Open to all without conditions of access, guaranteeing pluralism of information and equality in access to knowledge, culture and written and digital heritage, libraries actively participate in the transmission of the values of the Republic. They are one of the pillars of our democracy and are at the heart of local government policies. The 16,000 French libraries have a high attendance rate, with 89% of French people going there to access a reading place close to where they live.
Local authorities and the State share the importance of library missions and their growing place in the cultural, social, educational and digital fields.
This ambition for transformation implies better support for the 38,000 territorial agents that support libraries, as recalled in the report by Erik Orsenna and the library plan developed by Françoise Nyssen, Minister of Culture.
To achieve this goal, the National Centre of the Territorial Public Service (CNFPT), the Ministry of Culture and the National Library of France have decided to strengthen their cooperation by signing a partnership agreement on April 30, 2018.
On 28 June 2018, the installation of the steering committee of this convention marks the effective launch of the partnership, which will focus on three areas:
- The development of reading and the adaptation of libraries to new uses and expectations of the population;
- Taking digital developments into account in the library profession;
- The bibliographic transition, which must accompany the transformation of library catalogues and data.
The partners will jointly design training programmes, develop innovative teaching methods, co-produce teaching resources and pool their networks of experts.
