Academia General Militar.

The Academia General Militar (AGM) has two dependencies: the General Library and the Historical Library. The former houses funds for the use of students, teachers and any other personnel with a relationship with the AGM, whereas the latter guards former documentation to 1970 being its main function the research and display of its funds.

The history of both AGM libraries runs along three epochs: Toledo (1882-1893) and Zaragoza, split up into two periods: first as a Transformation Infantry Academy (1941-1943) and then as AGM (from 1942 to the present), although the antecedents of all of them go back to 1654 (at the General School of Battle or School of Flanders).

Historical Library of the Academia General Militar

Currently, the General Library has laid the bases to work under the new law of the Military Education, implemented since 2010. This new legal aspect is shaped around the European space of higher education, reflected in the Agreements of Bologna, which affects both the University and the Military Academies of the three Armies.

General Library

The General Library houses a collection of 30,000 volumes on diverse subjects, focusing primarily on teaching. It also includes a remarkable collection dedicated to Military History . This library attempts to support both the officer cadets’ technical and humanistic formation as a benchmark for them to complete the information received in class.

Besides, this library has twelve seats for accessing and searching the Internet and the Intranet of the Ministry of Defense, either directly via PC, physically installed, or with the student’s own personal computers through free wifi.

General Library of the Academia General Militar

It has a reprography service in the library itself, with a self-service copying machine, computers with internet access, for consultation of databases or catalogs of virtual libraries.

Historical Library

The Historical Library is mainly engaged in research. It contains about 20,000 volumes from the 17th to the 20th century.

Definitely, one never ceases to be surprised by the funds preserved in this dependence as the condition of the vast majority of these books is perfect and immune to the passage of the centuries. The oldest book kept in the Library, " República y policía cristiana para reyes y príncipes y para los que en el gobierno tienen sus vezes ", (treaty of good manners), was written by Fray Juan de Santa María, and printed in Lisbon in the year 1621.

Historical Library of the Academia General Militar

Another book that is highly appreciated at the AGM is "El perfecto oficial, bombardero y artillero ", which contains the artifices of the martial fires, the new use of bombs and grenades, and artillery and musket practice......., written by Don Sebastián Fernández de Medrano, it was published in Brussels in 1699. It is highly valued, as the author was the Director General of the Battle School of the Netherlands, a forerunner of the current AGM.

With respect to the art of war, there is a magnificent 16-volume collection by Jomini. "Histoire et critique militaire des guerres de révolution ", from 1819, or an "Atlas pour l’histoire critique and militaire des guerres de la révolution" dated around 1798