A biblioteca pública Benedito Leite e suas representações em São Luís, MA: as tecituras interculturais das bibliotecas públicas na composição de referenciais identitários e suas interfaces com a memória e o patrimônio cultural

Abstract

The Benedito Leite Public Library (BPBL) has consolidated itself as one of the principal cultural institutions in the state of Maranhão by preserving collections and practices that articulate memory, heritage, and identity throughout the life trajectories of its users. This dissertation aimed to investigate the relationships established between the Benedito Leite Public Library and the process of intersubjective and representational elaboration of identity references, articulated with the dimensions of memory and heritage in the life trajectories of its users in São Luís, Maranhão. A comprehensiveinterpretive perspective was adopted, guided by reflective foundations oriented toward apprehending the subjective meanings of human action and clarifying the reasons why certain sociocultural relationships are structured and manifested in specific ways. The research assumed both descriptive and explanatory character, was grounded in bibliographic and documentary research, and employed Oral History as a means of understanding the participants’ lived experiences. The study was conducted at the BPBL between March and June 2025, during which time systematic non-participant observation was carried out in sectors such as Rare Works, the Reference Hall, Technical Works, the Telecenter, the Children’s Library, and Study Rooms. The sample was selected intentionally, guided by theoretical saturation, and involved 15 participants, including students, teachers, and frequent users. Data collection comprised observations recorded in a field journal and semi-structured interviews, previously piloted, conducted within the library upon consent, and recorded and transcribed with the aid of software. The analysis was based on the Collective Subject Discourse (CSD) technique, allowing for the construction of synthesis discourses from Central Ideas, Key Expressions, and Anchors. The results demonstrated that reading trajectories and the bond with the library are marked by late access, fragmented experiences, and the strong influence of sociocultural conditions, revealing that identity construction associated with reading is inseparable from memory processes and from interactions with the city’s cultural spaces. The narratives indicated that the BPBL is perceived as a symbolic territory of belonging, cultural initiation, intellectual refuge, academic support, and democratization of information, playing a structuring role in personal trajectories by fostering vocations, encouraging creativity, and consolidating affective memories throughout life. The results also showed that the materiality of the building, its collection, and its historicity reinforce its image as guardian of São Luís identity, associated with representations such as a “cultural temple” and a symbol of the “Brazilian Athens.” Nevertheless, tensions emerged regarding architectural monumentality, the Eurocentrism of authorized narratives, and the symbolic barriers that limit the sense of belonging among certain groups, configuring the library as a form of heritage that is simultaneously celebrated and dissonant. The analyses further revealed the importance of information mediation practices, relations of sociability, and the everyday uses of the BPBL in the production of bonds, recognition, and disputes over meaning. It is concluded that the BPBL operates as a living symbolic ecology in which memory and identity are continuously negotiated, constituting itself as active and dynamic heritage, decisive both for the formation of subjects and for the sociocultural cohesion of the collective.