Written heritage
The national written and graphic heritage covers a great diversity of documents held in both private and public collections: printed books, manuscripts, prints, photographs, films, musical scores, maps and plans, coins and medals, archives, etc.
Among the public collections, French libraries hold more than 65 million heritage documents (intended to be permanently preserved), divided by half between the major Parisian institutions, including the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and several hundred regional libraries. The State shall support theenrichment, to the description, to the preservation and valuation (in particular by the digital) these heritage collections as part of the Written Heritage Action Plan. To this end, it relies in particular on the expertise of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. For certain specific actions, it uses the skills and collaboration of theInstitute of Research and History of Texts and the Centre for Higher Studies of the Renaissance.
The State subsidizes private or associative actors in this field such as theInstitut Mémoires de l'Édition Contemporaine, and the National Federation of Writers' Houses and Literary Heritage.
In order to preserve the national heritage on the territory, the State also exercises control over the movement of cultural goods for export.
For questions about the written heritage of libraries, see written heritage site.
