Public Libraries, Memory and Heritage Education: the interdisciplinary practice of librarians and tourismologists in the education services of the Benedito Leite Public Library

ABSTRACT This research aims to relate the interdisciplinary practice of librarians and tourismologists in the education services, as well as their contributions to the preservation of memory and the cultural heritage of native people of São Luís and Maranhão. This is an exploratory research, with a qualitative approach, whose empirical corpus is composed of two tourismologists and one librarian. In order to do it we used semi-structured surveys to analyze how the services are planned, which are the ambitions of the institutions when making them, the expectations, as well as their repercussions in the actions of the Benedito Leite Library in São Luís and in the state of Maranhão. The research tackles issues such as heritage, heritage education, memory, and public libraries by means of discussions with authors such as Schneider (2018), Choay (2006), Wichers (2011), Horta, Grunberg e Monteiro (1999), Silveira (2012; 2014), Pollak (1989; 1992), Milanesi (2013), Nora (1993), Almeida Júnior (2013; 1997), Candau (2016), Sousa (2015), Flusser (1983), Cardoso (2013), among others. Finally, it ascertains that the Benedito Leite Library seeks to fulfill its role in the society of Maranhão, doing more than the usual practices and demands of a public library. It also reinforces that the sensitivity and the interdisciplinary collaboration between the librarian responsible for the administration of the library and the tourismologists of BPBL are present in their sectors to plan and perform the services offered by the institution, being also fundamental so that the missions of public libraries can be accomplished.