the biblioteca do centro cultural banco do brasil (library of the cultural center of banco do brasil), was inaugurated in 1931, is housed in a beautifully restored neoclassical building designed in 1880 by the architect francisco joaquim bethencourt da silva.

today it has a collection of over 125,000 items, much of which is in the areas of the arts, social sciences, philosophy and literature. closed between 2010 and 2012 for renovations, the 2,200 square meter space has been expanded and modernized.

it includes three rooms for the general collection, a lecture hall, a reference room containing encyclopedias and dictionaries, a number of multimedia classrooms.