Starting next Monday, the Senado Library will allow guided tours and access to the special collection, newspapers and other periodicals by appointment only, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) said in a statement yesterday.
According to the statement, in order to better preserve the ancient books and material, and to optimise the use of space in the Senado Library, the bureau’s Public Library Management Department decided to change its visitors’ arrangement to by appointment only. The statement said that the adjustment also applies to the reading area for newspapers and other periodicals.
The statement noted that the Senado Library, which opened in 1929, covers a total area of 454.9 square metres and specialises in a collection of rare foreign books from the 17th to mid-20th century, as well as Portuguese newspapers from the late 19th and early 20th century. The statement pointed out that the library houses a collection of 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 statement said 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.
According to the statement, for the guided tours, for those who have research purposes and for access to the special collections the application forms can be downloaded from the Macau Public Library website at 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.
For further enquiries, phone the Sir Robert Ho Tung Library on 2893 0077 or the Senado Library on 2857 2233 during office hours.
This undated handout photo provided by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) yesterday shows the interior of the Senado Library.
