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UMinho’s General Library celebrates 25th anniversary

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11/20/2017 - 2/17/2018
Até 17 fev 2018, no campus de Gualtar, Braga

The celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the University of Minho’s General Library begin this week, with the unveiling of an exhibition about the history of the library. The exhibition can be visited at the General Library’s B-Lounge area, at the Gualtar campus in Braga, until February 17th 2018. Visitors can see panels that draw a timeline of photos, news and documents; historical pieces such as a typing machine, a manual catalogue with bibliographical files and a CD archive; and a video detailing the evolution of the General Library and of the Documentation Services on the internet.

“This open venue of knowledge to all has a very long and rich history that most people, who come to the library, are not aware of. As such, it’s important to show it to them”, states Eloy Rodrigues, director of the UMinho’s Documentation Services. “We’re also using this celebration to thank all of the employees who made sure this library functioned with quality. But mostly, we’re showing our appreciation to the lecturers, researchers, students and general public, whom all put together, reached ten million visitors”, points out the director, adding that other initiatives are being organised to celebrate the library’s 25th anniversary.

The UMinho’s General Library (BGUM) is the university’s oldest library. The BGUM hosts around 200 thousand works in various fields, including the now-defunct Institute of Child Studies’ and the Braga and Guimarães’s Primary Education Institute’s estates. The library boasts four floors with 606 reading posts, 32 individual study cabins and eight group study rooms. Of these, three are open 24 hours a day during the academic year. The library’s building also has a cultural and recreation area, a Statistics Portugal information area, and information areas for the European Documentation Centre and the Casa do Conhecimento [House of Knowledge]. Also part of the building are the libraries of the United Nations and Oriental Studies (Fernão Mendes Pinto Library). The public can use the library’s services, by signing up.

The exhibition goes back to the beginning of UMinho, in 1975/76, when the creation of the library was suggested, initially located at the Rua D. Pedro V. However, the library would be housed in 1979 in the pavilions by the Rodovia [Braga’s ring road]. Six years later, the facilities saw their seats increased from 60 to 100 and, since 1991, the opening hours have been stretched until 11 p.m. The current BGUM building was a part of the Gualtar campus since 1978, but its official opening as a library only took place on November 16th 1992. The official opening happened three months later, during the Day of the University, with the presences of the then Mayor of Braga Mesquita Machado, the rector Sérgio Machado dos Santos and the director of the Documentation Services Armindo Cardoso.

The library has had various iconic moments and groundbreaking projects, such as electronic book lending (1992); its homepage, internet-research booths and inter-library lendings (all in 1995); research tools for the blind (1996); a reading area with alternative formats (1999); opening hours till midnight during the exam period (2007); the "Pergunte-nos” [“Ask Us”] online service (2008); the ISO 9001:2008 quality certification (2009); a building refurbishing and renovation, and a mobile bibliographical catalogue (2011); the 24-hour study rooms (2013).

+Info: www.sdum.uminho.pt/Default.aspx?tabid=4&pageid=27&lang=pt-PT

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Event detail

UMinho’s General Library celebrates 25th anniversary

11/20/2017 - 2/17/2018 Até 17 fev 2018, no campus de Gualtar, Braga

Event detail

11/20/2017 - 2/17/2018
Até 17 fev 2018, no campus de Gualtar, Braga