The Municipal Library of Santa Cruz celebrated its birthday. An ephemeris which was the motto for a memory tour.
One of my great loves are books and not always throughout my life my family had money available to buy them, but thanks to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation had access to the greatest works and classics of national and international literature, atlas, comic books, science fiction books and other publications that flooded my imagination and were a source not only knowledge, but of wonder. All this to say about what? Of the 52 existence of the municipal library of Santa Cruz, my favorite spot. A simple birthday that served not only to mark the occasion, but also to recall a little history of this space that was opened on July 16th, 1964 with some pomp and circumstance, since it was the second library at the regional level. If before April 25th, 1974 the turnout was scarce due to high illiteracy of the population in the post-revolution everything changed as has one of its former employees, Maria Belita Abreu, who was at the service of this library for 42 years recalls , "post April 25th we began to have an incredible influence, there was a great need for people to read, it was a hard time finding place in one of the three rooms were always full and people were waiting for their turn. Sometimes we wanted to sit them and the places were all busy, they asked for all kinds of books to sit, take notes and study, it was something different. "
Over time the library was earning its place thanks to another revolution that occurred in school education, as stated by the former librarian "some primary school teachers were careful when starting the academic year to present the library to their students. Up between classes, as schools were close had students who then came up for books, over time educational establishments were getting farther and habits have changed".
In 2000 there is a new milestone when the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation decided to donate all its libraries and books to the Portuguese authorities, in this decade, as highlighted "the flow of readers has decreased, first because schools have opened their own libraries and later, young people began to be more computerized and used computers to search and then we noticed a break".
But what is read twenty years ago? Mary Belita Abreu states that "smaller read the more traditional literature as the" Red riding hood"," The Three Little Pigs ", but also more contemporary authors such as" Ana Maria Magalhães and Isabel Alçada as always had the books of these authors and they always took care end of the book to address the historical question and it held readers who wanted to see another books. Later it became more selective reading because they impose compulsory reading by students in schools. By adults there were some who came for the philosophers, but most chose the Portuguese writers and foreign, from a certain point it was noticed that people prefer literature and not only the classics. They read a quotation and went to look for work, we suggested later on and even foward these readers to another authors, or readings. One of the most sought-after authors has always been "Eça de Queiros, who became later to be compulsory in schools, through his work," The Maias "which still is today. The Nobel José Saramago enthused people to those who did not know him and it also brought readers. "
In 2016, there is a renewed enthusiasm for the municipal library of Santa Cruz, through a schedule of events whose aim is to attract more young readers to this space, however, the future of libraries needs to be rethought, since with the advent of new technologies, the gadgets allows people to download several literary works within minutes and available online specialist information queries, the existence of these institutions guardians of human knowledge and its unlimited capacity for imagination may have its days numbered.
