The Bibliothèque Nationale

Abstract

The Bibliothèque Nationale is one of the five most important libraries in the Western world and the only French-language one. In spite of some adverse publicity in the past year, complaints about the slow service, and a long strike by book delivery staff, progress has been made, with legal deposit completely automated, and direct access for readers to the shelfmarks of works published in the last 10 years on microcomputers in the catalogue hall. It is now possible to consider the problems of the future such as the challenge of size and growth, with the prospect of a large building project based on new technology announced by the President in 1988, and preservation of the collections, where a start has already been made in microfilming volumes at risk, and in deacidification. Comprehensiveness or selectivity is another issue; the range of collections includes prints, coins and medals, and a large collection of printed materials on the theatre. Finally, a whole network of libraries in France should be upgraded in order to relieve pressure on the BN, which can then become a re-routing centre.