Bibliotheques messageres d’art et de culture

Abstract

The situation for libraries in France, particularly art libraries, is complex. Administrative structures differ from those of other countries and from one another, but the existence of networks provides a means of linking different libraries and systems and of sharing and exploiting their common resources. Art education is currently a government priority; libraries of schools of art (including that of the Ecole du Louvre) are among the art libraries which fall within the sphere of the Ministry of Culture and Communication. The training of French museum personnel is now the responsibility of the new École du Patrimoine attached to the Ecole du Louvre and served by its library and a related documentation centre. Co-operation among art libraries is demonstrated by their participation in union catalogues and computer networks: the Ministry of Culture and Communication has adopted the LIBRA system, developed for public libraries, and some art libraries within the Ministry’s jurisdiction have recently joined the network. Their peculiarities have necessitated some adaptions of the system. Still more national co-operation is essential: the professional associations, including the Art Subsection of the Association des Bibliothécaires Français, advocate it; the technology is available. Now is the time for French art librarians to seize the opportunity of joining together to serve an eager public - ‘tous les publics’ - more effectively than ever before.