The preservation and conservation of library collections from Ibero-American countries is one of the themes of the meeting of these institutions that will take place from the 3rd to the 6th of December at the Machado de Assis Auditorium, at the headquarters of the Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, in the center of Rio de Janeiro. January. The last time the institution linked to the Ministry of Culture (MinC) hosted the international event was in 2000.
Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Portugal have already confirmed their presence at the 35th General Assembly of the Association of Ibero-American States for the Development of National Libraries of Ibero-American Countries (Abinia), which will take place at the headquarters of the National Library Foundation (FBN), in the center of the capital of Rio de Janeiro. Bolivia, El Salvador, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela will participate virtually.
The intention of the meeting is to promote the integration of these countries, including the Iberian roots of Spain and Portugal. “The fact that we bring together all these countries after 24 years means the important moment that Brazil is experiencing and at the same time a dialogue that involves the integration of Latin America, which is always a strong, intense demand, sought practically in every generation and that we have to expand all of this”, said the president of the National Library Foundation (FBN), Marco Lucchesi, in an interview with Agência Brasil.
President of the National Library, Marco Lucchesi. Photo: Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil – Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
After a few years of absence, Portugal will be at the meeting, as it returns to the Assembly. “Portugal, after a long period of not participating directly in Abinia, is now returning. It is also a very important fact for us. It is a large community that is programming practices, re-studying its institutional functions and missions. It’s a very beautiful moment”, he observed.
Lucchesi drew attention to the number of items that these libraries preserve. “If you calculate approximately how much each of these libraries, which will be found in Rio de Janeiro, owns, it is as if a part of planet Earth had been united in Rio de Janeiro, because people are dealing with millions of pieces that these libraries store. in their repertoires and collections, not only those from Latin America, but also from Spain and Portugal. So, it’s a huge volume. The symbolic value of the meeting is already a conquest of space and volume”, he commented.
For the president, hosting the meeting reflects the prominence that the Brazilian library has on the national and international scene. “In fact, it gives the National Library of Brazil its place of importance, the extremely important role it plays in memory policies, in the processing and dissemination of information, precisely in such a complex time when it comes to information. . The National Library has such a strong commitment to information that we even signed an important agreement with the Federal Supreme Court last year for the good information practices that are natural to the National Library”, he stated.
The meeting is restricted to guests and representatives of member countries, but can be followed via live broadcast on the 4th, 5th and 6th, at YouTube channel from FBN.
“This meeting is always a great forum that consolidates policies from Latin America, Spain and Portugal to expand our alliances. What is clear is textbook diplomacy. There are several Latin American republics with the two Iberian ones, all brought together to expand this relationship, which is a relationship of micro diplomacy, which all cultural institutions end up doing in a certain way, but of course when the National Library of Brazil enters, it brings a heritage of enormous value and importance that has been prepared, cared for and disseminated for several generations”, he noted.
Schedule
The president of Abinia and director of the National Library of Mexico, María Andrea Giovine Yáñez, and the president of the FBN, Marco Lucchesi, will open the meeting on Tuesday (3), at 10 am. The following day, also with live broadcast, work will begin at 10 am, with Lucchesi and the director of the National Library of Guatemala and vice-president of ABINIA, Ilonka Matute.
One of the topics that will be discussed is Legal Deposit, legislation that provides for the sending of a copy of each publication published in a country to its respective national library. The lecture Electronic Legal Deposit: key to guaranteeing access and preservation of digital content, by the director of Digital Processes and Services at the National Library of Spain, Gloria Expósito, on Thursday (5), from 11am to 12pm, will be broadcast live via YouTube.
On Friday (6), between 10:40 am and 12:30 pm, two conferences on sustainable libraries will be broadcast. In the first, the strategic planning manager of the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), José Luiz Pederzoli Jr., will present the lecture “Sustainables for Sustainable Development”. Next, the library architecture advisor and teacher, Santi Romero, will talk about “Sustainable library buildings: challenges and opportunities”.
“We have demands in our programming that are very similar in all libraries. No matter what the country or the language, libraries are always an expanding organism, an organism that never stops growing and now at the end of the 20th century into the 21st, it is growing in two directions. One is physical and the other is virtual. It is thinking about the way in which we deal with new technologies, for example, the National Library has reflected a lot on the use of artificial intelligence as an important element in research and coverage.
Actions
Among the activities outside the country, the National Library was present, this month of November, at a meeting in the Vatican, when the most important libraries in the world gathered dealing with the future in the virtual field, dissemination and people’s access to information . The pope received a book produced by the institution in the National Library edition in the imaginary of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, in addition to a letter from Lucchesi in which he highlighted the work of libraries in memory policies.
Also this year, the National Library joined the CPLP. “It was a glorious and very important moment. She is an observer and advisor among members of the Portuguese-speaking community”, he celebrated.
The president also highlighted that the National Library held in Africa the first seminar on Portuguese-speaking African Countries, called PALOPs, which will soon be published in the Revista do Livro published by the institution. Furthermore, it offered Africa a preservation and conservation course especially aimed at the territory. “This is also a micro diplomacy that we are putting Brazil’s face on,” he added.
Abinia
Founded in 1988, in Madrid, Spain, the Association of Ibero-American States for the Development of National Libraries of Ibero-American Countries, is an international non-profit organization that, according to the FBN, seeks to “promote the actions of these institutions by through participatory mechanisms, international cooperation projects and aid”.
Composed of the directors of national libraries as representatives of member states, the General Assembly is the highest body of Abinia. Currently, it is made up of 18 national libraries in Ibero-America.
Anyone who wants more details about the meeting can access here.
