Biblioteca de México "José Vasconcelos", Public library in Cuauhtémoc, Mexico.

The Biblioteca de México "José Vasconcelos" occupies La Ciudadela, a former tobacco factory and later military fortress on Plaza de la Ciudadela at Balderas Avenue. Its central patio, named for Octavio Paz in 2014, holds Jan Hendrix's helical sculpture "El cernidor", shaped like overlapping tobacco leaves. Around it are reading rooms and the personal libraries of five Mexican writers.

The Biblioteca de México opened on 27 November 1946 in the former La Ciudadela building, with José Vasconcelos as director until his death in 1959. María Teresa Chávez Campomanes led it until 1979 and introduced open-shelf access. After Abraham Zabludovsky's expansion it reopened on 21 November 1988 under Miguel de la Madrid; a further renovation from 2011, by the BGP firm, cost about 550 million pesos.

The building's central patio is named for Octavio Paz, whose large-format photographs were hung in its windows for his 2014 centenary. At its centre stands Jan Hendrix's spiral sculpture "El cernidor", representing overlapping tobacco leaves, a nod to the patio's original use for sifting tobacco leaf.

The library occupies La Ciudadela at Plaza de la Ciudadela 4, on the corner of Balderas Avenue, beside the Balderas metro station. The 2011 renovation by the BGP firm adapted different parts of the building to house the personal libraries of five writers. The children's room serves babies and children up to 13, including groups with disabilities, and lends toys.

At the exact centre of the Octavio Paz courtyard stands "El cernidor", a helical sculpture by Jan Hendrix depicting overlapping tobacco leaves. The artist chose that motif because the building originally served as a tobacco-leaf sifting space. The courtyard was named for Paz in 2014, the centenary of his birth, when large photographs of him were placed in its windows.