Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Description

The Bibliothèque Nationale de France was first a royal and later an imperial library before becoming a national institution. Its mission is to collect and conserve all works published, whatever the media, with the purpose ofmaking them available to researchers and professionals.Under french law, publishers must deposit several copies of the works they publish in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

History

Following the decree issued by Francois 1er in 1537, this obligation was gradually extended from books alone to cover all works printed in France (periodicals, engravings, posters, musical scores, etc.). In 1925, other media and technical processes (photographs, films, phonograph records, etc.) were added to the list.

After a long wandering through the royal palaces, in 1570 the library finally settled down in Paris in the Richelieu edifice. In 1868 the printed papers great reading room built by the architect Labrouste was inaugurated.

Since 1992, the submission of computerized and multi-media documents has also been required. These legal deposits have substantially enriched the library's collections and give publishers, authors and artists the assurance that their works will be preserved for posterity.

The Bibliothèque nationale de France is at the core of an exchange and cooperation network that includes libraries and research centres in France and abroad.

Due to the regular, rapid growth of its collections and the development of research in general, the library at the rue de Richelieu site outgrew the building some 25 years ago and has been hard-pressed to fulfill its various missions.

In 1988, it was decided to build a new facility in the l3th arrondissement in Paris, now called the François Mitterrand site. With this new building and 3600 reading units, the capacity of the library is significantly increased.