HAVANA – The José María Heredia Personal Collection, held by the José Martí National Library of Cuba (BNCJM), has been formally nominated for inclusion in UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme.

As reported in a note from the National Library published by La Jiribilla, the collection is currently being considered for inscription as a National Memory in the program's first phase. This UNESCO initiative aims to facilitate the "preservation of and access to the world's most significant documentary heritage."

The effort to prepare the nomination began several years ago through the collaborative work of Nancy Machado, librarian and deputy director of the BNCJM, and Onoria Céspedes, a leading promoter of Heredia's work in Cuba and abroad. They were joined by the library's manuscript specialists at the time, Carlos Valenciaga and José Antonio Doll. The final nomination dossier was compiled through the work of Yaremis Pérez Dueñas, head of publications for Ediciones Bachiller, with the support of Valenciaga, contributions on conservation from restorer Osdiel Ramírez, and advisory input from Zohania Suárez, head of the institution's International Relations office.

The Heredia Collection is a comprehensive archive of the famed poet and patriot's life and work. It is housed within the Cuban Collection's Manuscripts Area and contains approximately 28 volumes, 184 documents, and 1,475 manuscripts. These items include notes, lists, passports, legal powers, official acts, and the catalogue of Heredia's personal library in Mexico. The collection also boasts original manuscripts, extensive correspondence, and a significant portion of his poetic, journalistic, political, pedagogical, cultural, historiographic, and legal writings. This makes it one of the most complete documentary treasuries on the writer's life, both in Cuba and worldwide.

These valuable documents are available for consultation by researchers, students, and specialists interested in the writer's life and work in the library's Sala Cubana (Cuban Room). The collection is also accessible through the BNCJM's Integrated Library Management System.

Other collections from the National Library have previously been inscribed in the Memory of the World Programme, including those of poets Julián del Casal and Dulce María Loynaz, the Tarifa general de precios de medicinas (General Price List of Medicines), and the letters of El Padre de la Patria, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, which were part of a nomination submitted by the National Archive and other institutions.

Further collections under consideration for future nomination include the José Lezama Lima Archive from the Manuscripts department and the José Gómez de la Carrera Collection from the Photographic Archive.