A living library of books, photography, memory, and shared knowledge

The story of the Biblioteca Jaime Umbelino begins with Jaime himself.

A writer, linguist, educator, and lifelong advocate for learning, Jaime Umbelino had a deep connection to books, education, and knowledge. His relationship with libraries was also part of his professional life, having worked at the Municipal Library of Torres Vedras before later becoming its director.

Today, at the Casa-Museu Jaime Umbelino in Foz do Arelho, we are continuing that legacy by creating a library that brings together literature, local history, education, photography, art, and visual culture.

The Biblioteca Jaime Umbelino is a living library. Books are here to be read, consulted, discovered, exchanged, and shared. The collection grows through donations, partnerships, exchanges, and contributions from the community, creating a resource that evolves with the people who use it.

Photography has a special place within the library through the work of the Centro de Experimentação da Fotografia (CEF), bringing together photobooks, artist books, exhibition catalogues, photographic publications, and other resources dedicated to the image and visual culture.

But this is not simply a collection of books.

It is a place where knowledge can move between generations, where a local history can sit beside a photobook, where a photograph can lead to a question, and where a question can lead to another book.

A library built through exchange

Some books enter through donation. Others through exchange, partnerships, or initiatives connecting photographic prints and publications.

Each book brings with it a history, and each new reader adds something to that history.

A thousand books make a library.
A community makes it come alive.

From the Casa-Museu to the community

The library also extends beyond the walls of the Casa-Museu through the Little Free Library Jaime Umbelino.

Part of the international Little Free Library network, it offers a different way for books to circulate:

Take a book. Leave a book. Share a story.

While the Biblioteca Jaime Umbelino provides a place to stay, read, research, and discover, the Little Free Library allows books to travel into the community and find new readers.

Together, they continue something Jaime understood deeply: that access to knowledge can change lives, and that knowledge becomes more valuable when it is shared.

Preserving memory. Sharing knowledge. Inspiring discovery.