Nearly half of Brazilians don’t have the habit of reading, according to the “Retratos da leitura no Brasil” survey. Among those who do read, the number of books is still below average. According to the study, it’s only four per year, while Canadians, who top the ranking, read 12. With the aim of changing this reality, the Ramacrisna Institute develops various projects at the Professor Arlindo Corrêa da Silva Library. The idea is to encourage people of all ages to acquire the habit of reading.
Libraries are essential to attract new readers, as stated in the “Panorama do Consumo de Livros” report, where the main reasons for low book consumption in the country are high prices and a deficit of bookstores. Therefore, having a free lending collection, as in the Ramacrisna library, is a great incentive for more and more people to delve into the world of reading.
Next, learn more about this project.
The initiative to create the Ramacrisna Library came from the Institute’s vice president, Solange Bottaro. She understood the importance of reading and realized that building the collection could engage more people in reading. When she shared the idea with Professor Arlindo Corrêa da Silva, he immediately approved. Thus, Ramacrisna started forming its collection in 1974, with books donated by Solange herself.
In 2010, with the support of the C&A Institute, the library became part of the Betim Public and Community Libraries Network, the Sou de Minas Uai State Community Libraries Network, and the National Community Libraries Network. Five years later, in 2015, Ramacrisna’s project was selected and sponsored through a grant from the National Library Foundation, linked to the Ministry of Culture and the National Public Libraries System. In 2020, with the support of the Dorina Nowill Foundation, a space with a Braille and audiobook collection was set up to serve readers with disabilities.
Also in 2020, the library introduced a playful activity, the Ludoteca, using modern board games to stimulate various skills and competencies of readers, besides providing moments of socialization and interaction among them. Currently, the location has a collection of over 10 thousand books for children, teenagers, and adults, along with board games. The library serves students and staff of Ramacrisna, as well as communities from 12 cities in the Greater BH area.
In 2023, the library won the Pontos de Leitura Award from the Ministry of Culture (MinC). The award highlights community libraries that have developed reading promotion activities in urban and rural contexts, encompassing peoples and communities representative of Brazil’s cultural diversity in 2023.
Just in the last year, the library loaned out 1,299 books. The venue also hosts activities such as storytelling, workshops, author talks, and musical performances. Through these, children and adults are enchanted and start building connections with stories. A similar initiative is seen in the Mala de Leitura (Reading Kit) project, developed by the Ramacrisna Library.
The project aims to promote reading in institutions that lack any type of collection, such as public schools, community daycares, and Basic Health Units, for example. Part of the Ramacrisna team carries a kit with about 40 books, which turns into a “display shelf” when opened, for places that don’t have a suitable space for book exhibitions.
The Reading Kit has won several awards: in 2013, it was voted the Best Reading Incentive Project in Brazil by the National Foundation for Children’s and Young People’s Books. Later, in 2018, it was chosen as one of the 12 winning initiatives of the Leitura do Bem (Good Reading) contest, by TV Alterosa and the Estado de Minas newspaper, in partnership with Livraria Leitura.
In 2023, the project distributed four kits filled with various books, benefiting 6,265 people in Betim and neighboring cities.
For 65 years, the Ramacrisna Institute has been transforming the lives of children, young people, and families through vocational training, learning, and workshop promotion. In addition to complementing school education, these activities introduce technology, sports, and culture to this audience, always awakening the perception of the potential within each one and their value to society. This work has already impacted the lives of nearly two million people from 12 cities in Greater BH.
