Nestled among the centuries-old stones of the Jerónimos Monastery, in a building inaugurated in 1981, the Navy Central Library (BCM) is the successor to the 'Biblioteca da Academia dos Guardas-Marinhas' and the Naval School Library.

Let's go back in time: in a decree signed on 1 April 1802 by the Prince Regent (the then Prince João, future King João VI), he considered that '(...)establishing a Deposit of Maritime Writings by Portuguese Authors would make a great contribution to expand and enhance my Royal Navy (...) [Thus] I am pleased to create a Library to be used by the Sub-lieutenants of my Royal Navy, (...) in which all Maritime Writings by Portuguese Authors, both manuscripts and printed, will be kept; (...) and in order to facilitate the execution of what I have determined to be made public, all the People who have any of the aforementioned Writings and want to donate or sell them to the Library should present them to its Inspector, from whom they will receive a Donation certificate or the sale price they stipulate (...)'.

Shortly afterwards, crossing the Atlantic in 1807 to escape the French invaders, the Court and its institutions settled in Rio de Janeiro. The Library, indeed, went with them, but the books were left on the quay... It was only in 1809 that the three-master 'S. João Magnânimo' crossed the Atlantic carrying books, manuscripts, instruments, nautical instruments, naval models, and furniture. The Library, with more than a thousand volumes in its first inventory, counted about 700 'titles' on the eve of departure.

When the Court returned to Lisbon, it was Queen Maria II that gave the Library a new lease on life, issuing a decree on 7 January 1835, where she stated her '(...) Intention to spread among [her] (...) loyal Subjects of all classes the lights of Education, and the knowledge of Sciences and Literature (...)'. The decree continued as follows: '(...) Particularly with regard to the Class of the State Navy, which I very much want to improve, preparing its students with the means to achieve such an important goal, by applying themselves to their own studies or studies related to their noble profession: I am pleased to order the creation, at the Royal Navy Arsenal, of a Library, whose first collection will consist of Books, Prints, Instruments, and Models that can be transferred to it from the Deposits of the extinct Corporations, and whose further conservation, expansion, use, and management will be regulated by the Instructions that I have been formalising for this purpose, after obtaining My Royal Approval (...)'.

Many decades later, after many institutional restructurings, in 1960 it was given the name Navy Central Library, being governed by its own regulations.

The collections of the Navy Central Library have various origins, but with regard to its antique collections, we should highlight the importance of those received from the libraries of the convents of the religious orders extinguished in Portugal in 1834. These include precious collections of books on Astronomy, Geometry, Arithmetic, Geography, Cartography, History and other subjects.

The Library's heritage has been enriched with important legacies, most notably, among others, the collections that belonged to Admirals Gago Coutinho and Teixeira da Mota, Captains Marques Esparteiro and Nunes Ribeiro, and the 'Almeida d'Eça Family', which have greatly enriched our vast heritage in the field of nautical history and discoveries. We should also highlight the existence of an important collection of geographical charts, sea charts and atlases, the oldest of which date back to the 16th century and are unique in the context of the Portuguese libraries.

For all these reasons, the Navy Central Library is an important bibliographical and documentary centre for the study of topics related to the History of Discoveries and Expansion, Overseas, Navy, and Maritime Affairs.