On 28 September 1895, the National Library of Macau, initially a part of the Liceu de Macau, the Lusophone high school of Portuguese Macau, was first established in St. Augustine’s Church. The Portuguese government had announced two years earlier that it wished to establish a library facility in Macau. The Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau stated that initially "the Library existed in name only and was often relocated" since there were scant resources; in 1917 the library was transferred to the St. Joseph's Seminary, and it subsequently moved to the HotelBela Vista and the Shelter for the Disabled at Tap Seac. In 1929 the library moved again, to two rooms, inside the IACM Building, then known as the Leal Senado Building. It moved to its Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida site in 1983. It received its current name in 1994, and that site received an interior renovation in the beginning part of 2007. That year, the Macau government announced that a replacement facility would be built. In 2018 the company MAA Marreiros Architectural Atelier Limited, owned by Carlos Marreiros, won the government contract to build the new library. The estimated cost would be 18.68 million patacas. Several publications accused Marreiros of copying the design of the auditorium of Leon, Spain. Marreiros denied the accusation. In 2010 Marreiros's company is to send its final plan for the library to the Macau authorities.
Facility
The, two storey facility is located on Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida. It has about 92,606 volumes and seating for 271 patrons. A new eleven storey central library is scheduled to be built on the block at the intersection of Avenida da Praia Grande and Rua Central, which would replace the former Judicial Policehead office and hang over the existing 1951 courthouse, which is to be preserved. There will be seating capacity for 1,120 patrons in the primary reading areas and 800 patrons in exhibition and meeting areas, theatre areas, and other supplementary portions.
