National Library of France

National Library of France. The National Library of France, known as the Bibliothèque nationale de France, is the preeminent repository of the French national heritage and one of the most important libraries in the world. Its origins trace back to the royal library founded by Charles V at the Louvre Palace. As a legal deposit library, it collects, preserves, and makes accessible a vast patrimony of documents, spanning from ancient manuscripts to contemporary digital publications, serving both researchers and the general public.

History

The library's foundational collection was assembled by Charles V in 1368, but it was formally established as the Royal Library under Louis XI in 1461. It was significantly enriched under Francis I, who instituted the first legal deposit requirement with the Edict of Montpellier in 1537. The library moved to the Mazarin Palace in the 17th century under the direction of Abbé Bignon and was opened to the public in 1692. Following the French Revolution, it was declared a national institution, absorbing collections from seized aristocratic and ecclesiastical libraries, including those from the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Major figures like Jules Michelet and Léopold Delisle served as its administrators, overseeing its expansion. In 1994, a major new complex, the François-Mitterrand Library, was inaugurated, named for the former President of France.

Collections

The library's collections are immense and encyclopedic, mandated by the legal deposit law which extends to all materials published in France. Its treasures include over 5,000 ancient Greek manuscripts, the famous Gutenberg Bible, and the original Mona Lisa drawings by Leonardo da Vinci. The Department of Coins, Medals and Antiques houses renowned collections like the Cabinet des Médailles. It holds extensive archives of French literature, including the papers of Victor Hugo, Marcel Proust, and George Sand. The performing arts collections feature materials from the Paris Opera and the Comédie-Française, while the map and plan department includes works by cartographers like Gerardus Mercator. The library also preserves millions of periodicals, photographs, and audio-visual recordings from institutions like INA.

Buildings and sites

The institution operates across several historic and modern sites in Paris. The principal site is the François-Mitterrand Library in the 13th arrondissement, a contemporary complex of four glass towers designed by architect Dominique Perrault. The historic heart is the Richelieu Library, located in the 2nd arrondissement within the former Mazarin Palace, which after a major renovation reopened in 2022 to house specialized collections like the Department of Manuscripts and the Arsenal Library. Other sites include the Library of the Opera located within the Palais Garnier, and the conservation center in Bussy-Saint-Georges. The old building on the Rue de Richelieu was famously depicted by painter Hubert Robert.

Digital initiatives

A global leader in digital librarianship, the library launched Gallica in 1997, one of the world's first and largest digital libraries, providing free access to millions of digitized books, maps, and images. It participates in major international projects like Europeana, the European digital library. The library is also a key partner in the International Internet Preservation Consortium, working to archive the French .fr domain. It develops advanced digital research tools and has undertaken massive digitization projects for newspapers such as Le Figaro and Le Monde, as well as collaborating with tech giants like Google on specific initiatives. The data.bnf.fr portal provides linked open data for its collections.

Administration and access

The library is a public establishment under the supervision of the French Ministry of Culture. Its director, since 2016, has been Laurence Engel. Access to the research libraries is generally restricted to accredited researchers and scholars, though the François-Mitterrand Library's Haut-de-jardin level is open to the public for general reading. It hosts numerous exhibitions, lectures, and cultural events, often in collaboration with institutions like the Louvre or Institut du Monde Arabe. The library also administers the national ISBN agency for France and maintains extensive international exchange programs with other major libraries, including the British Library and the Library of Congress.

Category:National libraries Category:Libraries in Paris Category:Buildings and structures in the 13th arrondissement of Paris