The Brazilian Ministry of Culture slashed the annual budget for its national library October 13 by about US$844,000, in an across-the-board reduction in support for all of Brazil's cultural institutions. The cut could result in a loss of 250 in-house and contractual employees, the elimination of Saturday hours, and the suspension of its magazine Poesia Sempre, according to O Globo.
Elmer Corrêa Barbosa, spokesman for the Brazilian National Library Foundation, told the newspaper October 14 that "We are evaluating the effect of this deficit and will make the most appropriate decisions. . . . And we are working on a solution that will not affect basic services."