The "Fausto Castilho" Rare Works Library (Bora) was inaugurated this Monday (9), a new space in the Unicamp Library System (SBU) intended for the collection and conservation of books and different old, rare works that belonged to great names in Brazilian and international intellectuality, such as Antonio Cândido de Mello e Souza and Sérgio Buarque de Holanda. The building's launch ceremony was attended by university leaders and family and friends of some of the names represented in the special collections kept at the site.
The conception and project of the library began in 2009 based on the need for the different units that make up the SBU to have adequate space and structure to preserve the university's rare and special works. R$13 million were invested in the construction of the building and acquisition of furniture and equipment, with R$9 million coming from resources from the Studies and Projects Financing Agency (Finep) and another R$4 million from Unicamp's budget.
The building has 3,5 square meters spread over four floors for rooms for consultations on the collection, storage and cataloging of rare works, themed spaces for special collections, as well as laboratories with machinery for cleaning and restoring historical items. Bora also has special equipment for digitizing works that are already in the public domain, which will be made available for consultation in digital format, as well as an auditorium, exhibition space, study rooms, café and store. To assist in the conservation of the collection, the project was designed to avoid direct sunlight on the site and the building was constructed with non-flammable materials. The louvers on the sides help to regulate the temperature of the room.
The new library has the capacity to maintain a collection of up to 300 thousand volumes. Today, the collection dedicated to the site has around 140 thousand items, 5 thousand of which are rare works, and 26 special collections, with works that belonged to big names in the intelligentsia and were donated to Unicamp. "Each collection has a special characteristic. This year, we already received a collection from England, from Professor István Mészáros, we also recently received the collection from Professor Fausto Castilho. It is difficult to select, because each collection has a richness", evaluates Valéria Gouveia Martins, SBU coordinator. Fausto Castilho (1929-2015), after whom the library is named, was responsible for implementing the humanities area at Unicamp and the first director of the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH). Its collection has its own space at the building's reception.
"We have works that are unique"
The inauguration of the space was marked by the remembrance of names whose works make up the Bora collection in the special collections, with emphasis on Fausto Castilho and Antonio Cândido. In an emotional speech, Ana Luísa Escorel, Cândido's daughter, shared with the public a text of the professor found recently, after his death. She emphasized how important Campinas and Unicamp were to her father and his family: "Here are my father and my grandfather. My father donated my grandfather's library to this institution years ago. I can attest to you the great joys that he had in this sector. My grandfather studied here (in Campinas), when he was a boy, before arriving at university, and Campinas has, among other reasons and for this reason, a particular importance for my father and has come to have for me and for my sisters".
Someone who was also moved by the tribute and remembered the contributions brought to Unicamp was Carmen Pontvianne de Castilho, wife of Fausto Castilho and current president of foundation named after the teacher. "To everyone who worked so hard to set up the library, thank you very much", thanked Carmen.
After the unveiling of the opening plaque, the public can see the facilities on guided tours of the library, which will continue to be held over the next few days. According to Valéria Martins, there are few libraries in the country with the structure that Bora can offer. "We have works that are unique, unpublished, in various collections. What we can preserve for posterity, give access to society so that people can learn about it, can carry out research, is a mission of the university, a contribution not only to the region of Campinas, but for Brazil. A library of this size, with all the characteristics required for a place like this, we have the National Library. This is the first place, in a long time, that Brazil has won", says the coordinator.
For Marcelo Knobel, rector of Unicamp, the new space complements the university's mission of maintaining and disseminating knowledge throughout society. "We now have a space dedicated to rare works, for special collections. It's another step in the appreciation of culture, art and literature, and here we do our part. We had the construction of the building, we need a lot of time to organize the infrastructure, but now everything is ready to start", celebrates Marcelo.
Check out records of the inauguration and some of the physical structure of the library in the photo gallery.
