Signature of the Territory-Reading Agreement Grand Angoulême

First of all, I’d like to tell you how pleased I am to be
today among you, for the signing of the contract territory-reading of the
Greater Angoulême community of agglomeration. This CTL
the Grand Angoulême’s strong commitment to the
development of the reading that will symbolize in 2014 the inauguration of a
new inter-community media library, built by Françoise Raynaud.

Like your agglomeration, many local authorities
have long been involved in the development of reading
The European Commission’s
copy of departmental libraries and libraries
public reading equipment, making it the most
Our country is home to more than 15,600 cultural institutions
public libraries and book access points; 100,000 m² of
new libraries are inaugurated every year. This
reduction of territorial inequalities in access to culture and networking
national territory is largely supported by the State through the formidable tool
the special contribution of the general endowment of
decentralisation: an annual budget of more than 80 million euro.

But beyond these equipment projects, we must continue and
strengthen close cooperation between the State and local authorities in order to
to coordinate our efforts in favour of public reading: that is all the interest
of the territory-reading contracts that improve this
coordination and revitalizing dialogue between the State and local authorities
to better respond to the cultural practices of our
their needs and expectations.

Indeed, there are still territories where the reading supply is still low,
audiences, especially youth, who remain too far away from the
reading, as the rise of digital technology disrupts customs and
transforms library missions.

Far from simply offering a collection of books and CDs, the
libraries have become public spaces open to the city,
places of knowledge, information and leisure that have long been able to welcome
multiple cultures, sometimes called «popular» - how can we not
not think about comics here? But they are also access points to the
digital cultures, spaces where every day professionals
invent a renewed mediation, adapted to all audiences,
regardless of their age and social background. Or, to resume
the ambitious programme of your future media library, places to create,
to understand, to imagine.

This capacity for innovation, I find it fully in the CTL project
that the State and the CA of Grand Angoulême sign today.

With the constant concern of audiences far from reading, this CTL commits
the Greater Angoulême Media Library and the network’s institutions
in original and open-ended mediation actions: these are
correspondents who will be invited to relay the
projects of their library; these are these people-relays in different
partner structures (early childhood centres, leisure centres,
retirement homes, detention centres, hospitals...), trained for
better support people with disabilities and raise awareness
those who have too little access to it; these are the links forged
between the library, booksellers and literary events for
multiply the opportunities for meeting authors and their readers.

You know I’ve made arts and cultural education a priority
the action I want to take with the communities. I think
that we can welcome the dynamism of the book industry and the
reading on the subject and building on its full potential: the
audience he has with many audiences of all ages and all
conditions, the tremendous wealth of the book as ambassador of the arts
and mirror of creation. The Angoumoisin territory is emblematic of this
with, of course, the International Comic Strip Festival,
but also the Youth Book Festival of Ruelle or the
«Small ears in goguette» event organised by the
libraries. This CTL will better identify and coordinate
all these activities, in order to enhance the cultural routes offered to
each, and especially the young audience.

Develop the digital offering and make it accessible to everyone, so as to
creative and playful, is another major challenge of this contract territoirelecture
priorities of my Ministry. The project of reading and
Deciphering Information in a Digital World'
Grand Angoulême media library, in conjunction with social workers and
the world of popular education, is a very pedagogical work,
essential at a time when so much content and knowledge are being exchanged
on the web. Training in the search for information, promoting access to knowledge
and support the acquisition of a true digital culture:
some of the goals we set for ourselves today, dear
Philippe Lavaud, and that we will pursue together during the three
years of this convention.

This CTL, which precedes the inauguration of the urban media library
the Alpha, foreshadows and accompanies the implementation of an ambitious project
and innovative around reading, adapted to the mutations induced by the
digital revolution. A project that mobilizes the State and the
Greater Angoulême to reaffirm the central place of reading within
cultural and educational policies.

Thank you.