Between the Personal and the Institutional: the Collecting Practices of Marcos Carneiro de Mendonça from the Perspective of Information, Memory, and Culture

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the process of constitution, use, and institutionalization of the personal collection of Marcos Carneiro de Mendonça, linking collecting practices to the social dimensions of memory. The study begins with the formation of the collection in the private sphere, guided by cultural and affective interests as well as intellectual needs, and follows its transfer to the public domain, when it becomes part of the institutionalized heritage of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. From a methodological perspective, the research is organized into three complementary aspects: the first revisits the biography of the collector Marcos Carneiro de Mendonça; the second focuses on analyzing the organizational criteria, motivations, and uses attributed to the collection during its formation; and finally, the third aspect reflects on the transfer of the collection to a public institution and the social meanings attributed to this process. This approach contributes to discussions on the management of personal collections within the fields of Information Science and Social Memory. By considering collecting as a form of mediating experience and identity, the research proposes a reflection on the role of collections in preserving memory and recognizing individual trajectories as part of collective heritage.