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The appointment of the chief librarian and a second librarian for this institution, supported by other administrative staff, marked the beginning of the foundational cycle of the Library, which aspired to become the largest Public Library in the country. This goal was not achieved during the period of approximately 20 years that António Ribeiro dos Santos was at the forefront of the Royal Library, not due to a lack of initiative on his part, but owing to contingencies related to the country’s political evolution, especially its separation from central power with the royal family’s departure to Brazil following the French invasions.
Two notable aspects may be observed in the constitution of the initial branch of the first Portuguese Public Library: on the one hand, its establishment in Lisbon at Terreiro do Paço, and on the other, its organisation following the knowledge systems prevalent in contemporary European scientific society. The bibliographic classification system used, which underwent a number of nomenclature changes by way of the 1836 decree, was divided into 12 sections, also including the room numbers, namely: History (Rooms 1 and 2); Belles Lettres (Room 3); Natural Sciences and Arts (Room 4); Civil and Political Sciences (Room 5); Ecclesiastical Sciences (Rooms 6 to 9); Polygraphy (Room 10); Manuscripts and Antiquities (Rooms 11 and 12).
The consistency of the public purpose of this library was called into question by the organisation of another Royal Library, based in Ajuda. This created excessive competition during a period that facilitated the division of bibliographic heritage, especially due to the transport of the Royal Library to Brazil, which gave rise to the establishment of the Royal (public) Library of Rio de Janeiro (1809), comprising numerous works that did not come back to Portugal with the return of King John VI.
The significance of the benevolent actions of its founders is evident in the formation of the initial collection which, besides the books from the Royal Censorship Board and the library of the defunct Royal Academy of History, included donations from Friar Manuel do Cenáculo, and the books of Ribeiro dos Santos, along with acquisitions made during his tenure. However, this collection lacked modern books on Sciences and Geography.
