Libraries, Archives: France

Created and maintained by the
European Division
Collections and Services Directorate

Includes Web sites with links to library catalogs, library organizations, and archives. For information about and links to all the national libraries of Europe, visit The European Library site. The Library of Congress' catalog may be consulted at http://catalog.loc.gov.

Libraries and Catalogs

Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) (http://www.bnf.fr)
French National Library. Links to the online catalogs, online exhibits, a digital library of French and francophone culture, an image bank, and other resources and information. In French, English, and Spanish.

Calames -- Catalogue en ligne des archives et des manuscrits de l'enseignement supérieur (http://www.calames.abes.fr)
A new online catalogue of manuscripts held by French libraries that are funded by the Ministry of Higher Education (Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur).

Catalogue collectif de France (http://www.ccfr.bnf.fr)
French union catalog. In French.

Gallica (http://gallica.bnf.fr)
Gallica is a digital library of French and Francophone culture maintained by the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Contains numerous electronic texts, images, maps, animation, and sound files of French and other publications in history, literature, science, philosophy, law, economics, and political science. Includes full-text materials, some searchable. In French.

revues.org (http://www.revues.org)
A French scholarly journals site that includes 90 titles in various subject fields. The journals are primarily in French, but also in English and Spanish. Search terms are in English, French and Spanish. Each journal title includes at least abstracts of articles with some full-text searching.

Les Signets de la Bibliothèque nationale de France (http://signets.bnf.fr)
Links to Internet sites selected by the French National Library staff. Subject access to Internet research sites include philosophy and religion, social sciences, arts, language and literature, and more. In French.

Government Libraries

Assemblée nationale (http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/index.asp)
Links to the French National Assembly and basic texts (the constitution), general documentation, current and historical texts. In multiple languages, most in French.

Documentation Française (http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/acheter/index.shtml)
French government publisher and library. Links to online catalogs and journals, as well as to the French government portal site. Searchable. In French.

Sénat. Bibliotheque, Archives et Documentation Étrangères (http://www.senat.fr/adresse/s610.html#haut)
Directory of key personnel of the French Senate library and archives. In French.

Public Libraries

Bibliothèque publique d'information, Centre Pompidou (http://www.bpi.fr)
Links to online catalogs, current events files, and subject-specific Web sites, including full-text book and journal sites. In French.

UNESCO Libraries Portal. Public: Europe: France (http://www.unesco.org/cgi-bin/webworld/portal_bib2/
cgi/page.cgi?g=Libraries%2FPublic%2FEurope%2FFrance%2Findex.shtml;d=1)

University Libraries

Les bibliothèques universitaires (http://www.sup.adc.education.fr/bib/)
French university libraries. For French university library and information professionals. Information about education, activities, projects, calendars, annual reports, publications and databases for the profession. Includes a list of all university libraries and special subject collection depositories (CADISTS). From the Ministry of Youth, National Education and Research. In French.

Système universitaire de documentation (http://corail.sudoc.abes.fr)
Union catalog for French university libraries. Links to the Sudoc catalog. Search for bibliographic information on all types of documents held by French academic libraries and other higher educational institutions, as well as serials in documentation institutions. In French and English.

For French Librarians

Association des Bibliothécaires Français (ABF) (http://www.abf.asso.fr)
Official site of the French Library Association. In French.

Bulletin des Bibliothèues de France (BBF) (http://bbf.enssib.fr)
French library journal.

Ecole nationale des sciences de l'information et des bibliothèques (ENSSIB) (http://www.enssib.fr)
Portal site for French professional librarians. From the School of Library and Information Sciences. In French.

Ministry of Defense Archives

Ministère de la défense (http://www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr)
Historical services of the Ministry of Defense. The major source for French military history since the 17th century. Includes all branches of the military, e.g., army (Armée de la Terre), navy (la Marine), air force (l'Armée de l'Air), national guard (la Gendarmerie nationale). Practical research information. Online full-text guides to archives and library resources. In French.

Foreign Affairs Ministry Archives

Ministère des Affaires Étrangères. Archives and Heritage (http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/archives.gb/)
Guide to diplomatic archives held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Quai d'Orsay, Paris); French diplomatic missions (Nantes); and archives of the WWII German Occupation of France held in Germany and Austria. Collection summaries, practical research information, and bibliographies of collection guides and other publications. Information about the history and organization of the services, collection inventories, pages of history (French only), publications, treaties and agreements, and more. In multiple languages.

Regional and Departmental Archives

State and Regional Archives: Europe: - France (http://www.unesco.org/cgi-bin/webworld/portal_archives/cgi/page.cgi?g=Archives%
2FGovernment%2FState_and_Regional%2FEurope%2FFrance%2Findex.shtml;d=1)
Portal site maintained by UNESCO. Alphabetical list of links to archives as well as link to Internet resources. In French.

Municipal Archives

Municipal Archives: Europe: - France (http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal_archives/pages/Archives/
Municipal_Archives/Europe/France/index.shtml)
Portal site maintained by UNESCO. Alphabetical list of links to state and regional archives, archives départementales. In French.

Universities and Research Institutions Archives: Europe: - France (http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal%5Farchives/pages/Archives/
Universities%5Fand%5FResearch%5FInstitutions%5FArchives/Europe/France/index.shtml)
Portal site maintained by UNESCO for archivists and archives users. Alphabetical list of links. In French.

General/Worldwide Archive Links

Repositories of Primary Sources (http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Other.Repositories.html)
Listing of over 5,000 sites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar. Additional links to France at: http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/euro1.html#fr. Compiled by Terry Abraham, University of Idaho.

UNESCO Archives Portal (http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal%5Farchives/pages/index.shtml)
Links to archives (by categories: government, academic and culture, and social life), resources (primary sources online, Internet resources, education and training, and preservation and conservation) and communities (associations; conferences, meetings, and exhibitions; international cooperation, and others).

Suggest a Link

Selected European Internet Resources - European Reading Room

Library of Congress >> Global Gateway >> Portals to the World >> France
April 16, 2008

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