The Eduardo Lourenço Public Library

It has an up-to-date collection of documentation (books, magazines, CDs, multimedia and a vast collection of old newspapers, among others) and offers a range of free public services (Internet access, digital catalog (RIBBSE), information and reference services, in-library and out-of-library book borrowing, among others). The Library's Patron is the essayist Eduardo Lourenço, one of Portugal's greatest intellectuals, born in São Pedro do Rio Seco (Almeida, Guarda District). A foremost interpreter of Portuguese and universal cultural matters, Eduardo Lourenço is considered to be one of the most prestigious European thinkers, whose work was inspired by neorealism and his acquaintance with French theorists. Some of the Library's areas were named after the titles of his books: "A Nau de Ícaro" (a room dedicated to adults, in which the collection of around eight thousand books donated by the Professor is preserved); "Nós como futuro" (a room focused on children and young adults, which also includes the Sala do Conto (Story Room) where schools and families are involved in direct contact with books) and "Tempo e Poesia" (a multipurpose room for different activities). In addition to these facilities, the Library also has a Bookbinding Department, which carries out preservation, restoration and bookbinding work as well as a Maintenance Department, which recovers, restores and digitizes old documents. BMEL also has a Bookshop, which sells publications and literature by authors from the municipality or who have written about it and an On-the-Go Library, which visits the municipality's parishes. Outside, it has an outdoor auditorium where, whenever the weather allows, activities and shows are performed.