Linha Viva Community Library: democratization of reading and social inclusion

Abstract

Reading and access to information are rights of all citizens, and guaranteeing such rights is the State’s. However, that is not always true in reality. In this context, community libraries are important tools to minimize this lack and provide greater informational democratization, contributing to social inclusion. They are spaces to exchange information, built by and for the communities they serve. They represent environments of resistance and institutional articulation, often occupying areas with few public cultural facilities, socially marginalized and scarce access to information. This paper presents the extension project developed in the Library Science School of the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), in Brazil, entitled "Collaborating with the Linha Viva Library". This library is fruit of a broader project called "Linha Viva", which results from a series of community actions with residents of the Fragata neighborhood in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is a space committed to the integral formation of children and adolescents, offering the community a continuous literacy environment through activities such as tutoring. Additionally, "Linha Viva" has promoted digital inclusion actions and comprehensive health care for the families of the children and adolescents involved in the project. After discussions with the University, knowledge exchange, and sharing of ideas with representatives of this community, the extension project was conceived to contribute to the creation and development of the Community Library of the Linha Viva project. The collection consists of donations from the community and partners. The actions of the extension project initially focused on training reading agents and organizing the collection with support from professors and students of the Library Science course. The project envisaged three phases of execution: 1) training of Library Science students; 2) organization and computerization of the collection; 3) orientations to the community on the use of the library and of information and reading activities. So far, the first stage is completed, with phases 2 and 3 in progress. It is concluded that this project, in addition to providing students with the practice of university extension, has contributed to combating inequalities in access to information, considering that participatory democracy requires spaces that allow all citizens to access information, knowledge, culture, and art.