Santa Maria da Feira Municipal Library celebrates 25 years with more than 2.5 million users

Mónica Gomes, the current director of the Feira Library, notes that the themes evoked in the formal name of LIVRAR – “books, future and progress” – reflect the strategic concerns of this structure: “The challenges of the future will necessarily involve a balance between the physical and digital. Our library will always be a place for meetings and sharing ‘offline’, live, in person, but we will not fail to make the most of new technologies as a way of expanding our users’ access to more content, new services and new skills”.

Part of this policy involves “combating disinformation” through concrete actions. “After working on minority cultures in the first quarter of this year, we will dedicate the second half of the year to financial literacy and health literacy for adults. Our focus is to reduce risky behavior, deconstruct preconceived ideas and promote conscious and informed decisions”, announces the director of what is one of the five national public libraries invited by the Directorate-General for Books, Archives and Libraries to participate in the European project “Citizens and Libraries against Disinformation”.

Regarding the overall performance of the Feira Library in its first 25 years of existence, Etelvina Araújo's successor attributes it to a team that, in addition to being “effective and efficient”, is also “passionate” and “changed the habits and routines of many Feira residents, who make the library a place of work, study or meeting – with others and with the arts, with knowledge and understanding”.

For Mónica Gomes, to get an idea of ​​this “you just need to go into the different rooms and see users of all ages reading books or newspapers, dedicating themselves to strategy games, consulting documents on digital platforms that are not found in other libraries in the country – such as EBSCO – or participating in different clubs”, such as gastronomy, decorative arts or knitting.

“We will continue to invest in updating our documentary collection and responding to our readers’ suggestions, keeping our collection up to date with the latest developments, whether technical, scientific or recreational,” promises Mónica Gomes. “This is what sets us apart,” she concludes.

Mónica Gomes, the current director of the Feira Library, notes that the themes evoked in the formal name of LIVRAR – “books, future and progress” – reflect the strategic concerns of this structure: “The challenges of the future will necessarily involve a balance between the physical and digital. Our library will always be a place for meetings and sharing ‘offline’, live, in person, but we will not fail to make the most of new technologies as a way of expanding our users’ access to more content, new services and new skills”.

Part of this policy involves “combating disinformation” through concrete actions. “After working on minority cultures in the first quarter of this year, we will dedicate the second half of the year to financial literacy and health literacy for adults. Our focus is to reduce risky behavior, deconstruct preconceived ideas and promote conscious and informed decisions”, announces the director of what is one of the five national public libraries invited by the Directorate-General for Books, Archives and Libraries to participate in the European project “Citizens and Libraries against Disinformation”.

Regarding the overall performance of the Feira Library in its first 25 years of existence, Etelvina Araújo's successor attributes it to a team that, in addition to being “effective and efficient”, is also “passionate” and “changed the habits and routines of many Feira residents, who make the library a place of work, study or meeting – with others and with the arts, with knowledge and understanding”.

For Mónica Gomes, to get an idea of ​​this “you just need to go into the different rooms and see users of all ages reading books or newspapers, dedicating themselves to strategy games, consulting documents on digital platforms that are not found in other libraries in the country – such as EBSCO – or participating in different clubs”, such as gastronomy, decorative arts or knitting.

“We will continue to invest in updating our documentary collection and responding to our readers’ suggestions, keeping our collection up to date with the latest developments, whether technical, scientific or recreational,” promises Mónica Gomes. “This is what sets us apart,” she concludes.

Mónica Gomes, the current director of the Feira Library, notes that the themes evoked in the formal name of LIVRAR – “books, future and progress” – reflect the strategic concerns of this structure: “The challenges of the future will necessarily involve a balance between the physical and digital. Our library will always be a place for meetings and sharing ‘offline’, live, in person, but we will not fail to make the most of new technologies as a way of expanding our users’ access to more content, new services and new skills”.

Part of this policy involves “combating disinformation” through concrete actions. “After working on minority cultures in the first quarter of this year, we will dedicate the second half of the year to financial literacy and health literacy for adults. Our focus is to reduce risky behavior, deconstruct preconceived ideas and promote conscious and informed decisions”, announces the director of what is one of the five national public libraries invited by the Directorate-General for Books, Archives and Libraries to participate in the European project “Citizens and Libraries against Disinformation”.

Regarding the overall performance of the Feira Library in its first 25 years of existence, Etelvina Araújo's successor attributes it to a team that, in addition to being “effective and efficient”, is also “passionate” and “changed the habits and routines of many Feira residents, who make the library a place of work, study or meeting – with others and with the arts, with knowledge and understanding”.

For Mónica Gomes, to get an idea of ​​this “you just need to go into the different rooms and see users of all ages reading books or newspapers, dedicating themselves to strategy games, consulting documents on digital platforms that are not found in other libraries in the country – such as EBSCO – or participating in different clubs”, such as gastronomy, decorative arts or knitting.

“We will continue to invest in updating our documentary collection and responding to our readers’ suggestions, keeping our collection up to date with the latest developments, whether technical, scientific or recreational,” promises Mónica Gomes. “This is what sets us apart,” she concludes.