Missions and organisation

General missions

The Bibliothèque publique d’information (Bpi) has made its mark as an institution unlike any other from the outset. Its missions are set out in articles two and three of its founding decree of 27 January 1976:

•  “provide everyone, and as far as possible freely accessible, a continually updated collection of French and foreign documents of general information and current affairs”.
•  “to constitute a documentary research centre, liaising with other cultural centres, libraries, and establishments.” 
•  “to take part in the cultural activities of the Centre Georges Pompidou cultural establishment.” 

As a national library, the Bpi also has a major cooperation mission: to promote pooling good practices between French public libraries as well as developing their international representation through different programmes of action.

Operating principles

Since it was established the Bpi has been organised along three main principles:

• free access: i.e. to be free of charge with emphasis on all that allows the reader to manage their use of the library independently.
• topical information, thanks to constant monitoring and the collections being continually renewed
• the search for the most suitable and innovative means to access works and information, including remotely.

The Bpi is attentive to its users, and provides expertise for them in all resources, meeting needs as varied as leisure, continuous learning, preparation for exams, the challenges of everyday life…