The Institute of Brazilian Studies [Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros – IEB] was created by Sérgio Buarque de Holanda in 1962. It is a multidisciplinary center for research and documentation on the history and cultures of Brazil. Its mission is to reflect on Brazilian society, involving the articulation of different areas of the humanities. Awarded in 1995 by the Brazilian National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute [Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN)] with the Rodrigo de Melo Franco de Andrade award in the category of Preservation of Traveling and Permanent Cultural Collections, IEB is responsible for keeping and maintaining an exceptional collection. Such collection consists of an expressive set of personal fonds gathered by Brazilian artists and intellectuals while they were alive, which are distributed among the Archive, the Library and the Visual Arts Collection.
Original manuscripts from important persons in Brazilian culture, rare books and works of art constitute the uniqueness of the IEB, which periodically receives new acquisitions, either through donation or through purchase. At IEB, collection and research are indiscernible. Research is developed in the thematic fields of Arts, Literature, Music, History, Economics History, Geography, Economics, Anthropology and Sociology.