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  About The National Library of France

Bibliothèque nationale de France [BnF]

Background

The Bibliothèque nationale de France is a major research and conservation library. Its origins date back to the Middle Ages, when the kings started developing and expanding their private collections. Charles V was the first to formalize the Bibliothèque Royale by installing the library in a tower of the Louvre in 1368. Another milestone was the Edict of Montpellier, enacted under Francis I in 1537, soon after the invention of movable type, which required that a copy of any work printed in France be deposited in the Royal Library. During the French Revolution (1789-1799), the Royal Library was transformed into the Bibliothèque de la Nation, and its collections were considerably expanded with material confiscated from the Roman Catholic Church and the aristocracy. This increase in collections made necessary the modernization of the library in the 19th century. Under the guidance of the general administrator Léopold Delisle, in 1874 the cataloging of printed books was started, while the architect Labrouste built the reading room which bears his name and was used for the consultation of books until the transfer of the collections to the Site François-Mitterrand.

In 1994, the Bibliothèque Nationale merged with the new Bibliothèque de France to become the Bibliothèque nationale de France, thus undergoing another historic transformation.

Collections

The Bibliothèque nationale de France is contained in four main buildings. Site François-Mitterrand opened in 1998 and contains more than 13 million books and 350,000 periodicals. It is also the center for digital projects and collections. Site Richelieu-Louvois contains the departments of manuscripts, prints, cartography, music, theater, coins and medals. Site de L’Arsenal contains the library of the Arsenal which is rich in the literature and history of the 16th to the 19th centuries and contains over 1 million books and 14,000 manuscripts. The Bibliothèque – Musée de l’Opéra has collections related to the activity of the National Opera of Paris and Théâtre de l’Opéra Comique (The Comic Opera Theatre).

Contact Points

Gallica - gallica.bnf.fr
Site François-Mitterrand
Quai François-Mauriac
75706 Paris Cedex 13
Téléphone : 33 (0)1 53 79 59 59
e-mail gallica@BnF.fr
Web-site: http://www.BnF.fr

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  Présentation du Bibliothèque nationale de France

La Bibliothèque nationale de France [BnF]

Héritière de la première librairie royale fondée en 1368 par le roi Charles V, la Bibliothèque nationale de France s'est constamment enrichie au fil des siècles, notamment par le biais de dépôt légal créé dès 1537. Elle conserve aujourd'hui environ 31 millions de documents de toute nature : livres, manuscrits, estampes, photographies, affiches, cartes géographiques, partitions musicales, enregistrements sonores, vidéos et multimédia, sceaux, monnaies et antiques.

Gallica, sa bibliothèque numérique en ligne, propose depuis 1997 l'accès à plus de 75 000 documents imprimés et 80,000 images, mettant ainsi en valeur le patrimoine scientifique français. Plus d'un million de documents y sont consultés en ligne chaque mois.

Pour en savoir plus :

Connaître la BNF: http://www.bnf.fr/pages/zNavigat/frame/connaitr.htm

Collections et Départements: http://www.bnf.fr/pages/zNavigat/frame/collections.htm
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