RiodeJaneiro'slibraries

There is no city with an active literary life without great libraries. With Rio de Janeiro, even amid difficulties, it was no different. Despite being home to the Biblioteca Nacional - the largest in the country - the city has suffered and still suffers from a scarcity of this kind of space for reading and safeguarding Rio's and Brazil's editorial and intellectual history. Either way, it was through public and private libraries that a literary heritage was built, one that has become increasingly accessible to contemporary researchers, thanks to the technological means that preserve old periodical publications and first editions.

Still in the first half of the 19th century, some private libraries became famous. The more than 6,000 volumes of Antônio de Azevedo de Araújo, the Count of Barca; the more than 1,500 volumes of Francisco de Melo Franco; or the 5,000 rare volumes of José Bonifácio de Andrada were impressive in quantity, but they had in common the complete absence of books by Brazilian authors or dedicated to the country. With the advancement of the Brazilian publishing market, this reality was gradually changed.

Having been the seat of the Viceroyalty of Portugal from 1808 onward, Brazil's official library has its origins in the work carried out by the Portuguese court and the Marquis of Pombal during the rebuilding of the Royal Library, following the violent earthquake that struck Lisbon in November 1755. It was this library of European origin that arrived in Brazil in fragmented form and was temporarily housed in the back of the Hospital da Ordem Terceira do Carmo between 1810 and 1811. The official founding of the National Library took place on October 29, 1810, and it was opened to the general public in 1814.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of a monumental building. On the left side, we see a panel with some partially visible letters. In the center, there is a large palace with classical architecture, characterized by columns, arches, and decorative windows. In front of the building, there is a staircase with a balustrade and lamps along the sides. In the foreground, there is a bench and a sign with the inscription "FANG ROYAL." To the left of the palace, we see a small group of people walking. On the right, there is a person walking alone, holding an umbrella. The sky is clear and the horizon shows a distant mountain.

Throughout the imperial period, the institution had different addresses, with number 60 Rua do Passeio being one of the longest-lasting. Only in 1905, during the presidency of Rodrigues Alves and with Pereira Passos as mayor of the republic's capital, was the cornerstone of the permanent building laid, on Avenida Central – present-day Rio Branco. In 1910, the building opened its doors to the public.

Other spaces important to the world of books existed in the city and served as a refuge for writers and researchers in general. The Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro (IHGB), created in 1838, was one of the spaces in which research and writing were linked to the conservative project of maintaining the monarchical perspective that governed the country. Its journal and its research on the history of Brazil were fundamental for the writers of that generation.

Another reference space for literary life in the city is the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura. Founded in 1837, it began occupying its current building, in neo-Manueline style, in 1880. In 1887 the building was officially inaugurated, and it opened to the public in 1890.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph of a building with Gothic architecture. On the left side, we see a part of the building with rounded windows and ornamental details. In the center, there is a main entrance with a large door closed off by metal gates. On the right, more rounded windows and decorative details are visible. At the top, the name "GABINETE PORTUGUEZ DE LEITURA" is written in capital letters. The spatial arrangement goes from left to right, from foreground to background. In the foreground, we see a street with an ox cart pulled by a horse. In the background, there are people walking and a street lamp.

The Real Gabinete has the largest collection of Portuguese works outside Portugal. Machado de Assis and Olavo Bilac were among the famous figures who frequented the space regularly. Located near the old Largo do Rocio, today's Praça Tiradentes, close to the cafés, bookstores, and theaters of Rua do Ouvidor and the surrounding area, next to the Escola Politécnica (today the Institute of Philosophy, Social Sciences and History of UFRJ), the Real Gabinete hosted the first formal sessions of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, underscoring its importance to the writers of that period.

Interior of the main hall of the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura in Rio de Janeiro. Wikimedia Commons

Image description: This is a color photograph of a library interior. The image shows a large room with historic architecture, featuring arches and ornamental wooden details. On the left side, we see tall shelves filled with books, while the center features tables and chairs for reading. On the right, more shelves extend up to the ceiling, which is decorated with hanging lights. In the background, an open door allows natural light to enter. The spatial layout is symmetrical, with tables arranged in parallel rows. The predominant colors are blues on the walls and wood tones on the shelves and furniture.

Since 1847, on the private initiative of Bernardo Joaquim de Oliveira, the city had the Biblioteca Fluminense, located on Rua dos Ourives, at the corner with Rua do Rosário. However, with the transformations of the then federal capital following the establishment of the Republic, Rio de Janeiro's public libraries were built without the budgetary strength and organization they deserved. Municipal and state libraries, under the care of public authorities, never managed to recapture the strength of the federal institutions and fell short of their functions over the decades.

Recent actions, such as the creation of the State Park Libraries (BPE), trace back to a history that began in 1873, when the BPE headquarters on Presidente Vargas avenue was the city's Municipal Library. Only in 1975, after several changes in political regime, the transfer of the capital to Brasília (1960), and the merger of the state of Guanabara with the state of Rio de Janeiro, did the Library become a state library.

Headquarters of the Biblioteca Parque Estadual, on Avenida Presidente Vargas. Source: Revista Projeto

Image description: The image shows the facade of a modern building at night. On the left side, there is a row of windows lit with white light, forming a horizontal band. On the right, there is a main entrance with a sign that reads "Biblioteca Parque." Above the entrance, there are two large windows with images and text. The window on the left displays a human figure and the text "Biblioteca Parque." The window on the right features an image of a person and the text "Vinte Anos Vinicius de Moraes." The sky is dark, suggesting the photo was taken at night. On the left, there is a traffic lane with red lights in motion, creating diagonal lines in the image.

The interactive model, integrated with an opening of the space to the public, began operating in 2014, and even had other locations, in communities such as Rocinha and Jacarezinho. Public administration, budget, and maintenance issues, however, undermine the project's continuity and show how, to this day, spaces for the preservation and promotion of literacy practices continue to face little attention from public authorities.