Library

The UNIFAL-MG Library System (SIBI) has four libraries, namely: Central Library, located on the Headquarters Campus; Library of the Santa Clara Unit; Poços de Caldas Campus Library and Varginha Campus Library.

Structure
The total area for Libraries at UNIFAL-MG is 3,911m², with rooms for individual and group study, desks for group study, computers for research, restrooms, drinking fountains, bins and more than 600 seats in total. Libraries have a planetary scanner. The availability of scanners has contributed to assist, facilitate and expand access to the content of Libraries, as well as to diversify the services provided, bringing innovation. All libraries have a wireless network for access by all users.

Human Resources
Staff in libraries are made up of outsourced librarians, administrative assistants and administrative assistants. It is noteworthy that the implementation of self-service uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and aims to promote the automation and optimization of services provided by libraries, greater security to their collection, since the technology is more advanced than that used currently (electromagnetic) and, consequently, improve the quality of care provided.

Collection
The bibliographic collection of the SIBI/UNIFAL-MG Libraries consists of books, periodicals, CDs, DVDs, theses, dissertations, maps, among others. The updating and expansion of the collection is made according to internal resolutions and based on the requirements of the MEC/INEP in order to meet the basic and complementary bibliographies described in the curricular units of the courses offered at the Institution. In the last six years, the collection grew 29.77% in the number of titles and 12.07% in the number of copies, compared to the 2015 collection. The acquisitions aim to meet the needs of the disciplines and the requirements of the Assessment Instrument of the MEC/INEP.

As for the digital collection, in July 2015, the Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD) of UNIFAL-MG was implemented, with the objective of making accessible, quickly and without borders, access to the complete digital version of theses and dissertations defended in the 22 Stricto Sensu Postgraduate Programs at UNIFAL-MG, thus meeting CAPES Ordinance 013/2006 [98], which institutes the digital dissemination of theses and dissertations produced by recognized doctoral and master’s programs.

Regarding the use of the CAPES Journal Portal, a total of 880,616 accesses were made from 2015 to 2019, with 491,798 accesses to the reference databases, and 388,818 accesses to the full texts. The SIBI/UNIFAL-MG Libraries offer a bibliographic switching service that allows you to obtain copies of technical-scientific documents available in the collections of the main Brazilian libraries and in international information services. In the years 2015 to 2020, 87 COMUT requests were answered.

Technological and cultural changes that have been taking place in recent decades make it necessary to build collections in digital format. Recently, it signed two digital e-book platforms (Virtual Library and My Library by Pearson) and now offers the university community access to almost 20 thousand titles from different areas of knowledge.

In 2020, classroom classes were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which contributed to a drop in the number of consultations compared to previous years.

Source: SIBI/UNIFAL-MG (2020), Sophia Library (2020), and GEOCAPES (2020)