The Fundació Josep Pla was founded in 1973 when the author decided to donate his personal library and created the Fundació Privada Biblioteca Josep Pla, run by patrons who deal with its conservation and facilitate access for the interested public.

However, it was not until 1990 that the statutes drawn up by the Acta Fundacional were passed. In April 1992, Generalitat de Catalunya (Parliament of Catalonia), la Diputació de Girona (Girona City Council), the Consell Comarcal del Baix Empordà (Baix Empordà County Council) and the Ajuntament de Palafrugell (Palafrugell Town Council) committed themselves to collaborate economically so that the statute's goals could be acheived; that is to promote, motivate and facilitate the reading and the studying of Josep Pla's literary and journalistic work.