Need Portuguese-speaking staff at Central Library: Ex-edu director

Panaji: Renowned historian and former director of education, Celsa Pinto, has highlighted the need for Portuguese-speaking staff at the Goa State Central Library, which houses one of Asia’s largest collections of Portuguese-language texts. Speaking on International Archives Day in Panaji on Tuesday, Pinto said at least one staff member should be familiar with the collection to assist researchers.

“A library should be a reader-friendly library,” Pinto said, adding that while library staff have often been helpful to researchers, there is a legitimate expectation that institutions holding significant historical collections should have personnel familiar with those resources.

Pinto, however, also urged scholars not to be discouraged by linguistic difficulties.

“When I go to Portugal, sometimes in the archives there, because I speak in English, they have a little difficulty understanding me. Because of that, you should not be afraid,” she said.

While supporting the idea of having Portuguese-speaking staff, Pinto emphasised that researchers should not expect library personnel to undertake all translation work. “Scholars can obtain copies of relevant documents and seek professional translation assistance where necessary,” she said.

Pinto also highlighted the infrastructural and administrative challenges that archival institutions in Goa are facing, such as delays in digitisation and accessibility of records online. She urged the authorities to expedite efforts to make archival material available online.

“It’s not a joke to sit in the archives. Sometimes you have to read (documents) three or four times to make sense of them,” she said.