We are happy to present a New Content Provider that will make our librarian friends flutter: thanks to the National Archives in France, the fonds of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, French National Library (BNF), are now available on Archives Portal Europe. The BNF holds archives that go back to the 17th Century – after the Revolution, it was the successor of the Royal Library, which originated in the 14th century, and is one of the most ancient cultural institutions in France. The royal collections were partcularly enriched by the legal deposit created by King Francis I in 1537, and the library is now booming thanks to an active acquisition policy, as well as donations from very important private collections. The archives of the Royal Library testify the continued development of this institution. Amongst the catalogues now available there are :
- several special collections (such as Coins, medal & antiquities, maps & plans);
- the visitors’ registrars, opened in 1868 and 1922 and the archives of the reader card service ;
- the works agency of the National Library with more than 6000 plans ;
- memories of the exhibitions and of specific activities of the library.
The full list of finding aids available in APE is here