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The Users of the Bpi

To know more about who uses the Bpi and how it is used, see if you can tell whether the following statements are true or false:

•  The Bpi is visited by more people than Mont-Saint-Michel.

True!  The Bpi is a cultural institution that is very popular. In 2009, the Library received more than 1,430,000 visits, a particularly large number for a library. By comparison, the number of persons visiting Mont-Saint-Michel in 2007 was 1,229,000.  

• The Bpi is a mega-library for university students in Paris.

False!  The Bpi is a public library, open to everyone, free of charge and without any prior registration. Most of its users are students, who represented 70% of visits in 2006; today they are not more than 65%. This fall in student visitors has been replaced by increases in the numbers of employed persons using the Library (18% in 2009), as well as persons looking for a job (8% in 2009).

• The Bpi is a library for research.

False!  If one considers the level of its collections, the Bpi is a multimedia library that seeks to be encyclopaedic, making available a very varied documentation to a very wide range of publics. The fact that it is very largely used by students promotes an atmosphere that is conducive to work and concentration. According to a survey made in 2009, students come to the Bpi primarily for reasons relating to their studies (63% of their answers), but 20% of their answers related to their needs to enlarge their general culture, to relax or meet friends.

• The Bpi is a library for Art students.

False!  The Bpi's proximity to the Pompidou Centre can give a misleading impression, as students enrolled on Arts courses represent only 10% of the students who use the Library. Following recent evolutions in higher education, the Library in fact receives more and more students on scientific, technical and medical courses (26% of the student users). But it is above all students in the fields of economics, law, management and business who are the main users of the Library, since nearly 1 out of 3 of the student users in 2009 was enrolled on a course in one of these subjects.

• The Bpi is a library for the gentler sex.

False!  The library world is often one that is particularly feminine, but this is not the case for the Bpi. Since 2009, there has been a complete gender parity in the use of the Library. This male / female balance is due to the reduction in student users (primarily female) and an increase in employed and unemployed users (predominantly male).

• The Bpi is a library for Parisians.

False!  The Bpi is a national library, open to everyone wherever they may happen to live. While it is true that the majority of those who visit the Library are persons living in Paris or in the Ile-de-France region (96% of all visitors in 2009), the on-line services that the Bpi provides, notably through its website, reach numerous users elsewhere: in 2009, 35% of the users of its website resided in other French regions or abroad (compared to only 4% of its visitors).

• The Bpi is a library of the "last resort".  

False!  In most cases, using the Bpi is the result of a choice which is not a matter of "last resort". It must be admitted that the Library has a certain number of advantages: it is free of charge, open to everyone, without any formality, open every day of the week (except Tuesdays), every day of the year (except the 1st of May), and until late in the evening (22:00). All of which contributes to satisfying a large public that keeps using the Library: the survey on the use of the Library in 2009 showed that nearly 1 out of 4 of its users visited only the Bpi and not any other library!

• To enter the Bpi, it is always necessary to queue.

True and False!  Having to wait to enter is the main disadvantage of the Bpi. It is the price to pay for the success of the Library and its mission to receive all kinds of users, irrespective of their age or status. However, the waiting time is not the same all year long: it varies according to the day, the month or the time of year. Thus, for example, it is better not to come on a Sunday which is always busy, and rather to come in the evening or to take advantage of the quiet summer months.

• At the Bpi, one can play the piano, have a coffee and watch a film.

True!  The Bpi is a library that offers a wide range of collections and services. These include indeed a "music area" where there are two (soon to be four) silent pianos. But only 8% of those asked in 2009 knew of their existence. On the other hand, the cafeteria is, with the reading-rooms, the place in the Library that is the most used: more than half the users (54%) make use of the cafeteria at least once during their visit.