This paper aims to show how sociological research on the literary fact can be used proactively. From a balance of literary translation between 1990 and 2000, COVALT (Valencian Corpus of Translated Literature) draws useful conclusions for translation studies, particularly for the sociology of translation, but also for any research into empirical aspects concerning the translating activity (in a professional environment), the teaching of translation (in a university environment) and the translation process. The integral management-exploitation of a corpus of translated literature is considered fundamental to the objective measurement of the results of translation acts.