Municipal Library of Porto

The Municipal Library of Porto is a library located in the civil parish of Bonfim, municipality of Porto in the Portuguese district of the same name.HistoryThe Real Biblioteca do Porto was established on 9 July 1833, by decree of the King D. Pedro and endorsed by Cândido José Xavier .The library was initially installed in 1841 in the Hospício de Santo António do Vale da Piedade, in the Praça do Cordoaria and later the Episcopal Palace of Porto. In 1842 it finally moved to the Convent of Santo António da Cidade hospice, next to the Garden of São Lázaro, along Rua D. João IV.The first librarian was appointed by the Minister Inspector, with the first books being collected from the former libraries of the convents and religious institutions of the Diocese. The first books in the library were 16 manuscript volumes which had been heavily used for the time. They were supplemented by collections from various wealthy private book collectors. According to Alexandre Herculano, the library initially consisted of 36,000 volumes and 300 manuscript codices.By 1842, the library consisted of 24,256 works and some 4200 volumes from the former convents in Vila do Conde and others. At that time, the first printed catalogs from the library began appearing at the time. In 1877, the collection of rare manuscripts was enriched by the legacy of the Count of Azevedo.