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The Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) is the National Library of France. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Jean-Noël Jeanneney.
History The National Library of France traces its origin to the royal library founded at the Louvre by Charles V in 1368. It expanded under Louis XIV and opened to the public in 1720. Following the series of regime changes in France, it became the Imperial National Library and in 1868 was moved to newly constructed buildings on the rue de Richelieu designed by Henri Labrouste. New buildings On 14 July 1988, François Mitterrand announced the construction and the expansion of one of the largest and most modern libraries in the world, intended to cover all fields of knowledge, and designed to be accessible to all, using the most modern data transfer technologies, which could be consulted from a distance, and which would collaborate with other European libraries. In July 1989, the services of the architectural firm of Dominique Perrault were retained. After the move of the major collections from the rue de Richelieu, the National Library of France opened to the public on 20 December 1996. It contains more than ten million volumes. The new complex consists of a large esplanade and four identical L-shaped towers, whose form recalls the shape of an open book. This architecture was controversial; many considered it too costly, and not very suitable to the storage of book collections. Indeed, wooden boards had to be set up at the windows to protect the books from the light. Those who work in it are not happy with the extremely long distances they have to walk to reach basic functions; and it features a landscaped garden pit at its center that cannot be enjoyed except with one's eyes. The library retains the use of the rue de Richelieu complex for some of its collections. Mission The National Library of France is a public establishment under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture. Its mission is to constitute collections, especially the copies of works published in France that must, by law, be deposited there, conserve them, and make them available to the public. It produces a reference catalogue, cooperates with other national and international establishments, and participates in research programs. See also | ||||||||
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