Collaboration to Keep Heritage Alive

Post by Rebecca Gritters

National libraries have the high responsibility of collecting, organizing, and protecting the historical documentation of their nation. They are working toward gathering and preserving the heritage of their nation. The Brazilian National library has done this through many means, but one of the most important ways that they have preserved Brazil’s documentation is through the collaboration and partnerships with other institutions around the world

The Brazilian National Library (BN) maintains partnerships and actions of cooperation with diverse institutions in order to:

• exchange knowledge
• promote research and best organizational practices
• provide management support
• collaborate on conservation, preservation and valuation of the heritage of nations
• determine common projects to strengthen the role of the institution in the national and international scopes.

Collaboration began already back in 1907. Peregrino da Silva, the director at that time, conducted a tour of institutions in both the United States and Europe to learn the best organization and preservation techniques that were being used at that time. Some of the institutions he visited were the American Congress, the Vatican, and the International Institute of Bibliography (IIB) in Brussels. Communication between the Brazilian National Library and IIB continued, and they were able to collaborate on providing the IIB with a national bibliography and were able to set up in the Brazilian National Library a Bibliographic and Documentation Service. Although Brazil could have attempted to complete this own their own, the organization and system that they were able to receive from the IIB allowed them to complete the task efficiently and without as many setbacks.

Today, collaboration continues, and it plays an important role in the Brazilian National Library and in their goal to preserve the heritage of their nation. In 2017, they hosted the president of the National Library of Tunisia, in order to come to an agreement of an exchange of exhibits. Not only were they able to exchange these exhibits and share the information that they provided, but they were also able to open communication channels for continued collaboration.  Other international partnerships that the Library of Brazil is a part of include the following:

• German National Library
• Argentina National Library
• Alexandria Library
• Slovenia National and University Library
• Spain National Library
• France National Library
• University of Bologna
• Sapienza University of Rome
• Italian Culture Institute of Rio De Janeiro
• Mozambique National Library
• Portugal National Library

With increasing political strife across the nations of our world, the collaboration between national libraries has the potential to become increasingly difficult, even to the point where it might seem unattainable. However, the National Library of Brazil is an example of the overwhelming benefits that collaboration can have in collecting and accessing information about a nation’s heritage. It is worth our time and effort to encourage and promote these alliances for the preservation of our nation’s heritage.

References

Juvêncio, C. H., & Rodrigues, G. M. (2017). contribution to the history of documentation in Brazil: The Brazilian National Library and its relationship with the International Institute of Bibliography. Brazilian Journal of Information Science, 11(1) doi:10.5016/brajis.v11i1.5041

National Library of Brazil. (n.d.). Cooperation and Partnerships. In Biblioteca Nacional. Retrieved from https://www.bn.gov.br/en/about-bn/cooperation-and-partnerships

National Library of Brazil. (n.d.). Presentation. In Biblioteca Nacional. Retrieved from https://www.bn.gov.br/en/about-bn/presentation