SUSTAINABILITY EVALUATION AT THE SANTA MÔNICA CENTRAL LIBRARY OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF UBERLÂNDIA/MGABSTRACT:
Libraries are vital to the social, cultural, and environmental development of the communities where they are located. This paper aimed: to investigate sustainable actions adopted by a reference library in the country; to compare those sustainable actions with actions already developed in Biblioteca Central Santa Mônica - BCMON (Santa Mônica Central Library); to propose actions and projects for BCMON, which will possibly provide library users and staff with an all-embracing, participatory, accessible, and environmentally- minded work and study center. The methodology had a qualitative approach, of exploratory nature, by means of bibliographic gathering, by field research (semi-structured interview), by the analysis of the data identified in bibliographic research and by a survey conducted from the websites of the main Brazilian federal university libraries, regarding sustainable actions and the emphasis on sustainability. It is possible to verify that social and economic sustainability is subtly applied, through the access to information, through social and digital inclusion and the return of the investments received, to the society in the offer of products and services. However, the care for the environment and the practice of environmental education are still neglected. The final product was constructed by an initial proposal with some indications to promote sustainability in BCMOM, which will be based on the dialogue in search of environmental awareness and the participation of the whole staff and communities in a voluntary, democratic, and autonomous way.
KEYWORDS:
Academic libraries; Public libraries; Information science education; Sustainable development.
RESUMO:
As bibliotecas são vitais para desenvolvimento social, cultural e ambiental das comunidades onde estão inseridas. Esta pesquisa objetivou: Investigar ações de sustentabilidade adotadas por uma biblioteca referência no país; Comparar as ações de sustentabilidade da biblioteca referência com as ações já desenvolvidas pela Biblioteca Central Santa Mônica (BCMON); Propor ações e projetos para a BCMON, que poderão proporcionar aos usuários e servidores da biblioteca um recinto de estudo e de trabalho participativo, inclusivo, acessível e ambientalmente engajado. A metodologia teve abordagem qualitativa, natureza exploratória, por meio de levantamento bibliográfico, pesquisa de campo (entrevista semiestruturada), análise de dados identificados em pesquisa bibliográfica, levantamento realizado nos sites das principais bibliotecas universitárias federais brasileiras, a respeito de ações sustentáveis e da ênfase aplicada à sustentabilidade. Pode- se constatar que a sustentabilidade social e econômica é sutilmente aplicada, por meio do acesso à informação, da inclusão social e digital e do retorno, aos investimentos recebidos, à sociedade na oferta de produtos e serviços. Porém, o cuidado com o meio ambiente e a prática da educação ambiental ainda são objetos de desatenção. O produto final foi a construção de uma proposta inicial com algumas indicações para a promoção da sustentabilidade na BCMOM, que terá como ponto de partida o diálogo em busca da conscientização ambiental e da participação de toda equipe e comunidades de forma voluntária, democrática e autônoma.
PALAVRAS-CHAVE:
Biblioteca universitária; Biblioteca pública; Educação em biblioteconomia.
RESUMEN:
Las bibliotecas son vitales para el desarrollo social, cultural y ambiental de las comunidades en donde se encuentran. Esta investigación tuvo por objetivo investigar las acciones de sustentabilidad adoptadas por una biblioteca referencia en el país; comparar las acciones de sustentabilidad de la biblioteca referencia con las acciones ya desarrolladas por la Biblioteca Central Santa Mónica (BCMON); proponer acciones y proyectos a los usuarios y servidores de la biblioteca, un recinto de estudio y de trabajo participativo, incluyente, accesible y comprometido con el medio ambiente. La metodología tuvo un enfoque cualitativo, naturaleza exploratoria, por medio de levantamiento bibliográfico, investigación de campo (entrevista semiestructurada), análisis de datos identificados en investigación bibliográfica, levantamiento realizado en los sitios de las principales bibliotecas universitarias federales brasileñas, con respecto a las acciones sustentables y de énfasis aplicado a la sustentabilidad. Se puede constatar que la sustentabilidad social y económica es sutilmente aplicada, por medio del acceso a la información, de la inclusión social y digital y del retorno, a las inversiones recibidas, a la sociedad en la oferta de productos y servicios. Sin embargo, el cuidado con el medio ambiente y la práctica de la educación ambiental aún son objeto de desatención. El producto final fue la construcción de una propuesta inicial con algunas indicaciones para la promoción de la sustentabilidad en la BCMOM, que tendrá como punto de partida el diálogo en la búsqueda de la concientización ambiental y de la participación de todo el equipo y comunidades de forma voluntaria, democrática y autónoma.
PALABRAS CLAVE:
Biblioteca pública; Biblioteca universitaria; Biblioteca estatal; Educación en biblioteconomía.
1 INTRODUCTION
This work derives from research carried out for the development of a master's thesis in Environmental Sciences. The study included the analysis of sustainable actions, according to the environmental, social and economic tripod, adopted by the Santa Monica Central Library and the State Park Library of Rio de Janeiro/RJ, reference in the country.
The Santa Monica Central Library (SMCL), the object of study of this research, is among the eight libraries of the Uberlândia Federal University Libraries System (SISBI/UFU), created in 1989. As its name already characterizes, SMCL is the central library that concentrates all the superior administration of the SISBI/UFU, services of selection, acquisition, cataloging and classification of all the collection of the libraries. Currently, in 2017, the library develops some initiatives aimed at social, economic and environmental sustainability, but these actions can be strengthened, expanded and disseminated to enable awareness and effective participation of all community.
The goal of this research was to investigate sustainability actions adopted by a reference library in Brazil and compare it with actions developed by the Santa Mônica Central Library of the Uberlândia Federal University. Specifically, it aimed to propose projects and actions that may provide SMCL users and staff with a participatory, inclusive, accessible and environmentally engaged work and study environment.
Sustainability actions should be implemented in SMCL due to the great social and institutional value it represents for the academic community and the external community of Uberlândia and the region, considering that universities and their libraries are secular institutions, promoters of culture and human formation.
2 THEORETICAL REFERENCE
The contextualization of sustainable development in light of environmental issues cannot be understood without its fundamentation tripod, which considers aspects of economic, social and environmental.
Sustainable development, which is considered by Sachs (2004), must involve socially, economically and environmentally efficient and aggregate solutions, obey the dual ethical imperative of solidarity with present and future generations, demanding the specification of criteria of social and environmental sustainability and economic viability.
But afterall, what is sustainable? Nowadays, sustainable terminology has gained a lot of contours, as humanity is showing greater concern about environmental issues, society is reflecting on the impact that development at any cost is causing to the environment, new trends in relation to the theme indicate that the sustainable development will only exist if there is harmony with the environment, the economy and the social aspect.
The social aspect of development is very broad, allows different analyzes and identification of various situations, such as culture, leisure, housing, health, among others. Sachs (2004) analyzes that decent employment for all, an effective and fair primary distribution of income is the best way to ensure both social sustainability and economic growth. The importance of education is emphasized by Sachs (2004) in that it contributes to cultural formation, awareness, understanding of human rights, the possibility of participation and the development of autonomy.
In order to promote any undertaking aimed at sustainable development, it is essential to involve the state and society, as well as strategic planning that has a global vision that contemplates the balance within the sustainability tripod: society, economic and the environment. Unsustainable development is environmentally incorrect, causing loss of biodiversity, it is economically unfeasible, and will result in poor distribution of income, and is socially unfair, leading to social exclusion.
Libraries are spaces for organizing knowledge, guarding and creating culture, preserving the history of peoples and nations. Libraries are environments that receive and meet the demands presented locally or virtually, in a democratic and impartial manner. Given all the representative context in which libraries are involved, we can say that they are essential for the social, cultural and environmental development of the communities where they are inserted.
Libraries, by characteristic, encourage social sustainability by establishing social and digital inclusion practices for people with disabilities and those who are economically disadvantaged, offering free, targeted and accessible access to their physical space, to informational contents, democratizing access to information to all society without any restrictions.
Social responsibility is also focused on the environmental dimension. On October 28, 2010, the International Standardization Organization (ISO) published the international standard ISO 26000 - Guidance on social responsability and on November 1 of that year, the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT), Brazil's only ISO representative, published the Portuguese version NBR ISO 26000 - Guidelines on social responsibility, which defines it as the commitment of an organization to the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment, through an ethical and transparent behavior, this organization should also contribute to Sustainable Development (SD), health and well-being of society (BRAZILIAN ASSOCIATION OF TECHNICAL STANDARDS, 2010). The environmental scope of social responsibility requires that libraries, as organizations fulfill their role as promoters of social and environmental development.
For acquiring and producing knowledge, it is salutary that the environment, within its various aspects, is adequate and inviting, harmonious, safe and comfortable. For the creation of these environments, it is essential that managers and all library staff know the community, users, be aware of technological advances, novelties in librarianship and the demands, as well as be updated according to the events that involve the population in their daily lives. Sustainability is one of the major themes of contemporary society. In this way, it must be treated with the seriousness and relevance it deserves, considering that a sustainable environment promotes social well-being, enhances the quality of life, contributes to the preservation of the environment and human life.
The Network of University Libraries (Spain) (2012) (REBIUN) highlights the importance of the participation of libraries in promoting social responsibility and university sustainability, emphasizing two situations: first, they must establish partnership and connection to areas such as human resources, environmental management, social programs, among others, and secondly, to incorporate library professionals in their specific aspects, such as library services, collections management, open access, among others, as well as responsibility and sustainability strategies and initiatives for the development of universities. REBIUN reaffirms the importance of the role that thinkers and library managers and librarians must take on the responsibility and commitment to enhance and modernize libraries.
The sustainability thematic is considerably complex and comprehensive, in this way it must be characterized according to the context in which it is inserted. The main focus of this research was to explore sustainability in libraries with the goal of investigating sustainable actions adopted by a reference library in Brazil and to compare it to the actions applied by the Santa Mônica Central Library, the main library of the Uberlândia Federal University's Libraries System/MG.
During the search process on the electronic pages of the sixty-three Brazilian federal university libraries, identified on the website of the Ministry of Education (MEC)28, from April 27 to 30, 2016, we consulted the mission, vision and other contents of the pages and did not find in any of them concrete sustainable actions, according to Table 1
Some initiatives can be observed, however, in only 4.8% of the libraries surveyed, a result that is far from our expectation considering the relevance of the theme. The Libraries System29 (SISTEBIB) of the Amazonas Federal University (UFAM) presents in its mission "To cultivate knowledge in all fields through teaching, research and extension, contributing to the formation of citizens and the development of Amazon."(FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF AMAZONAS, SYSTEM OF LIBRARIES, 2016). The intention is to contribute to the development of the Amazon, considered by some as the "lung of the world" for the production of oxygen and to serve as an environmental balance, due to the abundant ecological chain, ecosystem and natural resources, especially water. Another mention of promoting the development of the Amazon was enunciated by the Integrated System of Libraries of the Federal University of the West of Pará (SIBI / UFOPA), also in its mission "To serve the academic community with quality, providing efficient and effective service of access to information, aiming at the production and dissemination of technical-scientific and cultural knowledge for the development of the Amazon." (FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF PARÁ, SYSTEM OF LIBRARIES, 2011)
SISBI / UFU presented in its vision "To be a regional, national and international reference of a public university in the promotion of teaching, research and extension in all campuses, committed to the guarantee of fundamental rights and to integrated regional, social and environmentally sustainable "(UNIVERSITY FEDERAL DE UBERLÂNDIA, 2016), the intentionality of promoting sustainable development. This vision was built by the SISBI / UFU team during the development of the UFU Institutional Development and Expansion Plan (PIDE) 2016-2020. The PIDE must include the guidelines, goals, programs and plans of action designed in all areas of university activity.
The lack of sustainable initiatives in the libraries surveyed draws attention to the relevance of this research in the purpose of being a motivator for the libraries and information units of the country to include procedures in their policies to benefit the preservation and environmental education. Weber (2012) adds that libraries need to concretize practical actions of environmental education, that the environment is developed by man and for man favoring individual and collective responsibility.
Due to the difficulty of perception of a Brazilian federal university library that was a reference, the search field was expanded to other types of libraries, but always with a central focus on a sustainable library. During the investigation, in April 2016, we verified that the first and only Brazilian library to achieve environmental certification was the State Park Library (BPE), of the Rio de Janeiro government. The certification was awarded by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), United States Gold category, which is an international certification system in the area of sustainable construction.
Other systems that are references in this type of certification are the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)30, launched in 1990 in England, the Haute Qualité Environnementale (HQE)31, also presented in the early 1990s in France and the Green Star32, created in 2003 by the Green Building Council of Australia. According to (BRASIL, 2009), there are 9 principles that guide the guidelines of an environmentally balanced construction, such as: sustainable construction planning, passive use of natural resources, energy efficiency, water management and economy, waste management in the building, air quality and the interior environment, thermo-acoustic comfort, rational use of materials and use of environmentally friendly products and technologies. The above principles should be requirements in any constructions
The formation of citizens is not restricted to formal education and to the teachers, all those who work with the public, with different publics, in the formal and non-formal spheres, but it must also cover the importance of their role of educator, by means of examples, and of care for the work environment and the quality of care.
Environmental education has become mandatory in public spaces, with what intentionality? In favor of what and in favor of whom, is a proposal for environmental education consolidated in a library and with what paradigm?
The present research is developed from a perspective of humanization, of human and environmental ethics, such as the possibility of constructing an environmental education in a sustainable library, based on the thought and work of Paulo Freire. For this, among others, the following aspects were approached: awareness, participation, autonomy, dialogue and listening.
Paulo Freire observes the depth of the meaning of the word conscientization, for him education, as a practice of freedom, is an act of knowledge, a critical approach to reality. (Freire, 1980).
The definition of consciousness, for Freire, is divided into two situations the naive consciousness and the critical conscience, in relation to the last Paulo Freire emphasizes that this represents the evolution of human thought for instigating the inquiry:
In the first moment reality is not given to men as an object knowable by their critical consciousness. In other words, in the spontaneous approximation that man makes of the world, the fundamental normal position is not a critical position, but a naive position. At this spontaneous level, the man approaching reality simply makes the experience of the reality in which he is and seeks. This awareness is not yet awareness, because consciousness consists in the critical development of awareness. Consciousness therefore implies that we go beyond the spontaneous sphere of apprehension of reality to arrive at a critical sphere in which reality is given as a knowable object and in which man assumes an epistemological position. (FREIRE 1980, 26).
In this way, awareness is an invitation to think about our existence, about the situations that surround us, a reflection about our actions. Freire on awareness points out that:
Awareness is in this sense a test of reality. The more awareness, the more "reality" is "dislodged," the more we penetrate into the phenomenal essence of the object, in front of which we find ourselves to analyze it. For this very reason, awareness does not consist in "facing reality", assuming a falsely intellectual position. Awareness cannot exist outside "praxis", or rather, without the action-reflection act. This dialectical unity is, in a permanent way, the way of being or transforming the world that characterizes men. (FREIRE, 1980, p. 26).
The subject who underwent an educational process that fostered criticism of thought is a subject that can cease to be naive and have a distorted thinking of the world. In this process, when the educator and the student opt for change, through right thinking, they act in synchrony, educator and student become aware (FREIRE, 1979).
In the process of environmental education, one can observe the fundamental awareness, the critical awareness of man in relation to the current situation of the environment, humanity must be aware of the need for change, the need to understand, establish a partnership between nature and development, environmental preservation should be treated as a priority.
The relevance of awareness to tackling environmental problems was highlighted in 1987, when the World Commission on Environment and Development (CMMAD) published the Brundtland Report, and the slogan "Think globally, act locally", suggesting that we should think about environmental issues, bring them to our reality, in our community or region.
Awareness requires dialogue and listening, because it allows the exercise of tolerance, putting oneself in another's place in certain situations, having an attentive listening considering the other's point of view and thus acting to change reality.
According to Freire (1980, p. 28) "The more conscientious we become, the better able to be announcers and denounced, thanks to the commitment of transformation that we assume." Freire also stresses the importance of effective participation, the need to take initiative and fulfill commitments, where he emphasizes that "this position must be permanent: from the moment we denounce a dehumanizing structure without compromising with reality, from the moment we arrive at the construction of the project, if we stop being utopian we become bureaucratic "(Freire 1980: 28). Only the man can change the reality it is imperative to know it and to change it when necessary.
Awareness generates the participation, the relevance of the participatory man that changes the environment in which he lives. According to Díaz Bordenave (1989, p.22) "[...] the word participation comes from the word part. Participation is to take part, to take part or to have part [...]", it is necessary to observe the dimensional difference in the terms to be part and take part, the latter really demonstrates the involvement of the individual in the situation to which he is presented, to take part does not require an effective action of participation, has a more superficial meaning, since we can be part of something without having an active voice.
Paulo Freire affirms the importance of education as a way to guarantee participation. A critical and emancipatory education enables the subjects of the process to debate their experiences, problems, situations-limits of daily life, emerging from a position of submission, from spectator to participation. (Freire, 1967).
Participation is a social action of coexistence, conflict and consensus, since guaranteeing the performance of all is fundamental for the constitution of a democratic society, more just and solidary.
Bordenave believes that dialogue is also a force for participation,
The greatest force for participation is dialogue. Dialogue, by the way, does not merely mean to talk. It means putting yourself in the other's place to understand their point of view; respect the opinion of others; accept the majority's victory; to share experiences, whether good or bad; share available information; tolerate long discussions to reach a consensus satisfactory to all. (DÍAZ BORDENAVE, 1989, p.50).
Dialogue is the central point for the promotion of awareness and participation, where if applied can bring an improvement in reality. The dialogue should also be considered as the starting point for the implementation of environmental education and sustainability in the Central Library of Santa Monica, the reality can only be improved if it is known and interpreted.
Participation is fundamental, especially when it comes to agenda that presents everyday situations, with collective interest, to defend interests or benefits that attend a respective social group. In this trend comes the environment and environmental education, issues addressed by recurring environmental problems and in everyday situations, where we live the reality of non-sustainable development.
According to Díaz Bordenave (1989, p. 17), "Everything indicates that man will only develop his full potential in a society that allows and facilitates the participation of all. The ideal future of man will only take place in a participatory society." Brazilian society does not have a considerable participative habit, mainly in the constitution of public policies or any other decision making of social impact. The absence of participation is due mainly to the lack of social and political awareness of the population, it is necessary to understand that by participating we can build a better society; participation provokes the change of society.
Participation has a direct relation with the last Freirean dimension argued here, autonomy, the participant subject has the freedom to become part of something, has the independence to express his arguments and his actions. Participation is a condition for autonomy.
It is necessary to train subjects with autonomy for an environmental education. Freire emphasizes that human beings must be respected, heard and in possession of autonomy to participate in their social group. Paulo Freire affirms that "respect for one's autonomy and dignity is an ethical imperative and not a favor one can give to others" (Freire, 2005: 59).
The subject of autonomy must be aware of his power to change the environment in which he lives, of how important it is the freedom to participate in changes that promote mainly the well-being of all, as well as assume the consequences of the autonomy that must be used responsibly. Properly understood, the Freirean principles and concepts will be fundamental to underpin the tripod of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental sustainability.
3 MEHODOLOGY
The methodology used in this research had a qualitative approach, with an exploratory nature, through a bibliographic survey in books, articles, theses, among others, field research (semistructured interview) and analysis of data identified in a bibliographical research related to environmental sustainability and sustainable libraries, published in books, articles, theses and dissertations, among others, and a survey carried out on the web pages of the main federal university libraries in Brazil, regarding sustainable actions and their emphasis on sustainability.
The comparative method was applied in this research, in which the information collected was compared to the current situation of the Santa Monica Central Library (SMCL) of the Uberlândia Federal University. The final product was an initial proposal with some indications of initiatives for the promotion of sustainability in the Santa Monica Central Library, which will be delivered to the administration of SISBI/UFU.
For the selection of the reference library in sustainability, the mission, vision and other content of the web pages of the sixty-three Brazilian federal university libraries were analyzed, this research found that 4.8% of the libraries surveyed present some initiatives. In the absence of concrete sustainable actions, as an object of comparative study with the Santa Mônica Central Library of UFU, the State Park Library (SPL) was selected from the government of Rio de Janeiro. SPL33 was chosen because it is an accessible library, involved in social and cultural activities, which includes environmental education in one of its missions, contributing to the formation of a conscious population, concerned with the environment34, an initiative still uncommon in the reality of Brazilian libraries, and for being the first and only Brazilian library to achieve the Gold LEED Certification. LEED is an international system of environmental certification and guidance for buildings, used in 143 countries, and aims to encourage the transformation of projects, work and operation of buildings, always focusing on the sustainability of their actions35.
The research also included a visit to SPL, but it, along with its users and employees, was also a victim of the violent financial crisis in the State of Rio de Janeiro, where all the staff served only until December 2016 before termination, an online interview was conducted with a librarian who was part of the SPL team, granting the interview via webconference, through Skype software, on February 23, 2017, from 11:12am to 12:30pm. During the interview, the topics discussed were such as: the creation of SPL, products and services offered, library management and approaches in the sustainable tripod, social, economic and environmental sustainability, as well as the positive and negative aspects of the process.
Due to the closing of SPL it was not possible to carry out the visit and consequently the photographic record. In this way, the images presented in the research come from the Internet and the SISBI / UFU archives, which have images taken during a Technical Visit held by the SISBI/UFU librarian, Paulo de Assis Cunha, on October 6, 2015. For analysis of the data were compared the information collected in the bibliographic survey of the literature in question, and the research carried out on the web pages of the libraries and in the interview.
4 RESULTS
As a result of the research we present the comparative analysis between the sustainable actions adopted by SPL and SMCL, as well as an initial proposal of sustainability intervention in libraries that will be delivered to the administration of SISBI/UFU.
4.1 State Park Library and its sustainable actions
The park libraries, fulfilling their social role, propose to offer to the communities which are inserted access to information, culture, coexistence and art and according to the interviewed SPL through their projects, products and services offered to the community configure a greater emphasis on social sustainability.
Among the residents of the community or the surrounding area, we must consider and highlight the people living in the streets that are established in the region. The interviewee reported the treatment that these people receive while attending the SPL, as well as the projects that promote social inclusion. The homeless who use the library are assigned a social card, these people have no address, the address of the shelter is informed, and those who do not live in shelters are referred to a social mediator. The mediator performs an interview and completes the registration available on the library management software, in the supplementary register it is possible to insert more information such as where they were, where they lived, among others, noting that it is not necessary to have proof of residence to register at SPL.
The SPL team began to reflect on what else it would be possible to do and offer them and thus began the One Voice Project, which consisted of a choir that started to gather at the SPL, the project was for all interested, but the great majority of its participants were homeless drug users. Subsequently the project unfolded for theater classes that reached this same audience. Another outstanding project was a course with training in gastronomy, which was a partnership with Calouste Gulbenkian.
Another prominent public that compose the surroundings of the SPL are the students of the municipal public schools, the interviewee pointed out that there is a very intense relationship with the classes of the Rivadavia Correa Municipal and Tiradentes Municipal Schools, SPL became the backyard of these schools. SPL on Saturdays offers special actions for children. The participation of students from municipal schools in the SPL demonstrates how important the project is to the community, it means that the library is acting directly in the formation of these children, in the formation of readers and future professionals and mainly citizens.
When we consider social sustainability and social inclusion we cannot ignore people with disabilities. To meet this category of users, the collection consists of audiobooks, digital books and Braille books, in this context SPL is located in a fully accessible building with ramp, elevator, floor and tactile signage, as well as booths for the visually impaired and users of wheelchairs, all wheelchair accessible. The interviewee exemplified and confirmed that the library is physically accessible, narrating the passage of the Paralympic torch by the SPL. However, there is restriction of access in the surroundings, SPL employees accompany visually impaired users to the subway and deliver them to the subway guard. Continuing staff training is a process that must be anticipated in libraries, especially accessibility training, considering that there are several demands for each of the different types of disability.
Assistive technologies, devices, equipment, processes and techniques are necessary for people with disabilities to have access to information by providing adequate and inclusive care. The interviewee cites some technologies offered by the SPL such as the Sarah CE scanner that is used by visually impaired, the librarians scan the material and save it in a device for the user; special Braille keyboards; Electronic magnifying lens for books; Page turner, which turns the pages to readers with physical disabilities; Fusing machine, which heats carbon illustrations, generating the embossing effect and allowing visually impaired children to "see" the drawings.
In order for the service to be qualitative the team must be properly trained and involved in the purpose of serving the citizen, in this sense the interviewee described an important employee training project that was made possible through a private partnership. The SPL36 accessibility project, sponsored by Cielo37, offered the Accessibility Course in Libraries and the Introductory Course in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras). The accessibility project with Cielo's partnership also provided the acquisition of Browsealoud38 software, which is responsible for reading the contents of the library's electronic page and even translating it into other languages
The Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro funds the SPL, which transfers approximately R$ 950,000.00 (nine hundred and fifty thousand reais) per month to the Institute of Development and Management (IDM), Social Organization responsible for the management, maintenance and operation of the Park Libraries Network. In order to analyze the economic sustainability of the SPL, there is nothing better than to check the numbers, in this way we refer to the Annual Management Report of 2015, of the IDM on the Park Libraries, in this document we have identified the statistical data of the SPL, interviewee stressed that there are goals to be met in relation to the offer of products and services, which required a great dedication and commitment of the team. The collection consists of approximately 175,000 items and its opening hours in 2015 was Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm.
From the statistics consulted in the Report, we highlight that SPL received 423,438 visitors in 2015, with 202 mediated visits to schools, highlighting the participation of the children's audience. In this period in 2015, 22.346 new users were registered.
To further elucidate these figures and broaden our understanding of the impact that the economic sustainability of SPL produces we identify the services reported in the Report that are compatible with the services mentioned in the calculator of value assignment to the products and services offered by an information unit such as the pricing suggested by France, Author X and Portela (2017), Annex A, after the identification we made the mentioned accounting, table 1, even agreeing with the position of the authors that consider that to assign and measure value to each of the informational services offered is one of the most challenging and least applied managerial tasks in informational environments.
In order to allocate the reference values it a parameter by analogy was created between the SPL indicators presented in the report and the reference value of the SMCL information services presented in Annex A. Regarding loans from the collection, due to the lack of detail of the type of material applied the reference value established for Books; visitors (frequency): a reference value was assigned for use of study rooms in a group, multimedia and videoconference; students and schools attended on guided visits: it was assigned a reference value for Training - Guided visit; (without journals): and established a reference value for Books and Officials authorized in sign language was assigned: reference value of Participation in events, meetings.
The total value of the seven indicators of the SPL was twenty-seven million, two hundred and thirty thousand, four hundred and forty-seven reais and ninety-seven Brazilian cents (R$ 27,230,447.97), a substantial value considering that a yearly investment is made of R$ 11,400,000.00 (eleven million and four hundred thousand reais) for maintenance of SPL, we must also consider that several other indicators were not included in the worksheet. Most indicators that have not been cited are inherent to Management Goals, Cultural Activities, and Educational Activities.
The problem of lack of recognition and financial investment in educational and cultural institutions is a peculiar problem of Brazil, especially by the institutions that are maintained by the public power. The figures cited above confirm that SPL contributes to economic sustainability, in which the invested value is returned in the form of community service, social inclusion and the training of citizen readers.
The main peculiarity of the SPL is the emphasis on sustainability where this concern can be proven by the fact that the project was developed with the purpose of environmental concern, this initiative was fruitful since the construction was awarded the environmental certification by the LEED Gold category, the first and the only library in Brazil to receive the title. LEED is an international environmental certification and guidance system for buildings, used in 143 countries, and aims to encourage the transformation of projects, work and operation of buildings, always focusing on the sustainability of their actions. It certifies the sustainability of the construction and ensures that every process has been carried out the quality of the systems implemented, such as reduction of waste and pollution, water consumption and energy, as well as the use of regional materials and internal environmental quality. The efficient building project gave the building the following sustainable features:
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certified wood: all floors are covered with certified Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) wood, which ensures the responsible management of forests;
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thermal comfort: to increase the thermal comfort were used:
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the entire structure was painted white;
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double sun protection shades with high shade factor reduce heat input by up to 52% and also minimize noise;
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replacing the cobogos with perforated sheet steel;
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green roof covering approximately 2.000m2, attenuating the interior temperature, avoiding the formation of heat islands;
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use of solar energy to produce electricity: the sloped roof of the skylight received photovoltaic panels to produce 20% of the energy consumed, about 50 thousand megawatts per year. The project was made feasible by Light Services of Electricity S.A, through the state program Rio Capital da Energia (Rio Energy Capital). The total cost of the equipment is R$ 585 thousand;
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use of natural light: the building has abundant natural light, with light controlled by the skylight and cracks between the supporting elements, intended to supply the library area. According to the interviewed natural lighting was very good, considering that Rio has a lot of light, this lighting is only no enough in winter, period in which, around 5 pm, it is necessary to light the lamps. In the rest of the period, natural lighting supplied all demand;
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reuse of rainwater: rainwater is used for irrigation of gardens and general services, providing an economy of approximately 45% of water;
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water saving: implantation of taps with automatic control of time and water flow;
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balanced air conditioning: the system was balanced with the other thermal control devices to avoid waste, and also has an ice water central with reserve tank, only used in times of power failure.
All sustainable initiatives and actions are disseminated to the visitors, with the purpose of dissemination and awareness, and this is one of the processes of environmental education.
The interviewee pointed out that one of the negative points of sustainable furniture was the maintenance, the furniture is covered by a film that comes out very easily and from the moment it is released it has to be replaced in its entirety.
All the results presented demonstrate the importance of libraries to the context of building a participatory and conscious citizen society. In this training role, the actions of social, economic and environmental sustainability should be added on to include sustainable development as a premise of a society that thinks about the future of its generations. For the development of libraries and the efficiency of their activities it is imperative that they be recognized as transformative mechanisms and that at once the necessary investments are made by both public and private initiative.
4.2 Santa Monica Central Library and its sustainable actions
SMCL is a university library, inaugurated in 1991 to constitute SISBI / UFU, currently, in 2017, it is the system's main library since it is the largest in size, approximately 8,000m2. In 2015, received an average frequency of 3,610 users per day, it also has a greater number of acquis and statistical data on access and use of its products and services, in addition to centralizing the SISBI/UFU administration. SMCL adopts all sustainable actions, by analyzing the social, economic and environmental sustainability tripod.
It can be said that from social sustainability, SMCL offers its users social inclusion, through the perception of the need to serve the public who cannot afford their own equipment and even pay for Internet access to conduct their research, SMCL offers products and services such as access to information resources and study environments, home loan of mobile devices such as: netbook, tablets and e-readers, research islands, wireless internet, network and electricity points and planetary scanner for scanning of documents without costs, as well as the provision of some assistive technologies for access to information for people with disabilities, such as: Dosvox, DSpeech, Electronic magnifying glass, Monitvox, NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA), Winamp.
Perhaps because it is a building inaugurated in 1991, the physical structure has some architectural barriers, not being favorable to accessibility. The access to the upper floors by people with disabilities is only possible by means of an elevator, which if impaired brings the circulation to a halt, because the library does not have ramps. Another obstacle to circulation is the absence of tactile and visual signaling. We also note other necessary initiatives such as the training of staff for the care of people with disabilities, the availability of the resources of access to information in greater quantity and the software installed in all the computers, as well as the availability of a specific place to better receive and expand the possibility of new services.
In terms of economic sustainability, the financial investment to the library is compensated by the concession of products and services to the internal and external community, in this way we identify the characteristics of the economic sustainability exercised by SMCL. To elucidate, we present a table proposed by França, Author X, and Portela (2017) to calculate the valuation of the information services offered by SMCL for the year base 2015, Annex A. The calculator was adapted to the tool developed by the Network of Libraries of the Spanish Scientific Research Council (CSIC), created in 2012. The amounts exceeded thirty million reais (R$ 30,000,000.00), approximately 30 times higher than the amount invested annually.
Since 2011, some actions of environmental sustainability have been carried out, these actions aimed at promoting and raising awareness about environmental education, sustainable consumption among employees and users, humanization in work activities and the provision of products and services with quality and efficiency. Table 2 summarizes the actions adopted and their respective direct goals.
Due to the lack of information records it was not possible to present specific SMCL statistical data, which illustrates the impact on the decrease in consumption material expenditures, the quantity of waste that was not incorrectly discarded, among others. However, next we contextualize all the process regarding the actions, making it possible to highlight the perception of these impacts.
SIGAMI was developed by the Library System in partnership with the UFU Information Technology Center (CTI/UFU). It was developed to modernize the acquisition activities that were managed by the following four systems between 1996 and 2010:
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Online Request: system where the registration of the requests was made. The heads of the Selection and Acquisition Sector (SESEL) and the Journals department accessed the orders, printed them and distributed them to the staff, who manually analyzed each order;
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Acquisition Base: after analyzing the requests, they were entered, one by one, in the Acquisition Base;
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Pericon: system where the requests for acquisition of periodicals were typed, after the conclusion of the analysis; and
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Approval and Transfer: system used to manage the down payment and transfer of all informational material from UFU libraries.
The 4 systems were not integrated and because they were obsolete they did not meet the current demands, considering the need to streamline and to make processes transparent, to improve the communication with the applicants and mainly due to the significant increase in the quantity of acquisitions. This factor made the process cumbersome, costly, inaccessible and environmentally unsuitable, mainly considering the immense amount of paper and ink used to print all the requests.
The acquisition of informational material can occur in 3 ways: purchase, donations or barter. SESEL receives donations of material and these donations arrive in a disorderly manner, and in the majority of the times inadequate to the collection, generating a huge accumulation of waste. Facing the problem, the direction of SISBI/UFU in partnership with the Permanent Documentary Analysis Committee (COPAD), approved Resolution 05/2011 of the Directing Council (CONDIR), which regulates the conditions and routines of receiving and undoing information material within the UFU libraries. This resolution is considered an important sustainability action, since it avoids receiving undesired information material, and the accumulation of waste, as well as, by means of the decommissioning, allows to other, proper institutions, the receiving of works causing the reduction of expenses, with acquisition.
In 2012, through the partnership with the Directorate of Environmental Sustainability (DIRSU) of UFU, began the retriaval of waste lamps, collected and discarded in an appropriate and environmentally correct manner. By 2012, at UFU, there was no reverse logistics for fluorescent lamps. The environmental impact of these lamps is due to the mercury housed in them. According to Bacila, Fischer and Kolicheski
The recycling of mercury lamps is the most efficient way to minimize environmental impacts, since they are 99% recyclable after use. In order for this recycling to happen on a large scale and for the federal legislation published in 2010 in Brazil to be followed, the reverse logistics system must be used to recapture the value of the materials and offer an ecologically correct destination. (BACILA, FISCHE, KOLICHESKI, 2014, p. 32)
In 2013 we can consider that it was the year with the highest incidence of sustainable actions, 5 in total, these being:
distribution of mugs, the first delivery of the utensils in acrylic material, to the staff occurred at the opportunity of the SISBI / UFU fraternization in December 2013, later, an e- mail was sent requesting that they use the mug during working hours, with the goal of reducing the consumption of disposable cups. The disposable cups are produced from unsustainable raw material, polypropylene and also polystyrene, petroleum byproducts, which can take from 200 to 450 years to decompose in nature41;
emailing user loan receipts, made possible through the implementation of the self-loan equipment of information material. It is important to highlight the importance of TICs participation as a means to promote sustainability. In this case, it can provide greater convenience to users, reducing paper consumption and expense in acquiring reels;
the availability of planetary scanners, took place at the end of 2013, enabled users to digitize parts of works according to copyright law, with options for sending by email or recording on a USB device. The initiative provided financial savings to the user, release of physical space and mainly the reduction of environmental impact by reducing paper copies;
provision of draft paper for SMCL users, is a product of the UFU works and furniture preservation project: subproject draft provision. The initiative promoted a better use of the furniture by the users, the reduction of the expense with products and the time spent in the cleaning, saving in the use of paper by the users and the institution, since the paper used by the administrative units of the UFU is used for drafts, also causing the reduction of waste generation and the correct destination of the reused paper to the recycling cooperatives contracted, currently in 2017, to the Uberlândia Association of Collectors and Recyclers and Uberlândia Recyclers Cooperative; and
"Asas do Silêncio" campaign, a project that was initially developed with the aim of minimizing the noise generated by users in the library. The Health and Safety at Work Department (BRASIL, 1994) classifies noise as an environmental risks. A (BRAZILIAN ASSOCIATION OF TECHNICAL STANDARDS, 1987) stipulates the noise level for libraries in the range of 35 to 45 dB.
The aforementioned initiatives fall far short of the possibilities and needs of making SMCL a sustainable living environment by offering products and services that avoid environmental impact both now and in the future. While aware of their social, cultural, economic and environmental commitment, not all libraries are prepared to assume such responsibility. Knowledge of best practices and actions for sustainability are relevant tools for staffers.
4.3 SMCL Sustainability Intervention Proposal;
After the research, we will present to the management of SISBI/UFU an initial proposal with some indications of initiatives for the promotion of sustainability in the Santa Monica Central Library. The initial suggestions will be discussed with the SISBI/UFU team and institutional partners and can be adjusted, excluded or extended:
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to disclose on the SISBI/UFU website the sustainable actions already carried out by SISBI/UFU;
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to create the SISBI/UFU Sustainability Program and establish a SISBI/UFU Sustainability Program Commission with the goal of implementing environmental and social responsibility in SMCL and carry out environmental management, involving actions that involve:
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staff training in a conscientious perspective;
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publicize the program and established sustainable actions;
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dialogue and encourage the participation of the internal and external community welcoming suggestions for improvement of the program;
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organize events and
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implement and establish partnerships and policies, promoting the participation of all stakeholders in contributing to the project;
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to implement the 5 Rs policy, which should prioritize the reduction of consumption and reuse of materials:
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Rethinking: to awaken the environmental conscience in the human being and rethink the habits of consumption;
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Reduce: to reduce the amount of waste produced, consume only what is necessary, prioritize products with greater durability;
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Reapprove: use again, give new use to materials;
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Recycle: transform waste materials into new products, reducing waste, and
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Refuse to consume products that generate significant social and environmental impacts: use only environmentally certified and non-environmentally threatening, non-recyclable products.
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These measures reduce expenses in the treatment of waste, the extraction of natural resources, the amount of waste in the landfills, the use of electric energy in industries and the cooperatives of waste pickers, recyclers, among others;
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to implement the Public Administration Environmental Agenda (A3P), A3P aims to incorporate the sustainability program in Public Administration, through the implementation of socio-environmental responsibility principles, stimulating changes in routines in public administration, such as changes in investments, purchases and hiring of services by the government, sensitivity training and training of staffers on adequate management of natural resources used and waste generated and promoting the improvement of the quality of life in the work environment. The steps for implementation involve: creating and regulating the A3P Management Committee; Perform environmental diagnosis; Develop projects and activities; Mobilization and sensitization; Evaluation and monitoring (BRASIL, 2009);
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obtain environmental certification for new library buildings: it is known that it is necessary to build new buildings to house some UFU libraries, currently, in 2017, the only libraries that are in definitive buildings are the Santa Monica Central Library and the Umuarama Sectoral. This way, there is demand of construction of at least 6 buildings. As a suggestion we also pointed out the hiring of professionals with expertise in this type of construction and if necessary a consulting company in the area;
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to implement new actions and expand existing ones: develop partnerships with other institutional organs for the development of projects to implement sustainable actions, including replacement of furniture and equipment and adjustment of physical, electrical and hydraulic structure;
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to measure the impact of sustainable actions: to manage the impact of the sustainable actions adopted by SISBI/UFU, by library, for deep analysis and decision making;
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to promote and guarantee the continuous training of the staff;
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to build kits with users that contemplate material that contributes to environmental awareness. Kits can include: cups or squeezes to be used instead of disposable cups, informative brochures about the project and the importance of environmental preservation and how to recycle waste and save water and energy, among others;
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to create a solidarity flea market, which volunteers can donate materials and equipment to be passed on to students in social and/or economic vulnerability duly indicated by the Student Assistance Division (DIASE) of UFU.
With the implementation of the suggestions, it is expected that SMCL and the other UFU libraries will be environmentally engaged, offer a return to the community due to the financial investments received, as well as be promoters of social and digital inclusion.
5 FINAL THOUGHTS
Libraries are environments that promote the historical and cultural preservation of a local or global community, provide access to information locally or remotely, participate in the training of professionals and citizens and in this way collaborate directly to the social, cultural and environmental development of the communities where they are located, thereby ensuring sustainability.
This study investigated the sustainable practices of a reference library in sustainability in the country and confronted it to the sustainable actions adopted in the Santa Mônica Central Library of Uberlândia Federal University.
In the course of the research, it was possible to verify that the great majority of Brazilian federal university libraries do not directly address sustainable development in their activities, social and economic sustainability is subtly applied, through access to information, social and digital inclusion the return of the investments received, to society through the free offer of products and services. However, environmental sustainability does not receive the due importance that the theme deserves, care with the environment and the practice of environmental education are still objects of inattention.
The final product of this research will be the delivery to the SISBI / UFU administration of an initial proposal with some indications of suggestions for initiatives to promote sustainability in the Santa Monica Central Library, which will have as a starting point the dialogue in search of environmental awareness, through the participation of all internal and external teams and communities in a voluntary, democratic and autonomous way.
References
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- BACILA, D. M.; FISCHE, K.; KOLICHESKI, M. B. Estudo sobre reciclagem de lâmpadas fluorescentes. Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental, n. esp., p. 21-30, 2014.
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BRASIL, Ministério do Meio Ambiente.Agenda Ambiental na Administração Pública. Brasília: MMA, 2009. Disponível em: <Disponível em: http://www.mma.gov.br/images/arquivo/80063/cartilha%20completa%20A3P_.pdf >. Acesso em: 21 jul. 2016
» http://www.mma.gov.br/images/arquivo/80063/cartilha%20completa%20A3P_.pdf - BRASIL. Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego. Portaria no 25, de dezembro de 1994. Aprova o texto da Norma Regulamentadora no 9: riscos ambientais. Brasília: MTE, 1994.
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- FREIRE, P. Educação como prática da liberdade. Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra, 1967.
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RED DE BIBLIOTECAS UNIVERSITARIAS (ESPANHA). Contribución de las bibliotecas en materia de responsabilidad social y sostenibilidad universitarias. In: CONFERENCIA DE RECTORES DE LAS UNIVERSIDADES ESPAÑOLAS. 2012. Madrid. Anais...Madrid, 2012. Disponível em: <Disponível em: http://www.rebiun.org/documentos/Documents/IIIPE_2020_LINEA1/Contribucion_bibliotecas%20universitarias_responsabilidad_social_y_sostenibilidad_REBIUN.pdf >. Acesso em: 21 jul. 2016
» http://www.rebiun.org/documentos/Documents/IIIPE_2020_LINEA1/Contribucion_bibliotecas%20universitarias_responsabilidad_social_y_sostenibilidad_REBIUN.pdf - SACHS, I. Desenvolvimento includente, sustentável, sustentado. Rio de Janeiro: Garamond, 2004.
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UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE UBERLÂNDIA. SISTEMA DE BIBLITECAS. Sistema de Bibliotecas: visão. Disponível em: <Disponível em: http://www.bibliotecas.ufu.br/institucional >. Acesso em: 27 abr. 2016.
» http://www.bibliotecas.ufu.br/institucional -
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO AMAZONAS. SISTEMA DE BIBLIOTECAS. Sistema de Bibliotecas da Universidade Federal do Amazonas: missão e visão. Disponível em: <Disponível em: http://biblioteca.ufam.edu.br/sobre-sistebib/missao >. Acesso em: 28 abr. 2016.
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UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO OESTE DO PARÁ. SISTEMA DE BIBLIOTECAS. Sistema de Bibliotecas: nossa missão. Disponível em: <Disponível em: http://www.ufopa.edu.br/institucional/suplementares/sistema-de-biblioteca-da- ufopa/biblioteca >. Acesso em: 28 abr. 2016.
» http://www.ufopa.edu.br/institucional/suplementares/sistema-de-biblioteca-da- ufopa/biblioteca - WEBER, C. As bibliotecas e o aporte para o desenvolvimento sustentável. Responsabilidade e Reciprocidade, v. 1, n. 1, p. 491-496, 2012.
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Apesar de o SISBI/UFU fazer parte da esfera pública federal e a BPM, da estadual, entendemos que as ações de sustentabilidade independem das características das bibliotecas, bem como pela função de ambas bibliotecas que oferecer é oferecer à comunidade a qual está inserida um atendimento eficiente e com qualidade em prol do desenvolvimento social, cultural e ambiental.
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System for Management and Acquisition of Informational Material. Cf. http://www.sigami.ufu.br/
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ANNEX A
Edited by
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Editor:
Gildenir Carolino Santos
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