National Library of Brazil

The Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil (in English National Library of Brazil) is the depository of the bibliographic and documentary heritage of Brazil. It is located in Rio de Janeiro, at Cinelândia square.

The largest library in Latin America and the 7th world largest one, its collections include over 9 million items.

Legal deposit

In 1907, presidential Decree no. 1825 established the duty of all publishers to send one copy of each publication to then-called Bibliotheca Nacional. In 2004, this decree was revoked by congressional Law no. 10,994, still in force, upholding the same mandate but updating its provisions.

Article 1st of Law no. 10,994 specifies that the legal deposit's aim is "to ensure the registration and custody of national intellectual production, to allow for the control, development and spreading of current Brazilian bibliography, and to defend and preserve national language and culture."

Significant collections

Among the significant collections of the National Library of Brazil is the Thereza Christina Maria photograph collection, which includes 21,742 photographs dating from the nineteenth century. These photographs were left to the Library by Emperor Pedro II in 1891. This collection has been inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme Register in 2003 in recognition of its world significance and outstanding universal value.

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