Institució Francesc de Borja Moll

The Institució Francesc de Borja Moll (IFBM), also known as the Institució Moll, is a private, non-profit cultural association based in Palma de Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands of Spain. It was constituted on 11 December 2015 with the mission of promoting the figure and work of the Menorcan philologist and linguist Francesc de Borja Moll i Casasnovas, ensuring the continuity of the Editorial Moll publishing house founded in 1934, and acting as protector of the Diccionari català-valencià-balear (DCVB), the monumental Catalan-Valencian-Balearic dictionary. The association emerged in response to the liquidation of Editorial Moll, which had announced its definitive closure in October 2014 after three years of payment suspension and 80 years of activity. By acquiring the Editorial Moll trademark and its assets — including a stock of 350,000 books, a catalogue of more than 1,200 titles, the Llibres Mallorca brand, author rights and decades of business records — the IFBM prevented the destruction of a cultural patrimony of extraordinary value for Mallorca, the Balearic Islands and the Catalan language as a whole. The Institució operates on two main axes: cultural promotion and editorial activity. On the cultural side, it disseminates the life and work of Francesc de B. Moll through the creation of content, the gathering of written and audiovisual material related to the linguist, and the organisation of cultural activities for all audiences. On the editorial side, it continues the work of Editorial Moll, notably the expansion and improvement of the DCVB, the reissue and publication of the Aplec de Rondalles Mallorquines, and the continuation of its critical edition. It also promotes reissues of other books from the acquired catalogue, such as the Complete Works of Francesc de B. Moll, of his master Antoni Maria Alcover, and of the poet Gabriel Alomar. The IFBM is a self-financed private institution whose capital comes exclusively from its members. It has two types of members: founding members (socios fundadores), who contributed a minimum of 500 euros between the entity's birth and December 2016 and who have decision-making weight, and collaborating members (socios colaboradores), who contribute 10 euros per month. At the time of its founding, the association counted around 50 founding members and some 60 collaborating members. The board is presided over by the Catalan economist Francesc Homs i Ferret, former Minister of Economy and Finance of the Generalitat de Catalunya between 2001 and 2003. The vice-president is the philologist Isidor Marí Mayans, the secretary is the cultural promoter Antoni Mir i Fullana, the member (vocal) is the historian Miquel-Àngel Casasnovas, and the treasurer is the politician and writer Miquel Àngel Llauger. The Institució was presented publicly on 3 February 2015 at the Gran Hotel de Palma, and in the following months in the other islands of the Balearic archipelago: on 4 March in Ciutadella, the birthplace of Francesc de B. Moll, and on 8 and 9 April in Ibiza and Formentera respectively. One of its flagship current projects is the digitalisation of the DCVB, aiming to make the dictionary a modern and useful tool: 150,963 entries are to be marked and digitalised, and 3,500,000 index cards will be made consultable. The association's motto, drawn from a Latin proverb, is "Les aigües molles foraden les roques dures" (Soft waters pierce hard rocks), reflecting its patient, persistent commitment to preserving Catalan linguistic heritage.

The Institució Francesc de Borja Moll (IFBM) was constituted on 11 December 2015 in Palma de Mallorca, with its headquarters in the city. It was born out of a crisis: in October 2014, the Editorial Moll publishing house — founded in 1934 and a reference publisher for works in Catalan for 80 years — announced its definitive closure after three years of payment suspension. The closure threatened the physical destruction of its stock and the dispersion of its catalogue, which included the Rondalles Mallorquines, the Cançoner Popular de Mallorca and the Diccionari Alcover-Moll. Mallorca, the Balearic Islands and the Catalan language as a whole were about to lose an extraordinary and irreplaceable cultural patrimony. The new association was created with the purpose of acquiring the Editorial Moll trademark and all its assets: the complete stock of 350,000 books, the catalogue of more than 1,200 titles, the Llibres Mallorca brand, all author rights, and the economic history with billing and contracts of more than 50 years of business life. This allowed Editorial Moll to continue its activity under a new legal personality. The IFBM was established as a private, self-financed institution, implying that its capital comes exclusively from its members. It was presented publicly on 3 February 2015 at the Gran Hotel de Palma, and in the following months in the rest of the Balearic archipelago: on 4 March in Ciutadella, the birthplace of Francesc de B. Moll, and on 8 and 9 April in Ibiza and Formentera respectively. After saving Editorial Moll, the first books it published were the sold-out volumes of the Rondaies Mallorquines, starting with Sant Jordi in 2016, continuing the tradition of the Editorial's presence at the Sant Jordi book festival. The IFBM's activity is structured in two main areas: cultural promotion and editorial activity. On the cultural axis, it disseminates the life and work of Francesc de B. Moll through the creation of multiple contents, the gathering of all existing written and audiovisual material related to the Menorcan linguist, and the organisation of cultural activities for all audiences. On the editorial axis, it continues the work of Editorial Moll, notably the expansion and improvement of the monumental Diccionari català-valencià-balear (DCVB), the reissue and publication of the Aplec de Rondalles Mallorquines and the continuation of its critical edition, as well as reissues of other books from the acquired catalogue, such as the Complete Works of Francesc de B. Moll, of his master Antoni Maria Alcover, and of the poet Gabriel Alomar. One of its flagship current projects is the digitalisation of the DCVB, aiming to make it a modern and useful tool. The project involves marking and digitalising 150,963 entries and making 3,500,000 index cards consultable. The association is governed by a board presided over by Francesc Homs i Ferret, with Isidor Marí Mayans as vice-president, Antoni Mir i Fullana as secretary, Miquel-Àngel Casasnovas as board member, and Miquel Àngel Llauger as treasurer. Its financing model relies on founding members (who contributed at least 500 euros between the entity's birth and December 2016) and collaborating members (who contribute 10 euros per month). At the time of its founding, it counted around 50 founding members and some 60 collaborating members.

• Editorial Moll founded

• Editorial Moll announces definitive closure after 80 years

• Institució Francesc de Borja Moll presented publicly at Gran Hotel de Palma

• Presentation in Ciutadella, birthplace of Francesc de B. Moll

• Presentation in Ibiza

• Presentation in Formentera

• Institució Francesc de Borja Moll formally constituted

• First reissues of sold-out Rondaies Mallorquines volumes published, starting with Sant Jordi

A private, self-financed cultural association and protectorate of Catalan linguistic heritage, continuing the Editorial Moll legacy and the DCVB dictionary.

• Diccionari català-valencià-balear (DCVB)

  Monumental Catalan-Valencian-Balearic dictionary, the IFBM acts as its protectorate and is digitalising it.

• Aplec de Rondalles Mallorquines

  Collection of Mallorcan folk tales, reissued and published with a critical edition by the IFBM.

• Cançoner Popular de Mallorca

  Collection of Mallorcan popular songs from the Editorial Moll catalogue.

• Obres Completes de Francesc de B. Moll

  Complete works of the linguist, reissued by the IFBM.

• Biblioteca Raixa

  One of the emblematic collections of Editorial Moll.

• Biblioteca Bàsica de Mallorca

  One of the emblematic collections of Editorial Moll.

• Les Illes d'Or

  One of the emblematic collections of Editorial Moll.

• Els Treballs i els Dies

  One of the emblematic collections of Editorial Moll.

• Balenguera

  One of the emblematic collections of Editorial Moll.

1. 1Institució Francesc de B. Moll – official websiteinstituciomoll.cat
2. 2La Institució Moll – Institució Francesc de B. Mollinstituciomoll.cat
3. 3Institució Francesc de Borja Moll – Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Institució Francesc de Borja Moll – Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org