Public State Library of Minas Gerais: historical path and dynamics of social insertion

Abstract

The following project aims a reflection on two main issues: What is the place occupied by the State Public Library of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte’s cultural and intellectual scene? To what extent do the appropriation of their collections and services, as well as the dynamics of sociability experienced in their spaces, mark the life history of their users? To do so, at first, by means of bibliographical research, a historical panorama of this library unit is outlined, highlighting important events in its trajectory and emphasizing the main services and activities offered to the population of Belo Horizonte, as well as the diversity of its collections. Subsequently, in order to understand the importance of the Library for the city and its users, four subjects were asked the following questions: what impressions and sensations have they experienced during the first contact with the State Library? How important is the Library to Belo Horizonte; and what place does it occupy in their life stories? Then, the answers given by them are analyzed. As a result, in addition to demarcating the social importance of the institution and the ways in which it operates in the cultural landscape of Belo Horizonte and the state, the symbolic and affective relevance that it has for each one of our deponents is pointed out.