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HUMANIST

Luis Valls and libraries

Luis Valls was a banker with a journalist’s calling who adored writing, compulsively read, and lived and worked among books. Only in the Beatriz Building, where the headquarters of Banco Popular were located, there were several libraries with thousands of volumes. In an article written by Valls himself 1, he explained the origin of his passion:

“By family tradition, I am a lover of history and books. That’s why I give away many of them. In the library, I have them organized by topics.” Indeed, he promoted culture significantly, especially reading. He lent hundreds of books on loan to students, knowing it was a way of gifting them. He gave away a enormous number of books. His favorite gift was always a book, a habit that several team members inherited.

Luis Valls’s Libraries

But let’s return to the libraries. In the Beatriz Building, there were several: one in the dining room, where he cherished hundreds of personally dedicated books. Two more were in his office. On the ninth floor, there was another. But it was not just any library: it was a room entirely lined with books from floor to ceiling.

Finally, in the “El varillas” room, a multipurpose space on the eighth floor where council lunches and results presentations were held over a number of years, there was another library. Part of it housed biographies. Incidentally, he had at least twenty biographies of Kennedy.

Promoter of Libraries

In addition to living with libraries, Luis Valls actively promoted libraries, making that activity a cornerstone of his initiatives with the foundations he supported. When he wanted to support residential colleges or youth clubs, his first step was to enhance their libraries. Aware that the first budget line to be cut was usually for books in financially struggling associations, he encouraged foundations to buy books and distribute them on loan to clubs or schools. He knew they might not be returned, but they would be read in the meantime. That was enough satisfaction for him.

Bibliography

(1) Article “Rise and Fall of Banking” (published by El País on October 9, 1990).

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