Profession: Librarian

• Co-operation Activities
• Collections and Services
• Studies and Research
  • Bpi's Public and Use
  • Libraries and Cultural Practices
• Training
• Bpi Founding Decree

Bpi: its Public and its Use

The Bpi regularly conducts studies and surveys of its users, in order to measure how the number of users evolves and to observe the reading habits of its users and how they access information in a context where much information is provided in a computerised form.

Preparing one's 'bac' at the Bpi: secondary school pupils

Having secondary school pupils as users, many of whom use the Library when revising for their 'baccalauréat' exams, raises numerous questions which this study, undertaken in May-June 2010, tried to answer. An on-the-spot enquiry, combining observation and interviews, it permitted a better understanding of their usage of the Library: since it is at the same time a place for studying, for communicating with others, an initiation rite on the road to higher education, the Library is an important stage in the development of these young users.

• For further information, take a look at the report (PDF file; in French) on Préparer son bac à la Bpi.

Reading fiction at the Bpi

This study, conducted between August 2009 and June 2010, sought to answer the following questions: Does one come to read novels for pleasure in a library that does not loan books out? What is the use made of the literary texts available at the Bpi, and notably its collection of modern literature? And, on the other hand, what are the obstacles in the way of "consuming" fiction on the spot in the Library?

• For further information, read the report (PDF file; in French) on the Usagers de l'espace 8 à la Bpi.

Use of personal laptops

At present a quarter of Bpi users come equipped with their own laptops. How do these users combine, or not, using the public equipment with the use of their own computer? Do they use the Wi-Fi to connect to leisure sites or only to sites related to their studies? Lastly, what lessons can be learned about the ways in which they work or look for documents today? Two series of interviews were organised in May 2009 and January 2010 to try to obtain answers to these questions.

• You can find the detailed results of this survey in a report (PDF file; in French) entitled S'appareiller dans la bibliothèque.

Electronic reading machines at the Bpi

Between November 2009 and March 2010, ten Sony PRS 505 electronic reading machines, containing around fifty contemporary French literary texts, were installed for on-the-spot use by Bpi users. This experiment was the subject of a series of individual interviews of the user-testers: most of them appreciated the possibility to test these machines but were not always convinced by the capacities of the equipment itself nor by the available content.

• For further information, take a look at the summary report (PDF file; in French) on the Liseuses électroniques à la Bpi.

The Bpi's student public

The student use of the Bpi is an undisputable reality: in 2009, 65% of all users of the different areas were students. But hidden behind this general phenomenon lies a real diversity in the profiles of the users, how they use the resources and services of the Library and what they expect from the Library. A survey conducted in Spring 2010 sought to shed light on this diversity, through the statistics it collected, by observing social networks and via interviews.

• The report of this survey is available in three parts (all in French): the first concerns l'évolution des profils et pratiques; the second presents the représentations étudiantes via groups of users on Facebook, and the third deals more specifically with étudiants en première année de médecine.

On-line users at the Bpi

In the autumn of 2009, the Bpi website organised an on-line survey with a view to knowing more about its users, meaning the public that uses Internet to consult the information, resources and tools provided on-line by the Bpi. The survey sought to identify the practices and motivations relating to the use of these on-line contents and services, to measure eventual complementarity or competition between this usage and that of the "physical" library, and finally to discover the expectations and evaluate the level of satisfaction of this public concerning what was available on-line.

• The results of this first quantitative phase are presented in detail in the report (PDF file; in French) about the Usagers distants de la Bpi.

How the on-line press is used

This survey, conducted in 2009, was part of an overall reflection about the nature and services of the Bpi's Press area. An on-the-spot enquiry was organised, combining observation and interviews, in order to know more about the profiles and motivations of those consulting the on-line press, and how they use it. The results show that the public that uses this area is socially very diverse and has developed original social behaviour around the multimedia work stations.

• For further information, read the summary report (PDF file; in French) on the Pratiques et usages de la presse électronique à la Bpi.

General survey of Bpi users

Every three years more or less the Bpi undertakes a general survey of the number of people whu use the Library, with the aim of knowing more about the composition of the public that uses its areas, as well as the ways in which they use them and for what purpose. In 2009, this general survey was conducted in both April and November.

• To review how the profiles of Bpi users and the ways in which they use the Library have evolved and to discover the results of the last general survey of the number of users, consult the memorandum (PDF file; in French) about the Publics de la Bpi de 2003 à 2009.

The public that attends the Bpi's cultural events

Little is known about the composition of the public that comes to the cultural events: what are the expectations of those who attend the conferences, debates, exhibitions or projections organised by the Bpi?

An exploratory phase of the study, undertaken through three focus groups, had made it possible to know more about the motivations of those who attend the spoken events. A quantitative survey, conducted in 2008-2009 with the help of the Plein Sens company, provided more detailed information about the profiles of the participants, their assessments and their expectations concerning the spoken events organised by the Bpi.

• For the detailed results and their analysis, consult the report of the exploratory phase and the final report of the survey (both PDF files, and in French).

A parallel study was made of the public that participated in the Cinéma du Réel festival in March 2008, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of this festival. The results show a diverse public, composed at the same time of regular and new participants, of professionals and the curious, brought together by a shared interest in documentary films.

• A summary report (PDF file; in French) presents the results of the survey by questionnaire as well as a series of interviews with festival participants.

How the collections are used

Test-weeks, a method that makes it possible to evaluate the usage of the collections on the spot, have been used by the Bpi since 2001. Based on reading and recording the bar-codes of the materials consulted by users, they provide a mapping of what is consulted by sector, date or even the language of the material.

• The report (PDF file; in French) of the most recent test-week (in December 2008), expanded to include digital materials, can be consulted on-line.

• For further information about the methodology employed and its findings, read the article (in French) by Muriel Amar and Bruno Béguet, Évaluation de la consultation des collections imprimées sur place à la Bpi, published in the Bulletin des Bibliothèques de France in 2006.