Presentation of the device
What is the National Call for Projects “Library Written Heritage”?
Since 2007, the national call for projects «Patrimoine écrit des bibliothèques» allows the Ministère de la Culture (Direction générale des médias et des industries culturelles and Directions régionale des affaires culturelles) to better support the action of local authorities by offering them a mechanism for co-financing the most remarkable projects.
The operations supported under the national call for projects "Written Heritage of Libraries" may concern one of the following three areas:
- Description of collections of manuscripts, old printed books (published before 1830), iconographic documents or local and specialized collections
- Preservation of heritage collections
- Enhancement of heritage collections
Am I concerned by this approach?
- Associations
- Communes
- Departments
- EPCI with own taxation
- Public institutions/ State services
- Research organisations
- Regions
Projects must be submitted by one of the following organizations:
- a territorial collectivity (municipality, department or region) or a grouping of territorial collectivities
- a regional structure for the book
- a public institution of higher education
- a research laboratory belonging to a public institution of higher education or the CNRS
Projects must concern the heritage collections of libraries belonging to local authorities or their groupings and:
- be related to the reporting of manuscripts, old printed books (published before 1830), iconographic documents, local or specialized fonds
- or be related to the preservation or enhancement of the heritage collections of libraries
Projects must be part of a multi-year strategy formalized in a programmatic document, even a brief one (establishment project, scientific and cultural project, conservation plan, digital reference library project, etc.), in relation to national objectives for the reporting and conservation of heritage funds.
Projects must be carried out within 12 months of the delegation of appropriations to the institution selected. A project may consist of an annual instalment of a multiannual programme, but acceptance of an application does not constitute a commitment by the Ministry of Culture for subsequent years.
Reporting Transactions
The operations of reporting collections of manuscripts, old printed books, iconographic documents or local and specialized funds are intended to enrich local catalogues and the Catalogue collectif de France (CCFr).
These operations can take two main forms:
- the inventory of funds and collections
- retrospective cataloguing or retroconversion of existing catalogues
The selected projects should allow, at the end of the project, the integration of the data produced in the national programmes (CCFr) and, where appropriate, in the existing local catalogues. The cataloguing of manuscripts and archives will be carried out in the EAD TapIR cataloguing tool, made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF). The funds concerned must be the subject of a descriptive sheet that will be integrated into the CCFr Fund Directory.
Custody transactions
Conservation operations can concern different levels of treatment, from collection and stamping sites, to preventive conservation operations (dust removal, packaging) or curative (disinfection), etc.
Valuation operations
The operations of valorization of the collections can concern projects of mediation, artistic and cultural education, exhibition, etc.
Any request not concerning the collections kept in libraries belonging to local authorities or their groupings will be refused. This applies in particular to university libraries, associations, cultural institutions, museums and archives.
Reporting Transactions
Books printed after 1830 are excluded, except for territorial libraries classified or belonging to a community of more than 500,000 inhabitants.
Custody transactions
Restoration operations are excluded. These can be assisted by a grant mechanism specific to acquisitions and heritage restorations.
Valuation operations
Digitization and creation of digital portals are excluded.
Projects must cover operations with a total amount of at least € 5,000 excluding VAT.
Eligible expenditure is as follows:
- staff credits (for people recruited specifically for the project)
- purchases of equipment (excluding computer equipment)
- various services (dust removal or reverse conversion for example)
Procedure
The maximum rate of aid, possibly including other aid paid by the Ministry of Culture (subsidies from the drac or the BnF for example), is set at 80% of the total amount excluding taxes.
The grant will be paid by the DRAC concerned within 3 months after acceptance of the application.
The Ministry of Culture reserves the right to claim the reimbursement of credits that were not used at the end of the project, or used for purposes other than those defined in the project.
The project leader undertakes to inform the Ministry of Culture (DGMIC, SLL) and the book and reading advisor of his DRAC of any difficulty likely to compromise the realization of the project within the deadlines.
The acceptance of a file for one year does not bind the Ministry of Culture for the following years.
The selection is made, in consultation with the book and reading advisers of the regional directorates for cultural affairs (DRAC/DAC) concerned, by a joint committeeChaired by the Director for Books and Reading and a representative of the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research.
This committee includes representatives of the DGMIC/SLL, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, book and reading advisors, a director of a territorial library, a territorial library heritage fund manager and a representative of a regional book structure.
The selection criteria are specified in the downloadable evaluation grid below. This grid will be applied to each project submitted.
In general, priority will be given to projects:
- with a regional or interregional dimension
- involving several institutions or communities
- with a clearly defined methodology and can be taken over by other institutions
- Opening of the filing: 11 December 2023
- Application deadline: 12 March 2024, 23:59 (Paris time). No application can be filed or taken into account after this date.
- Committee Meeting: May 2024
- Announcement of results: no later than 1 month after the date of examination by the selection board.
The results will be communicated to project leaders on Démarches Simplifiées and will be posted on the site Library heritage.
Upon completion of the project, the recipient will provide by December 31, 2025 to the book and reading service :
- a scientific report assessing the project and its possible follow-up, with a copy to the DRAC
- a financial report including proof of expenses (invoices, payslips, etc.)
- To access the online form, click on the "Access form" button at the bottom of the page.
- Log in or create an account, then let us guide you.
List of required documents, to be provided for all records:
- Detailed description of the project
- The institution’s multi-year strategy for managing and enhancing written assets
- RIB
- Project budget
Additional documents, for associations only:
- Association budget
- Human resources at 31 December of the previous year
- Closed annual account or approved financial statement of the last closed year
- Power of attorney, if any
- Annex on subsidies already received under European State aid rules, where applicable
Additional document, if applicable:
- Quotes from service providers and suppliers
- Deliberations
Examples of projects supported previously
- Amount of the grant paid: 30.000 €
- Year of Grant: 2022
Third file presented by Normandie Livre & Lecture as part of the regional plan for reporting manuscripts, archives and printed matter prior to 1830, this project provides for recruitment for a period of nine months of a (e) charge (e) reporting of manuscripts and archives. The collections of 13 public libraries will be described in TapIR, the tool developed by the BnF.
- Amount of the subsidy paid: 4.500 €
- Year of Grant: 2021
The Jean-Jacques Rousseau Library, the depository of two important collections of popular literature, wanted to promote these donations. A major heritage exhibition has opened for the 2021 European Heritage Days. It was accompanied by a catalogue enriched with chapters on the history of popular reading in Chambéry.
A question?
If you have any questions about the National Call for Proposals “Library Written Heritage”, you are invited to contact the Media and Cultural Industries Branch (DGMIC):
Media and Cultural Industries Branch
Book and reading service
Heritage Office
patrimoine.sll@culture.gouv.fr
01 40 15 75 81
Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris
Filing for the year 2024 will open on December 11, 2023.
To access the Grant Employment Report Form:
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