Sala de Llevant - Biblioteca de Catalunya

The Library was founded in 1907 as the library of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans. It was opened to the public in 1914, in the time of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya, and was housed in the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya.

In 1914 the Mancomunitat de Catalunya converted the library of the IEC into a public cultural service. In its early days, the library was situated in an area of the Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona. In 1929, the Library was acquired by the city government of Barcelona. In 1931, the 15th century buildings formerly occupied by the Hospital de Santa Creu were declared a part of Spain's historical patrimony; and the municipality of Barcelona approved the cession of large portion of the site to the Biblioteca de Catalunya.