Knowledge: custody & access

The exhibition Knowledge: custody & access revisits the historical legacy of the knowledge of Humanity deposited in libraries. It thus points to changes in the technological bases of present libraries and in the different socio-economic and cultural contexts in which they transmute into transformation agents and producers of cultural revolutions. It also discusses the impacts of information and communication technologies (ICT) in relation to the contemporary society, highly impregnated by technological innovations, which stimulate social and individual imagination and explore the innovation potential offered nowadays, founded on technological resources for preservation and for access to knowledge. All of this viewingat reordering the way citizens think, in the nearor in a far future. Hence, at the dawn of its 30th anniversary, the University of São Paulo Integrated Library System (SIBiUSP) seeks to make transparent the actuation of over 800 professionals (higher, technical and basic levels) in 44 libraries located in campi distributed in nine cities in the State of São Paulo. These libraries host a collection of over 10 thousand journal titles, 100 thousand theses presented at USP, 594 thousand USP production itens, 264 thousand elecronic books (e-books), 4.5 million books lent every year, 1.5 million yearly reference consultations. There are also nine million accesses to the Capes (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) Journal Portal, 40 thousand commutation requests met, 18 thousand participants in events and courses yearly promoted by the System, among other data.