BnF, national library of France
Preserving the memory of the past to understand today's world and get ready for the future.
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Discover the BnF

The BnF museum 

The BnF museum 

The BnF’s new Museum covers the full extent of the Library’s collections, from Antiquity to the present day. Almost 900 outstanding items are on exhibition within its walls, along an itinerary across the Richelieu site’s most beautiful areas.
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Use the Library to work and study
Use the Library to work and study
With more than 1,500 seats, the Public Library’s reading rooms are open to anyone over 14. You can consult over 330,000 documents and use computers, Wi-Fi access and dedicated rooms for group work.
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Research Library
Research Library
The BnF Research Library is composed of 4 sites in the Paris region (Richelieu, Arsenal, Opéra and François-Mitterrand) and of one site in Avignon. You can access our collection of over 39 million documents.
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Find what you're looking for

"Pass" lecture / culture"

Get unlimited access to the reading rooms in the Public Library and to our exhibitions, concerts, and shows. From 14 years old.

Gallica

The BnF digital library

Gallica is one of the major digital libraries available for free via the Internet. It gives you access to over 10 millions documents of all types ! 

SINDBAD, ask a Librarian

The ASK A LIBRARIAN Service (SINDBAD: Service d’Information Des Bibliothécaires A Distance) provides free document references on all topics and factual information (facts, figures, dates).

And also…

The Oval Room

The Oval Room

An iconic room of the BnF | Richelieu, the Oval Room is open to all, free of charge and with no age limit. Among the 20,000 works freely available, a collection of 9,000 comics is available for perusal alone or with the family.

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