The Municipal Library Camilo Castelo Branco, in Vila Nova de Famalicão, has just won the Maria José Moura Award – Good Practices in Municipal Public Libraries 2020 (7th Edition), with the project “ODS: Together we change the world”.

In its appreciation of the project, the jury highlighted the relevance of the theme of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda associated with the actions promoted by municipal public libraries, and the articulated way in which it allows the promotion of the municipal library collection and other sources of information and its relationship with different strategies for the various segments of the public.

The “Good Practices in Municipal Public Libraries Award” was established by the Directorate General of Books, Archives and Libraries in 2014, to annually reward innovative services or projects with great impact on the community, developed by Portuguese municipal public libraries.

Honourable mentions were also given to the projects of the Manuel da Fonseca Municipal Library, from Castro Verde, entitled “Clube do Conto”, and to the project of the Lisbon Libraries Network, entitled “Aberta a todas as pessoas: servir a comunidade LGBTI na sua biblioteca”. The jury also decided to highlight and salute all the libraries that responded to the challenges raised by the Covid19 pandemic, namely the libraries in Alpiarça, Anadia, Mealhada, Oliveira do Hospital and Pombal.

It should be noted that the project, ODS: Together We Change the World, is promoted by the Camilo Castelo Branco Municipal Library, from Vila Nova de Famalicão and aims to make known and raise awareness in the community about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Following the Creative Writing Contest “All for a better world”, an initiative of this project, a collection of interactive books is being created, the “Virtual Bookcase” that will consist of 17 interactive tales representing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. To date, four stories are already available on the “Virtual Bookshelf”, hosted on the library’s website: “The worries of Mariana”, related to SDG 1 (Eradicate Poverty); “The Good-hearted Fairy” related to SDG 2 (Eradicate Hunger); “The Island of Sweets”, dedicated to SDG 3 (Quality Health); “Alice’s Example” related to SDG 4 (Quality Education). See also our March 2021 news about this project.

This award aims to share and disseminate good practices, contributing to the recognition and appreciation of the social role of public libraries.

The prize has a monetary value of 4,500 euros, earmarked for the acquisition of resources and services to improve the quality of library services