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Innovation for arts and sciences: new technology in the French national library

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2016

Daniel Renoult
Daniel Renoult*
Affiliation:
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, 11 quai François Mauriac, 75706 Paris cedex 13, France
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Extract

Founded in the fifteenth century, the French national library, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, is one of the oldest research libraries, and, as regards the size and variety of its holdings, one of the largest in the world. An on-going programme of modernisation based on a new strategy was initiated in 1988, the aims of which are to enforce collection development in a broader encyclopaedic sense, facilitate access to documents for the general public and researchers, allow remote access through new technology and develop scientific and technical networks in co-operation with national institutions and the international community. From 1992 to 1995, two new buildings were created: one very large library (3,700 seats) located on the east side of Paris at Tolbiac, the François Mitterand Library, will house the 10 million books of the heritage collection and audiovisual documents; another new building, for conservation workshops, scientific laboratories, and new stores, the Centre Technique du Livre, is located on the outskirts of Paris, at Marne-la-Vallée. After the major book removal operation planned for 1998, the historic building in the rue de Richelieu will be devoted to special collections and will also house INHA, the new national institute for art history.

In 1996, the first workshops at Marne-la-Vallée became operational and the general public level of the François Mitterand Library was inaugurated. The research level will follow in October 1998. Implementation of stage three of the audiovisual system, the new information system, will also begin in 1998, the year in which it is foreseen in addition that the new French union catalogue and the digital library will be made available to the public. All these projects aim at improving and enlarging the information services provided both to the general public and the scientific community.

Type
Research Article
Information
Art Libraries Journal , Volume 23 , Special Issue 3: Special issue: Art libraries and art librarianship in France , 1998 , pp. 20 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © The Art Libraries Society 1998

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References

References

1. The updated text of a paper presented to the 5th national meeting of the Sous-Section des Bibliothèques d’Art, Association des Bibliothécaires Français, L’avenir du passé: les nouvelles technologies, in Paris, 19th September 1997. This was published in French in Bulletin d’informations de l’Association des bibliothécaires français no. 178 1er trimestre 1998, p.14–16.Google Scholar
2. The website address is http://www.bnf.fr Google Scholar
3. Address http://www.gallica.bnf.fr Google Scholar

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