Paris What The Hèque Is A Bibliothèque?

Cafes are great, and we would never claim otherwise, but sometimes you just need a more studious environment—that’s where Paris’s libraries come in. With large reading rooms, archives, and helpful staff, the bibliothèques in the City of Light will aid any search for enlightenment. Of course, Paris is also the City of Love, and therefore libraries are also prime locations for the lycéen dating scene, but the strict silence policies stop most trysts from getting too rowdy.

City Libraries. Even if you find your workload significantly reduced while abroad, chances are you will have to check out a book or two to write that last-minute term paper or to beef-up for that obscure oral exposé. Most University of Paris campuses have their own—albeit severely limited—libraries. For serious research projects, you may find a trip to the bibliothèque municipale necessary. Most arrondissements have several branches; to find the location with the resources best suited for your particular project, search the Paris City Library’s online card catalogue at http://dac-opac-pret.paris.fr/cyberpac/acceuil.asp. Alternatively, for a quiet place to study, you can locate nearby libraries at www.paris.fr/portail/Culture/Portal.lut?page_id=7973. In particular, eight branches offer more concentrated collections specializing in cinema, crime, feminism, graphic art, law, media, and Parisian history.

“Inscriptions,” Not Subscriptions. Borrowing books or magazines from any Paris City Library requires you to s’inscrire, or subscribe, to the entire municipal system. To sign-up for a free membership, just present your passport to the library clerk and answer a few questions about your birthday, current address, and occupation. Once enrolled, borrowers can keep up to five books, five cartoons, five magazines, and five reviews for three weeks and two new releases for one week. At any one time, however, a user cannot borrow more than 20 documents from any one library or 40 from the municipal system. The city libraries also offer annual subscription to their multimedia collection, charging €31 per year for CDs and €61 per year for CDs, DVDs, and VHS films. Despite free inscription, the library charges €0.15 per day per document in late fees. Most but not all municipal libraries offer free Wi-Fi.

For more info, contact the Bureau des Bibliothèques, 31 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 4è me. Library hours vary by branch and season; look online at www.bibliotheques.paris.fr or pick up a free library pocket map from a branch. Municipal libraries open just before or immediately after lunch and close by 7pm.

In addition to the bibliothèque municipales open to the public, free and specialized libraries may have useful resources for scholars. The two major specialty libraries are the BPI and the BNF:

La Bibliothèque Publique d’Information ( BPI; www.bpi.fr). Located inside the Centre Pompidou . With free Wi-Fi and late opening hours, this place is usually packed. The Sunday wait is rumored to be 2hr. at least. Free with student card. Open M and W-F noon-10pm, Sa-Su 11am-10pm.
Bibliothèque nationale de France (www.bnf.fr). In the 13 ème. 4-buiilding complex is made to look like 4 open books facing each other. With a number of large and comfortable reading rooms, a sunken in garden, a huge selection of archives, and its own cafe, the BNF almost begs you to shack up inside it for days on end. Yearly student membership €18. Open Tu-Sa 10am-8pm, Su 1-7pm.

Besides the usual suspect (namely, FNAC;), the following places can be useful for purchasing school supplies, grabbing a copy of Rousseau’s Confessions that needs to be read within a week, and fixing that laptop that refuses to start. See also Practical Information.

Gibert Jeune, 5 pl. St-Michel, 5 ème (☎01 56 81 22 22; www.gibertjeune.fr). St-Michel. Main location plus 7 specialized branches clustered around the Fontaine St-Michel; look for the tell-tale yellow canopies. With low-price books in many languages, Gibert Jeune draws a diverse group. Extensive stationary department downstairs. University text branch, 27 quai St-Michel, 5 ème (☎01 56 81 22 22). Open M-Sa 9:30am-7:30pm. General books branch, 15bis bd. St-Denis, 2 ème (☎01 55 34 75 75). Open M-Sa 10am-7pm. AmEx/MC/V.
ICLG, Apple Computer Service Center and Retail Store, 26 rue du Renard, 4 ème (info ☎01 44 43 16 72, technical support 08 92 70 01 03; www.iclg.com). Rambuteau. Fear not, oh frazzled étudiant; don’t let a laptop on the fritz fluster your cafe cool. Licensed to sell Apple products, the ICLG also offers technical support for malfunctioning computers and iPods. Although damage reparation and part replacement could take several weeks, the local service will save you a pretty centime in shipping costs. Open M-F 9:30am-7pm, Sa 10am-1pm and 2-7pm. Also at 107 avenue Parmentier, 11 ème, 35 avenue du Général Leclerc, 14 ème, 15 avenue de la Grande Armée, 16 ème.