The four symmetric buildings were designed by Dominique Perrault, who won the competition. The new building is made of a large esplanade and four L-shaped towers, whose shape recall the shape of an open book. This architecture was controversial; many judged that it was costly, and not very suitable to the storage of book collections. Indeed, wood boards had to be set up at the windows to protect the books from the light. The towers of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France are named. They are the tower of Laws, of Letters, of Numbers and of Time.

It has a public seating capacity of 1,600 readers, many of which are afforded a view of a two-level, garden-styled courtyard.
The modern capabilities of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France emphasizes computerized documentation and microfiche. The public has access to 260 000 books. Researchers can access 550 000 volumes of the 11 million volumes held in the library, including 200 000 rare volumes, 350 000 periodicals, 76 000 microfilms and 950 000 microfiches, 100 000 digitized texts, 50 000 multi-media items, 900 000 sound recordings, 90 000 videograms and 400 kilometers of shelves.

The National Library of France is under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture. Its mission is to constitute collections, especially the copies of works published in France that must, by law, be deposited there, conserve them, and make them available to the public.

Opening Hours :
Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m to 8 p.m.
Sunday from noon to 7 p.m.


Hotel near the François Mitterand Public Library.
Hotel Claude Bernard St Germain Paris - Paris Hotel Budget St Germain des Pres

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