Biblioteca Pública Estadual Luiz de Bessa, Belo Horizonte

Founded in 1954, the Minas Gerais State Public Library is the main public library in Belo Horizonte, and one of the main ones in the state of Minas Gerais. It is popularly called "Liberdade Square Library" because it is located right next to the square.

The initial project for the Library building was designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer, but it was never fully completed. Thus, as a way to expand the useful space of the BPLB, the former annex of the Treasury Department, located on Bahia Street, was extensively remodeled and given to the institution.

The name of the Library pays homage to Antônio Luiz de Bessa, a professor, journalist, and intellectual born in Amarante, Portugal, in 1894, who arrived in Juiz de Fora, in the Zona da Mata, at the age of 12. Luiz de Bessa was editor-in-chief of the newspapers Estado de Minas and Folha de Minas, organized the radio broadcasting service in the state, especially Rádio Inconfidência, and worked, from 1942 to 1945, as a cabinet officer of Governor Benedito Valadares. He died on February 16, 1968, in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais.