MEMORY AND TRAINING IN LIBRARY SCIENCE AT UFRN
CONTRIBUTIONS OF ORAL HISTORY
Keywords:
Library science, professional training, Rio Grande do NorteAbstract
The study investigates the contributions of oral history interviews to the recording and understanding of the professional training trajectory in Library Science at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. Methodologically, the research is characterized as qualitative and exploratory, based on oral history and documentary analysis. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with four pioneer professors who worked on the structuring of the Department of Library Science and its undergraduate program, established in 1996. The data were examined through content analysis. The results reveal aspects rendered invisible by official documentation, such as the informal leadership and legacy of Zila Mamede in the qualification of the first professionals, the role of women in the institutionalization of the field, the clashes and resistance faced in upper councils, as well as the structural precariouness in the initial moments of the department. It is concluded that oral history acts as an indispensable complementary source to institutional memory, filling silences and retrieving the complexity of the experiences, struggles, and collective articulations that consolidated library science training in the state.