FYIFrance: Bibliothe`que Nationale de France -- De'nouement (p.1of2)

[Jack Kessler <kessler@WELL.SF.CA.US>]

FYIFrance: Bibliothe`que Nationale de France -- De'nouement (p.1of2)

In a land like France, where statute reigns supreme, the "organic law"
which establishes the new "Bibliothe`que Nationale de France" is a
terribly important document: terrible in the medieval sense, that is,
in that librarians, readers, publishers and texts will live and die
strictly within its provisions for some time to come. And the January 3
decree which follows is not without interest for others, as well:

for anyone who ever has drafted a "library mission statement" -- or
worried about one -- here is one impressive library mission statement;
advocates of public access to libraries will be interested; library and
information scientists will be interested; for those of you who know
the BN well, or who have followed the history of the construction of
the new BdeF -- blow by blow -- the following will fascinate for its
references to all the many factors which make a library in France work,
politically (the lawyers carefully have mentioned here everyone
involved but the journalists); for any of you _not_ accustomed to
reading French legalese day after day, it makes fascinating reading,
for this reason alone, at least once --

***

[informal translation by jk.]

January 4, 1994, Official Journal of the French Republic, page 149

Ministry of Culture and of "Francophonie" -- Decree 94-3 of January 3,
1994, creating the Bibliothe`que Nationale de France. ["BNdeF".]

The President of the Republic,

upon receipt of the report of the Prime Minister, the Minister of the
Economy, the Minister of Culture and of "Francophonie", and the
Minister of the Budget, representing the decision of the Government,
and in view of,

        * here comes some of the politics. As you read this list, think
        of the maneuvering in Paris which went into its composition.
        Librarians, and critics of the Bibliothe`que de France's
        procedures, will be interested in the last few items.

        * [a list of codes and laws, and:]

law 92-546 of June 20, 1992, regarding the "de'po^t le'gal"; the decree
of June 30, 1934, regarding the Bibliothe`que de Documentation
Internationale Contemporaine and the Bibliothe`que de l'Arsenal; the
decree of October 25, 1935, establishing the list of offices and
independent establishments of the state subject to financial control;
the decree of October 30, 1935, regarding the fusion of libraries of
music; the decree of April 8, 1938, creating a national "phonothe`que";

        * [several miscellaneous decrees, and:]

the advice of the Technical Committee of the BN of December 8, 1993;
the advice of the Technical Committee of the Etablissement Public de la
BdeF of December 8, 1993; the advice of the Technical Committee of the
Ministry of Culture and "Francophonie" of December 10, 1993; in
consultation with the Conseil d'Etat and the Council of Ministers,

decrees,

Title 1: General Provisions

Article 1: There is hereby created, under the name of the "BNdeF" a
national public administrative establishment, placed under the control
of the Minister of Culture. It is located in Paris.

Article 2: The "BNdeF" has, as its mission:

1) to collect, catalog, conserve and enrich, in all fields of
knowledge, the national patrimony of which she is the guardian, in
particular the patrimony of the French language or that regarding
French civilization: to this end --

she exercises, by virtue of article 5, section 2, of the law of June
20, 1992, the tasks relative to the de'po^t le'gal confided by that law
and the decrees promulgated for its application to the Bibliothe`que
Nationale; ["BN".]

she directs, for the account of the State, under conditions provided by
the law of June 20, 1992, the de'po^t le'gal, of which she is the
depository. She compiles and distributes the National Bibliography;

she assembles, in the name and for the account of the State, and
catalogs French and foreign collections of printed works, of
manuscripts, of money and medallions, of prints, of photographs, of
maps and plans, of music, of choreography, [and] of sound, visual, and
digitized documents;

she participates in national and international scientific activities;

2) to assure the access of the greatest number of users to the
collections, excepting those secrets protected by law, under conditions
conforming to intellectual property law and compatible with the
conservation needs of the collections: to this end --

she conducts programs of research related to the patrimony with which
she is charged, particularly regarding library and information science;

        * the French term is "bibliothe'conomie". Its exact definition
        may be debated by wordsmiths. Its significance for French
        library education -- particularly that "particularly" --
        remains to be seen. (The BN was, historically, the seat of the
        national library school.)

she cooperates with other libraries and centers of research and
documentation, French or foreign, particularly in the area of
documentary networks and databases;

she participates, following the policies defined by the State, in the
effort to combine the documentary resources of all French libraries;

she permits dial - in access using the most modern technologies of data
transmission;

        *I have used "dial - in access" for the French "consultation a`
        distance", here: neither French nor English - speakers yet know
        what this really will entail, as the technology is nowhere yet
        finished. Here at least, though, is a formal commitment to its
        use, and this from the new conservative French government which
        has been deemed by its critics to be anti - public use.

she takes all actions necessary to maintain her collections and,
particularly, to undertake cultural and commercial operations related
to the execution of these missions.

        * A bookstore?

3) to pursue the construction, completion and equipping of the
buildings which the State has assigned to her supervision, particularly
those of which the construction was undertaken by the BdeF, and to
prepare their opening to the public;

4) to preserve, manage, and maintain her buildings.

Article 3: For the exercise of this mission, the BNdeF may, notably:

1) acquire necessary real and personal property;

2) undertake studies, do work for the construction, completion and
equipping of the buildings of the BNdeF, conclude with other public or
private entities any agreements needed to assure an appropriate
environment;

        * The Tolbiac site construction, if not its "informatisation",
        appears still to be on schedule.

3) allocate, from its budget, subsidies or advances, particularly for
the activities of "coe'dition", to public or private entities which
undertake studies, research, or works as part of the accomplishment of
this mission;

4) cooperate, particularly by means of meetings and participation in
group activities in the public interest, with any public or private
entities, French or foreign, and notably with institutions which have
missions complementary to hers or who bring their activities to her;

5) permit activities and authorize the use of public properties to
public or private entities;

6) take part in financial undertakings and create subsidiaries;

7) do all juridical acts at private law useful to the exercise of her
mission;

8) acquire and exploit any intellectual property rights.

At the demand of the Minister of Culture, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs or the Minister of Cooperation, the BNdeF participates, in
areas of her competence, in the definition and putting into operation
of national regulations, [European] community regulations, and
international accords, as well as the representation of France in
international arenas.

        * The Library of Congress should be in on every aspect of the
        US NII / National Information Structure. In France, the letter
        of the law -- at least -- now says that the BNdeF will be,
        there.

Title II: Administrative Organization

Article 4: The Administrative Council of the BNdeF includes, in
addition to the President of the Establishment, nineteen designated
members who, with the exception of the members ex officio, will serve
for three - year terms renewable one time:

1) Five ex officio members: the head of the DLL / Direction du Livre et
de la Lecture or his representative; the Director of General
Administration of the Ministry of Culture or his representative; the
Director of the National Archives or his representative; the Director
of the Budget or his representative; the Director of University
Libraries of the Minister of Higher Education or his representative;

2) A member of the Conseil d'Etat, named by the Minister of Culture at
the suggestion of the Vice President of the Conseil d'Etat;

3) Three representatives of, respectively, the Minister of
Communication, the Minister of Research, and the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, named at the suggestion of those ministers by the Minister of
Culture;

4) Four representatives of the library personnel, elected as prescribed
by the Minister of Culture: for each of these, a deputy is elected
following the same procedures;

5) Four personalities of the cultural, scientific, and economic
communities, chosen by the Minister of Culture;

        * The term in French is "personnalite's", which has -- without
        quite the "People Magazine" association -- nearly the same
        connotation as it does in English.

(Next: Users? on the governing committee?)


Jack Kessler

kessler@well.sf.ca.us

ISSN 1071-5916