The intervention is structured in two phases, the municipality announced.

In a statement, the Santarém City Council revealed that the renovation of the library, considered one of the "main references of the cultural and intellectual life of the municipality," is structured into two phases, aiming to address "current challenges" and prepare the facility for the future.

The first phase, described as "urgent," includes structural renovations to the building, via an application to the Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Fund, with the process already initiated, the municipality reported.

This intervention aims to improve "the safety, conservation and operational conditions of the library," while simultaneously safeguarding its historical and patrimonial value," the statement reads.

Meanwhile, the municipality is developing the second phase of the project, focused on the modernisation and digitisation of the library, "involving multidisciplinary technical teams, with a focus on adapting to new forms of access to knowledge."

According to the city council, this stage aims to modernise services, enhance the library's documentary collections, and strengthen the library's connections to communities, with special attention to younger audiences.

The Vice-President of the Santarém City Council and Councillor for Culture, Emanuel Campos, quoted in the statement, considered that the library's centenary coincides with "a decisive moment" for the future of the cultural facility.

“We are moving forward with a structural intervention, which begins with the physical requalification of the building and continues with the modernisation and digitisation of services, to ensure that the library continues to meet the needs of the population,” stated the mayor.

The objective, he added, is to guarantee that the Braamcamp Freire Library continues to be “a vibrant, accessible space at the service of all” in the coming decades.

Inaugurated in 1926, the Braamcamp Freire Library has “played a relevant role in democratizing access to culture in Santarém,” establishing itself as a “space for reading, research, learning and intergenerational encounters, as well as for preserving the collective memory of the municipality,” the statement adds.

In the note, the municipality emphasised that the centenary celebration is not only a moment of historical remembrance, but also “an opportunity to project the future of the library.”