"I work with the dissemination of knowledge,’ says Marcos Gonçalves, head of the José Anibal Freitas Marques Library at Manesco Advogados.
Born in Sumé, Paraíba, Marcos Rogério Ribeiro Gonçalves has been married for 25 years and, among his many interests, enjoys visiting a farm in Extrema, Minas Gerais, where he cultivates a forest he planted himself, in addition to caring for stray dogs. In São Paulo, he also raises cats.
Librarianship, the only profession he has practised to date, came about through the influence of two sisters who share the same career. "Although as a child I thought about being a veterinarian or an architect, when I really had to choose, I went to my sister Lúcia's workplace. It was a specialised library at the Department of Environment, similar to the ones I have been working at since the 1990s, when I graduated from the São Paulo School of Sociology and Politics Foundation (FESP). I can say that the space, the collection, and the way it operated enchanted that introspective and quiet young man—characteristics I still have—and so I decided to be the third of those 11 children to pursue this path."
When he graduated in 1998, the world was very different—much more analogue than digital. Yet, Marcos already had access to digitised collections and even the internet (for internal and headquarters communication) because he had joined PwC Brazil. Anticipating future trends, the firm was already investing in and providing the most modern technology available at the time. ‘Of course, there were also physical books and more rudimentary systems for locating titles, but I was one step ahead of what was generally available in the country at that time; it was a state-of-the-art environment.’
This experience, which he considers as important as his academic training, secured his place in the market: law libraries. “I think it is important to emphasise that I work with the dissemination of knowledge. That is no small thing because high-performance legal practice, such as that found in the places where I work, requires reliable, fast, and, above all, appropriate content—even more so in times of fake news.”
The professional, who has worked for major law firms such emphasises that, more than books, his role is to provide quality information on decisions made by courts and public bodies in general, as well as competitors and strategic partners. When we are able to connect the legal team with what they need to prepare a technical opinion, for example, their work will certainly have a higher level of accuracy and, above all, excellence—characteristics that are the hallmarks of high-quality deliverables.’
Currently, the librarian is a founding advisor to the São Paulo Legal Information and Documentation Group (GIDJ/SP). Finally, Marcos believes that “optimising a library goes beyond simply acquiring new books and periodicals; knowing which items are necessary for professionals—both current and in-depth content—is essential. In addition, making relevant information available can be the differentiator needed for immediate decision-making. A dynamic library must anticipate the needs of its users, being proactive in creating its own easily accessible repositories, consistent with the knowledge management applied to it.”