Paulo Freire's influence on popular libraries

an analysis on the action and reflection of men on the world to transform it

Abstract

This work comprehensively analyzes the action of popular libraries as an instrument of social transformation, in the light of the ideas of Paulo Freire. Through a bibliographic study, it proposes the conception of a community library based on a lecture that gave rise to the book “The importance of the act of reading”, experiences carried out by the author in São Tomé and Príncipe. The debate starts from the assumption that the structuring of a popular library has its origins in social movements, whose intention is to promote the social inclusion of subjects considered marginalized in the educational system. The proposal intends to implement and maintain a community library in partnership with the local community, supporting community activities and serving as a public space for gathering, information, leisure, learning and local memory, the so-called cultural circles. Finally, it highlights the remarkable influence of Freire thought as an educator of ethical, political and critical awareness in the literacy process in Brazil, and, consequently, relevant to the interdisciplinary area of ​​community librarianship.