Our collections
The Bpi’s collections are acquired along three main lines: encyclopaedias, news and lifelong education.
The library has a full and up-to-date collection of reference literature in all categories that anyone can freely consult on site at no charge, whether for studying, personal interest or leisure.
On its two floors, the library offers a variety of media: books, periodicals, journals, maps, films, music CDs, audible documents, partitions, educational software for independent learning, electronic resources.
The document types, acquisition principles and renewal of these collections are defined in a documentary charter.
Classification by category is detailed in the Bpi classification framework
Books
334,000 books organised by main categories are freely accessible at the Bpi. Most works are in French, but a large collection of works in foreign languages is also available.
Specialized periodicals
Specialist periodicals complement the collection of books, with a wide range of titles suited to various applications and audiences.
Press and news
The Bpi is a topical library, offering an extensive collection of national, regional and foreign written current affairs press that can be consulted in the Press Space, in print or digital format.
Digital resources
The Bpi offers free, unlimited access to thousands of ebooks, specialized journals, articles and fact sheets from the library. Many resources can also be accessed remotely.
Self-training
The Self-training area provides thousands of documents on all supports: 500 methods learning more than half the 220 languages and dialects covered are provided.
Audiovisual collections
With nearly 3,000 titles, the film collection has been expanded with the addition of 500 films acquired as part of the National Catalog of Documentary Films.
Music
The Bpi has many sound recordings or resources related to sound: records, sheet music, books, magazines and films about music are available in the Music space on level 2 of the library.
Young adults culture
15-25 year-olds, gamers and pop culture fans will find plenty to relax about at the Nouvelle Génération space: comics, video games, novels and magazines in a constantly renewed and growing collection.
Maps and plans
The Bpi map collection enables visitors to look up the topography of a place, go back in time with Cassini maps to see the old streets of Paris, or prepare for a hiking trip…
