# CONABIP and Argentina's popular libraries: Libro% is a print-fair channel; the free route is a direct gift

Date: 2026-10-31 (skills harvest). Read live: conabip.gob.ar Libro% 2026 page; argentina.gob.ar news (22 Dec 2025). DigiBepé and pre-registration details from snippets.

## The facts
- **CONABIP** (Comisión Nacional de Bibliotecas Populares) runs the national network of *bibliotecas populares* (community-run libraries, e.g. Biblioteca Popular Richard Jones Berwyn in Gaiman, Agustín Álvarez in Trelew).
- **Programa Libro% 2026**: libraries pre-register (by 15 Mar 2026 for the 2026 list), get a purchase grant, and buy in person at FILBA on **8-10 May 2026** from a catalogue of publishers that **offer 50% off** to popular libraries; they then account for the grant via TAD. Correo Argentino gives special postage rates. Contact [address kept in the project workspace] A snippet shows pre-registration running "hasta el 5 de noviembre" (year not checked - probably the 2027 round).
- The 50% is the publisher's discount, consistent with Ley 25.542's carve-out for sales to libraries and public bodies (see the Ley 25.542 skill).
- **Donations happen at scale**: Penguin Random House gave 12,000+ books in Dec 2025, distributed via provincial delegates by Mar-Apr 2026, timed so libraries could judge needs before Libro% buying.
- **DigiBepé** is CONABIP's library management system (an adaptation of Koha) - it is cataloguing software, not an e-book lending platform. A popular library can add a catalogue record that points to a free online edition; there is no national e-book shelf to upload to (not found).

## What this means for a small foreign e-book publisher
- Libro% only pays for books bought on the FILBA floor from participating publishers: print stock, a FILBA presence and a 50% discount. That breaks never-pay and suits big print houses. Not our channel.
- The free, direct route is a **gift to specific popular libraries** in the Welsh valleys of Chubut: a free Spanish e-book licence/download for their readers and a printable teacher guide, plus a request that they catalogue it in DigiBepé with our link. That gives a library record without print or a stand.
- Popular libraries also run talks; they are the natural hosts for the fair talks (see the Comodoro/Trelew and Gaiman skills).

## Playbook (zero spend)
1. Short-list 5 popular libraries in Gaiman, Trelew, Dolavon, Rawson, Puerto Madryn (CONABIP "Buscador de bibliotecas").
2. Draft (not send) one Spanish email per library: a free download for readers, a 1-page reading guide, an offer of a remote talk; ask, without pressure, whether they would add a catalogue record with the link.
3. Give each library its own link (utm_source=bp-<town>, utm_medium=library) so use can be measured.
4. Kill rule: no reply from 3 of 5 in 60 days -> stop; any reply -> offer the talk.
5. Recheck Libro% only if a printed edition and a FILBA presence ever exist (owner decision).

## How we apply it to Cedwyn
- HubSpot draft tasks only (one per library), owner sends; nothing goes out from us.
- The free edition used is the existing free first edition; no discount codes needed, so the one-price rule is not touched.
- Public text never names the owner; no banned words; links to Cedwyn only.

## Sources
- conabip.gob.ar (read)
- argentina.gob.ar (read)
- conabip.gob.ar DigiBepé (snippet: Koha-based management system); CONABIP Libro% 2026 pre-registration posts (snippet)