This paper proposes a conceptual study about public libraries in Brazilian context. To do this, it was analyzed the social role of public libraries in Brazil from the concepts of heterotopia by Foucault and common world, proposed by Arendt. As main results, we draw attention to the potential correlation between the concepts of heterotopia and common world in the conception of public libraries and its impact on the experiences and the emotional memories of users of the public Library Mário de Andrade, São Paulo (SP), and the State Public Library Luiz de Bessa, Belo Horizonte (MG).
Public libraries; Heterotopia; Common world
