College and Research Libraries By E L I S A B E T H F E I S T H I R S C H Libraries and Archives in Portugal Dr. Hirsch, Bard College, has twice done extensive research in Portugal, first—in IQ37—as fellow of the Alta Cultura, the Portuguese Institute of Higher Learning, then—in 1949—under a grant from the American Philosophical Society in Phila- delphia. PO R T U G A L is a nation w i t h a very old civilization. H e r most f a m o u s uni- versity, C o i m b r a , goes back to the t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y . F r o m t h a t time on, the spiritual ideals of the C a t h o l i c C h u r c h f o r m e d the f o u n d a t i o n f o r the education of the P o r t u - guese people. I n P o r t u g a l , as in Spain, the R e f o r m a t i o n did not succeed in destroying the unity of the C a t h o l i c outlook. N o r did t h e e n l i g h t e n m e n t , which w a s introduced in P o r t u g a l by the M a r q u i s de P o m b a l in the mid-eighteenth century, change the think- ing of the mass of the P o r t u g u e s e people. T h e l i b r a r i a n a n d scholar will, t h e r e f o r e , not be surprised to find the fields which are stressed by the Church, well represented in the libraries and archives of P o r t u g a l . T h e subject m a t t e r of teaching changed, of course, w i t h the times. D u r i n g the M i d d l e Ages theology and scholasticism ranked first. I n the age of H u m a n i s m ancient languages had a p r o m i n e n t place in education and, t h a n k s to P o r t u g a l ' s great m a r i t i m e ad- ventures, the sciences w e r e flourishing in the sixteenth c e n t u r y . M e d i c i n e w a s develop- ing fast at the same t i m e ; f a m o u s J e w i s h scholars t r a n s m i t t e d w i t h success the im- p o r t a n t A r a b knowledge in t h a t field. N a u t i c a l geography has played a p r o m i n e n t p a r t in P o r t u g u e s e scholarship ever since the days of H e n r y the N a v i g a t o r , w h o had f o u n d e d the first scientific school of this kind in Sagres. I t h a r d l y needs emphasizing t h a t the history of the discoveries is very well repre- sented in most libraries. T h i s includes the missionary activities of t h e J e s u i t s in the N e w W o r l d . T h e P o r t u g u e s e g o v e r n m e n t had closely cooperated w i t h B r a z i l in pre- p a r i n g m o d e r n editions of ancient books which have a bearing on the history of P o r t u g a l ' s f o r m e r colony. T h i s scholarly enterprise w a s g r e a t l y stimulated by the Congresso de historia dos Descobrimentos e Colonizagao which w a s held in Lisbon in I939.1 M o s t of the w e l l - k n o w n libraries in the c o u n t r y possess old collections which w e r e b r o u g h t together w h e n t h e C h u r c h w a s w e a l t h y and p o w e r f u l . I t also should be pointed out t h a t the f o u n d a t i o n s of most libraries in the c o u n t r y go back to collec- tions w h i c h once belonged to monasteries w h e n they used to be the centers of higher learning. M o s t of the larger collections w h i c h w e r e once privately owned either by a C h u r c h o r g a n i z a t i o n or the dynasty have been made accessible to the public. Some of t h e m w e r e t r a n s f e r r e d t o existing l a r g e r libraries while others remained independent. O n e f a m o u s example is the l i b r a r y of the exiled late K i n g M a n u e l I I w h o took his valuable book collection to E n g l a n d . 2 1 A m o n g other institutions the Academia P o r t u - guesa da Historia in Lisboa and Coimbra University have done an excellent job in bringing out new edi- tions of old books and in publishing manuscript ma- terial. 2 A catalog of the book collection owned by the late K i n g Manuel I I was published in E n g l a n d in t h r e e volumes: Os livros Antigos. London, 1929/32. 24 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Several years ago, the books w e r e r e t u r n e d to P o r t u g a l a f t e r the death of the f o r m e r K i n g . I t w a s a good idea to keep together the collection, which should be consulted by the student of history concerned w i t h the period of 1480 to 1600. I t may be added here t h a t the s t u d e n t of early P o r t u g u e s e history should not miss investigating the li- b r a r y of the f o r m e r palace of A j u d a which is situated on one of the picturesque hills f o r which Lisbon is famous. 3 The Libraries of Braga and Svora I t was a great pleasure to pay a visit to the library in Braga, which is a lively t o w n in the N o r t h of P o r t u g a l (beyond P o r t o ) . Braga has always been the seat of the arch- bishop-primate of P o r t u g a l ; as a rule, he was able to stimulate greatly the spiritual activity of the t o w n . I n f o r m e r times, Braga w a s a f a m o u s center f o r the study of ancient languages. T h e library, therefore, reflects well the c u l t u r a l activities of the c o m m u n i t y in past and present times. I t is housed in a magnificent old palace w h e r e the archbishop used to live. T h e present director of the library, D r . A l b e r t o Feio Soares Azevedo, guided us t h r o u g h the whole building. H e called our a t t e n t i o n to the m a n y n e w a r r a n g e m e n t s f o r which he is responsible. N e w shelves have recently been added f o r the 6 6 , 0 0 0 volumes of the library, to w h i c h the reader has n o w easy access. T h e unique collection of m a n u - scripts and incunabula has been c a r e f u l l y put away in d r a w e r s w h e r e the materials are safe f r o m decay. D r . Azevedo showed us also w i t h pride the newly decorated lecture hall as well as several private clubrooms which A n i m p o r t a n t p a r t o f t h e book c o l l e c t i o n w h i c h be- l o n g e d to t h e P o r t u g u e s e d y n a s t y w a s t r a n s f e r r e d to B r a z i l i n t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . 3 S e e F e r r e i r a , C a r l o s A l b e r t o . Inventario dos manu- scritos da Biblioteca da Ajuda refeventes a America do Sul. C o i m b r a , 1 9 4 6 . S e e a l s o the r e v i e w o f t h e book b y M a n u e l S . C a r d o z o i n t h e Hispanic American Historical Review, 2 9 : 4 4 4 , A u g u s t 1 9 4 9 . meet the needs of the m a n y c u l t u r a l organi- zations in B r a g a . T h e c o u n t e r p a r t to B r a g a in the south of P o r t u g a l is E v o r a , the c h a r m i n g capital of t h e lovely province of A l e n t e j o . M o n u - m e n t s of ancient times, among them the im- pressive ruins of a R o m a n temple, remind the visitor of E v o r a ' s long c u l t u r a l history. I n the sixteenth century C a r d i n a l H e n r i q u e chose E v o r a as the seat of a J e s u i t univer- sity (against the lively protests f r o m C o i m b r a ) which flourished f o r a r a t h e r short period. T h e s t u d e n t of the history of the M i d d l e Ages and subsequent centuries will discover a w e a l t h of m a t e r i a l in the public library here which includes m a n y im- p o r t a n t manuscripts. I t was a pleasant sur- prise to find the rich collection well organ- ized and ably supervised by a young, active director. 4 T h e s e f e w names of libraries which do not belong to an institute of higher learn- ing and which sometimes are located in a less known place may suffice to make it clear t h a t the material f o r the student of history in P o r t u g a l is widely dispersed. The Collections of Coimbra T h e libraries which are connected w i t h the universities (Lisbon, Coimbra, and P o r t o ) distinguish themselves by especially rich and valuable collections. I t is not w i t h - out a f r i e n d l y smile t h a t the foreigner ob- serves the rivalry which exists between the U n i v e r s i t y of Lisbon and the U n i v e r s i t y of C o i m b r a . O n e is somehow reminded of the gentle feud between H a r v a r d and Y a l e or O x f o r d and C a m b r i d g e . H o w e v e r , since C o i m b r a is the oldest university, it should not h u r t the feelings of Lisbon if w e speak about the libraries and archives of C o i m b r a first. M o r e o v e r , C o i m b r a is the university 4 S o m e d e t a i l a b o u t the a v a i l a b l e m a n u s c r i p t s c a n b e f o u n d i n F r . Stegmuller'^s " Z u r L i t e r a t u r g e s c h i c h t e d e r P h i l o s o p h i c u n d T h e o l o g i e a n d e n U n i v e r s i t a t e n E v o r a u n d C o i m b r a i m X V I . J a h r h u n d e r t . " I n Spanische Forschungen, E r s t e R e i n e , B d . 3, 1 9 3 1 . JANUARY, 1951 25 t o w n of the c o u n t r y w h e r e the s t u d e n t s in their long black capes d o m i n a t e completely the life of the c h a r m i n g c o m m u n i t y . O n e may climb u p t h r o u g h n a r r o w w i n d - ing streets u n t i l one reaches the top of the hill w h e r e the old university campus is lo- cated. T h e library b u i l d i n g w a s inaugu- rated in the eighteenth century. Some of the rooms, w h e r e today old books in pre- cious bindings are kept, have still preserved the l u x u r i o u s decorations w h i c h w e r e used at t h a t time. T h e Biblioteca G e r a l da U n i - versidade de C o i m b r a consists all in all of 7 0 0 , 0 0 0 volumes. Its f o u n d a t i o n w a s laid by collections w h i c h once belonged to con- vents. T h e s t r e n g t h of the library, there- fore, will be f o u n d in publications related to the M i d d l e Ages and the period of the Renaissance and H u m a n i s m . T h e able and energetic director of the library, D r . M a n u e l Lopes de Almeida, has done his very best to b r i n g the collection up to date. T h e library reflects the lively intellectual atmosphere of C o i m b r a U n i v e r s i t y . H e r e the s t u d e n t is offered m o r e recent publications t h a n in any other library in P o r t u g a l , except f o r P o r t o . T h e r e a d i n g room is well supplied w i t h reference w o r k s which, u n f o r t u n a t e l y , does not hold t r u e f o r the N a t i o n a l L i b r a r y in Lisbon. T h o u g h the catalog is not m e a n t f o r the use of the s t u d e n t ( a system u n - f o r t u n a t e l y practiced in most libraries in the c o u n t r y ) , a w e l l - t r a i n e d staff takes care of finding titles f o r you. T h e archives of the university, which are in a separate building, are the pride of C o i m b r a . I n recent times the university has expanded beyond t h e limits of its lovely old campus. O u t s i d e the gate, w h i c h opens on to a view of the r e c t a n g u l a r c o u r t y a r d of the old university, large buildings in m o d e r n style have been erected in the last 15 years. A m o n g them is the imposing build- ing of the A r q u i v o G e r a l da U n i v e r s i d a d e . T h e director of t h e archives, P r o f e s s o r M a r i o B r a n d a o , a w e l l - k n o w n scholar of sixteenth c e n t u r y H u m a n i s m , is the ex- t r e m e l y active organizer of this model center of archival research. A f t e r w e had called on him in his l u x u r i o u s office, decorated w i t h u t m o s t taste ( t h e P o r t u g u e s e generally excel in good t a s t e ) , he conducted us on an inspec- tion t o u r t h r o u g h the large building. T h e s t u d e n t f r o m the U n i t e d States, w h o is spoiled by the superior technique employed in the libraries and archives at home, should find the archives in C o i m b r a as up to date as the most m o d e r n place he m a y think of in our c o u n t r y . E l e v a t o r s lead f r o m the upper floors w h e r e the study rooms are lo- cated to the basement. H e r e are the m a n u - script stacks which are built of concrete and also equipped w i t h a control f o r the tem- p e r a t u r e . T h e house has a central heating system w h i c h is not customary in most buildings in P o r t u g a l . A curious f e a t u r e w a s a built-in gas chamber w h i c h destroys the enemy of old p a p e r s : the b o o k w o r m . T h e advanced s t u d e n t w h o is expected to do research here w i l l delight in the m o d e r n equipment at his disposal. T h e scholar will be provided w i t h an a t t r a c t i v e study of his own w h e r e he can w o r k in t r a n q u i l l i t y . T h e papers have not yet all been p u t in place, b u t if this is done the Archives of C o i m b r a should prove an excellent place f o r research.5 The Libraries of Lisbon T h e c o n t r a s t w i l l be f e l t strongly by the foreign observer w h o visits the N a t i o n a l Archives in Lisbon a f t e r he has seen the Archives of C o i m b r a U n i v e r s i t y . I t is hard to u n d e r s t a n d w h y the g o v e r n m e n t still uses an old-fashioned inadequate building, the T o r r e do T o m b o , which a d j o i n s the H o u s e of P a r l i a m e n t , f o r its most repre- sentative archives. T h e collection is very 6 Ibid. 26 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES rich and extremely valuable and certainly deserves m u c h better q u a r t e r s . M a n y old papers f r o m convents have been t r a n s f e r r e d there in addition to the vast a m o u n t of state papers which n a t u r a l l y came into the pos- session of t h e N a t i o n a l Archives. T h e T o r r e do T o m b o has an almost complete collection r e l a t i n g to the Inquisition in P o r t u g a l and her colonies. Professor A n - tonio Baiao, f o r m e r director of the archives, has already published m a n y documents which are of utmost importance for the his- tory of the Inquisition in his c o u n t r y . H e plans to w r i t e a history of the Inquisition in G o a , P o r t u g u e s e colony in I n d i a . T h e foreign student, however, w i l l feel somehow f r u s t r a t e d w i t h his w o r k at the T o r r e do T o m b o . I t seems t h a t years of patient research are needed if one desires to find some n e w material. T h e h a n d w r i t t e n catalog, which covers an i m p o r t a n t p a r t of the manuscripts, the C o r p o Cronologico, is nevertheless quite insufficient and has been used by scholars f o r years, over and over again. T h e r e exist other descriptions of the archives but none is able to give a real pic- t u r e of the material available. T h e s t u d e n t depends on the suggestions made by members of the staff w h o are always w i l l i n g to help but not always trained f o r t h a t kind of job. T h e situation in the N a t i o n a l L i b r a r y in Lisbon is not m u c h better. Its collection consists of 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 volumes and 150,000 manuscripts, a m o n g them very valuable items. B u t h o w is t h e s t u d e n t to get at them ? T h e h a n d w r i t t e n catalog cannot be used by the scholar. A t the e n t r a n c e of the library one receives a paper on which the n a m e of the a u t h o r and the title of the book desired has to be w r i t t e n . T h i s has to be presented to a clerk w h o will find the call n u m b e r f r o m the catalog. H e w i l l hand you a slip of paper w i t h the call n u m b e r on it which, in t u r n , has to be shown t o an employee in the reading room w h o will b r i n g you the book. T h e procedure is u t t e r l y discouraging to the scholar. H e is deprived of one of his greatest pleasures which consists of the study of the catalog. T h i s , a f t e r all, gives him a most valuable chance to discover n e w titles. H o w can he be sure of having covered all the m a t e r i a l w i t h o u t being able to check w i t h the cata- log? A subject catalog which is placed in the r e a d i n g room w a s started quite a f e w years ago but is yet f a r f r o m being com- pleted. T h e reference w o r k s available to the reader are mostly o u t d a t e d . T h e foreign s t u d e n t is also surprised by the complete lack of recent publications in the N a t i o n a l L i b r a r y . T h e reader w h o studies rare books has to go to a special R a r e Book R o o m . H e r e he can at least freely use the h a n d w r i t t e n alphabetical catalog. Since an u n f o r t u n a t e t h e f t of valuable m a t e r i a l in the R a r e Book Room d e p a r t m e n t has been discovered re- cently, the G o v e r n m e n t has been looking into the administration of the N a t i o n a l Li- b r a r y . I t is hoped t h a t , as a result, the service in the library will be g r e a t l y im- proved. P a r t of the trouble is caused by the f a c t t h a t the employees are paid ex- tremely low salaries. N o well-trained per- son w i t h o u t private means can afford to accept a job in the library system. T h e students of Lisbon U n i v e r s i t y have quite a f e w special libraries at their dis- posal. Some, like the Biblioteca da Aca- demia das Sciencias, have rich collections which should be consulted in any case. B u t neither the s t u d e n t nor the professor can find m a n y books of recent date in any library. I was told by a brilliant young teacher of his- t o r y at the U n i v e r s i t y of Lisbon t h a t he had made considerable debts in order to buy the books he needs to prepare f o r his classes. F r o m time to time the large private library of a retired professor comes on the book m a r k e t , which is welcomed by the y o u n g JANUARY, 1951 27 7 scholar as a good o p p o r t u n i t y to fill his own book shelves at a reasonable price. Lisbon w a s called by P a u l R e y n a u d ( F r e n c h P r i m e M i n i s t e r at the time of the H i t l e r invasion of F r a n c e ) in a brilliant lecture w h i c h he delivered in P o r t u g a l ' s metropolis, the "city of poets." C o i m b r a , on the o t h e r h a n d , p r e f e r s to be considered the " b r a i n s " of P o r t u g a l , w h i l e the c o u n t r y ' s second largest city, P o r t o , has w o n f a m e f o r her m a n y flourishing industries. P o r t o should also be praised f o r her m o d e r n public library. The Public Library in Porto D r . A n t o n i o C r u z , director of the library in P o r t o , is t h e only P o r t u g u e s e l i b r a r i a n to have made an inspection t o u r of the libraries in the U n i t e d States. H e has introduced m a n y f e a t u r e s which o u r people take f o r g r a n t e d in their public libraries but w h i c h w e r e u n u s u a l u n t i l then f o r the r e a d i n g public in his c o u n t r y . I do not remember any library in P o r t u g a l which had * a periodical room as well equipped as t h e one in P o r t o . N o w h e r e but here w e r e w e shown a lovely children's room w i t h a children's librarian in charge of the little c r o w d . A m o d e r n a u d i t o r i u m a t t r a c t s t h e citizens of P o r t o w h o come in g r e a t n u m b e r s to a t t e n d the lectures organ- ized in r e g u l a r intervals. T h e library of P o r t o has a valuable old collection of 3 8 , 0 0 0 books, almost 2 , 0 0 0 m a n u s c r i p t s and 2 1 8 i n c u n a b u l a . T h e kind director showed us the m a n y b e a u t i f u l ex- amples of i l l u m i n a t e a r t w h i c h t h e library possesses. I t is n o t e w o r t h y t h a t the alpha- betical catalog here can be used freely by everybody. A subject index has been s t a r t e d , but w i l l be completed only in the f u t u r e . T h e public l i b r a r y in P o r t o has w e l l - t r a i n e d personnel always ready to give advice and to make suggestions. T h e foreigner w h o desires to read in the libraries and archives in Lisbon has to go t h r o u g h a lot of unnecessary red tape. T h e same does not hold t r u e f o r other libraries in the c o u n t r y . I n most places the visitor w i l l be cordially received. If a f e l l o w li- b r a r i a n introduces himself to one of his P o r - tuguese colleagues, he will be shown all t h r o u g h the house by a most eager director or his representative. T h e w e l l - k n o w n kindness of the P o r t u g u e s e people finds its expression here also. T h e l i b r a r i a n f r o m t h e U n i t e d States w h o has paid a visit to P o r t u g a l w i l l take home w i t h him the im- p o r t a n t k n o w l e d g e of m a n y priceless ancient collections. H e w i l l also be f a v o r a b l y im- pressed by t h e progress in library organiza- tion w h i c h has been slowly b u t steadily made in P o r t u g a l , the western-most c o u n t r y of E u r o p e . Drexel Offers Scholarship T h e School of Library Science, Drexel Institute of Technology, will grant three full tuition scholarships for the academic year 1951-52. T h e school offers a one-year curriculum leading to the degree of M a s t e r of Science in Library Science. T h e scholarships are awarded to gradu- ates of approved colleges and universities who have achieved high academic standing and are in need of financial aid. Application should be made to the dean of the School of Library Science, Drexel Institute of Technology, 32nd and Chestnut Sts., Philadelphia 4, Penn., before Apr. 15, 1951. 28 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES