
During the launch, Mayor Melchor expressed her satisfaction with the return of this initiative that encourages reading habits among the public: “The primary objective is to bring culture and books to the neighbourhoods, beyond the existing cultural spaces in Alcázar. It is great for people to visit the library, but for those who do not yet have the habit or wish to engage in this enjoyable form of leisure that stimulates the mind and fosters creativity, the bus shelters are the ideal place.”
Melchor also highlighted the flexibility of this exchange system, through which “anyone can pick up a book, read it at their leisure without set deadlines, return it to the bus shelter for another neighbour to enjoy, or take it to the library.”
The reactivation of the biblioparada is part of a broader municipal programme aimed at promoting reading, which has featured the Cultural Bus or Bibliobús as a key element throughout the week. This itinerant resource has travelled to various points and neighbourhoods of the municipality, with a programme that included a stop near Plaza de España on Tuesday, 20 October, where students from the Alcázar de San Juan Professional Conservatory of Music performed a live flute concert.
