Presentation
The Academy of Sciences is one of the most important heritage libraries in the country, resulting from the merger of its collection (which began when the institution was founded in 1779) with that of the Library of the Convent of Our Lady of Jesus in Lisbon, which, after the extinction of the Religious Orders (1834), was given to the Academy by Queen Maria II, along with the convent building itself.
It is rich in works on science, which are distributed among various types of documents, including Incunabula, Old Books, Red Series of Manuscripts (from the Convent), and Blue Series of Manuscripts (from the institution's activities and made up of purchases, legacies, donations and gifts).
It is worth mentioning its important collection of Arabic manuscripts, which is the greatest within Portuguese libraries.
Mission
BACL's mission is to support academics, researchers and the general public by providing information sources and resources.
General Objetives
- To provide friendly access to existing documentary sources;
- To promote and encourage scientific research;
- To encourage the enrichment of thought, literature, language and other forms of national culture;
- To encourage research and study of Portuguese history and its relations with other peoples;
- To provide public diffusion of its bibliographic collection.
Services
- Welcome desk and search service;
- Consultation and reading room;
- Bibliographical research;
- Reproduction of documents.
The ongoing project to digitize the Manuscripts of the Blue Series is financially sponsored by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
