A biblioteca escolar do Externato do Colégio Pedro II: sujeitos, práticas de leitura e acervo (1927-1934)

Abstract

This work is about the school library of a specific campus of Brazilian secondary school Colégio Pedro II between 1927 and 1934. The objective is to understand how the school library conforms itself as space, collection, librarian and readers within the scope of Colégio Pedro II between 1927 and 1934. It consists in a historical, documentary and qualitative research that uses documental sources stored, preserved and made available at the Colégio Pedro II center of documentation and memory. It is used as privileged sources of analysis three works commemorating the institution's anniversary, the Internal Regiment of the institution published in 1927, the two reports reported by the Externato campus librarian and the student newspapers. It is also used the Brazilian Digital Library of the National Library Foundation as a research source. The discussion is based in concepts of Cultural History theories such as practice and tactics from Michel de Certeau; device and discourse from Michel Foucault; and reading practices from Jean-Yves Mollier, Robert Darnton and Roger Chartier. The work fits into the debates concerning school culture and school practices. It considers that the library, as an institution, assumes primarily operational functions when it comes to being the space that houses the books. It reflects that, inserted in a traditional, encyclopedic, French and humanist educational institution, the library assumes these characteristics as well. On the other hand, it identifies other initiatives for collections formations at the school, such as the creation of a library in a student’s association or in one of the school classrooms. As far as the collection is concerned, the books circulating in the library make up what can be called a scientific collection, made up, above all, of dictionaries and encyclopedias. It identifies the books that compose the collection in the reports produced by the librarian and analyzes the library development practices of collections. It suggests that the development of the collection occurs mainly through purchases and donations made by intellectuals such as teachers and graduates of the school. It analyzes the institutional discourse that governs the performance of the librarian and elaborates a biographical entry for João José Fernandes da Veiga, who held the position at the time. It discusses the readers at school based on the books they most consult, the institution of the position of librarian at the students association and its relations with the reading room. It concludes that the library is an indication of school culture and reflects on its constitution in secondary education institutions, such as Colégio Pedro II. It directs to future reflections that analyze the discourses produced for the school library in primary and secondary education, understood as two distinct models, in order to understand the constitution of the field in Brazil.