The Senado Library – which first opened in 1929 – will start restricting access to its shelves next week in an effort to preserve its historic collection.
From Monday onward, the library will only allow guided tours and access to the special collection, newspapers and other periodicals by appointment, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) announced.
The Macau Daily Post reported that the library management decided to change visiting regulations to better preserve the ancient books and material and to optimise the use of space. The new regulations also apply to the reading area for newspapers and other periodicals.
The Senado Library, which opened in 1929, specialises in rare foreign books from the 17th to mid-20th century, as well as Portuguese newspapers from the late 19th and early 20th century. The library houses approximately 20,000 volumes, which includes a large number of valuable books, covering about two-thirds of the library’s space and 121 types of bound back-issue newspapers and other periodicals,
The library management intends that the new service model would help optimise the Senado Library’s storage space, further improve the storage environment of the precious rare book collection, and provide more specialised services for the public who visit and consult the ancient books.
Potential visitors to the special collections should download the application forms d from the Macao Public Library website www.library.gov.mo. The application forms must be submitted five working days in advance to the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library at 3 Largo de Santo Agostinho in person or by emailing inf.bp@icm.gov.mo.
