Public Library and Community in Brazil: Perspectives, Policies, and Opinions of Intellectuals and Researchers

Abstract

This article focuses on public library–community relationships in Brazil. Initially, we take into account the international information science literature highlighting the contemporary relevance of public library–community relations. We also consider aspects of the Brazilian historical and political experience and previous research indicating that public libraries in the country have not been valued by public policies and that, although present in more than 5,000 municipalities, these institutions tend to remain invisible to their communities. The main empirical contribution of our article lies in the analysis of interviews collected from Brazilian intellectuals and researchers who hold or have held prominent positions in institutions that define policies or carry out research on Brazilian public libraries. These interviews reveal a strong consciousness of the need to strengthen library–community relations, suggesting several actions, both from the library to the community and from the community to the library.