Presentation at the IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, France, August 17th, 2014.
Text of Exposing historical collections in a renovated building: the “BNU Nouvelle” experiment
Exposing historical collections in a renovated building: the
BNU Nouvelle experiment Frdric BLIN Head of Preservation and
Heritage Collections National and University Library Strasbourg,
France 1 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014 World
Library and Information Congress 2014 Lyon, France Session Special
Places for Special Collections Library Buildings and Equipment with
Rare Books and Manuscripts August 17th, 2014
The National and University Library Strasbourg (BNU)
24/08/1870: Burning of the 2 historical libraries in Strasbourg
1871: Creation of the new German Imperial, Regional and University
Library 1895: Opening of the new library building 1926: French
National & University Library 2 Today: Over 3M documents, 2nd
library in France F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th,
2014
The Building 3 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th,
2014
The initial building Opened 1895 ; classic wilhelminian
architecture Ornaments, statues, Storage for 800,000 volumes A
landmark cupola A central reading room 4 The library in 1895 F.
Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The initial building The library in 1895 - Sketch of the
reading room 5 The library in 1895 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon,
August 17th, 2014
The initial building The reading room in 1895 6 Statues on the
building F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The renovation works (1950-1956) Bombed in 1944 Need for more
storage space Extensive renovation 1950-1956 New metallic structure
for stacks New reading rooms 7 The main hall in 1956 F. Blin,
IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
After the renovation works (1950-1956) The 2 main reading rooms
in 1956 8 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The BNU in 2010 3M documents 2 main buildings 550 seats, 30,000
books on open shelves Exhibition room of ~200m on 5th floor But old
and not secure 9 Under the cupola F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon,
August 17th, 2014
The BNU in 2010 Three sorts of stacks 10 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC
2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The BNU in 2010 Storage room transformed into a reading room 11
One of 2 inner courts F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th,
2014
The Collections 12 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th,
2014
The BNU: Unique historical Collections Over 10,000 items dating
back as far as 5000 B.C.: Papyrus, Ostraca, cuneiform tablets,
Palmyrean statues, seals One of the 2-3 largest collections in
France, unique in libraries 13 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon,
August 17th, 2014
The BNU: Unique historical Collections 7,000+ manuscripts
2,000+ incunabula Litterary and musical archival materials 14 F.
Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The BNU: Unique historical Collections Important oriental and
persian collection 15 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th,
2014
The BNU: Unique historical Collections 1,000,000+ books and
periodicals published before 1920 16 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon,
August 17th, 2014
The BNU: Unique historical Collections 150,000+ pictures
(posters, postcards, photographs, ) 50,000+ maps 17 F. Blin,
IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The BNU: Unique historical Collections Special collections:
19th C. German Science Alsatica Medals and coins (39,000 items) 1st
World War Maritain; Gobineau; Jall Etc 18 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014,
Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The BNU Nouvelle project 19 An architectural project, with 10
main goals Oct. 2010-Nov. 2014, 61M Architect: Nicolas Michelin
(Paris) F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The architectural project 20 A complete renovation: A safe and
modern library, in a historical building Preservation of parts of
the original building, e.g. 2 historical stacks => collaboration
between the architect and the administration for heritage monuments
+6,000 sqm, 45 km of stack shelves Geothermy, climate control With
new facilities: Main architectural feat: built around a central
monumental staircase, under the cupola 660 seats, 150,000 books on
open shelves An auditorium (146 seats) An 500m exhibition room Open
reserves New technologies A cafeteria F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014,
Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The architectural project 21 Columns hanging in the air, before
the reconstuction of 2 levels of historical stacks (nov.2011) The
historical stacks preserved with first collections back (july 2014)
F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The architectural project 22 Walls of the historical building
included in the new architecture F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon,
August 17th, 2014
The architectural project 23 The central staircase Under the
staircase F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The architectural project 24 A future reading room View on the
internal spaces from one open reserve F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014,
Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The BNU Nouvelle project 25 Projects within the project: End of
retroconversion of catalogues Integration of the library of the
European Council Preparing 150,000 volumes for the open shelves
Development of the scientific and cultural activity Regional
collaboration International relations A modern digital library
Preparing the heritage collections F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon,
August 17th, 2014
The Digital Library 26 Numistral, www.numistral.fr An
innovative & collaborative project with the BnF Opened in
oct.2013 with 40,000+ items To learn more, visit the poster session
(poster n23) F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
Preparing the heritage collections 27 Examples of preservation
and conservation work conducted: Complete dust removal of the
collections (45 km) Conditionning of periodicals (15,000+ boxes)
Ostraca and antiques: dust removal, small repair, chemical
analysis, better storage Light conservation work on books for the
historical stacks Systematic preservation work on Reserve items F.
Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The museographical project 28 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon,
August 17th, 2014
Main goals 29 A reserve for the treasures of the library
Showing these treasures to the public A reserve which is also a
museum, a museum which is also a reserve Challenges: Preservation
vs Exhibition Storage place vs Showcases Limited access vs public
access F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
The location (5th floor) 30 Reading room Reserve 2 Reserve 1
Reserves 3 & 4 Reserve 5 Reserve 6 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014,
Lyon, August 17th, 2014
A coherent circuit in the collections F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014,
Lyon, August 17th, 2014 31 Reserve 1 : Antique collections Reserve
2 : Manuscripts and Incunabula Reserve 3 : 16th-19th C. books; The
early years of the BNU; R. Maritains bedroom; Reserve 4 : Medals
and Coins, 16th-19th C. books Reserve 5 : Graphic documents Reserve
6 : Special collections Open only for guided tours, once / twice a
month
The methodology F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th,
2014 32 Definition of the project by the BNU Recruitment of a
museum-planner (Natalia Moutinho SARL., from Strasbourg) Dialogue
between the curators and the museum-planner (nov.2013-Feb. 2014)
Writing of the technical specifications by the museum- planner,
validated by the BNU (March 2014) Contracting with a third compagny
to acquire the furniture Installation of the rooms (nov.2014)
Installation of the collections (nov.-dec.2014)
Points of attention: F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August
17th, 2014 33 Conservation conditions of the documents: stronger
climate control (included in the architectural project), light
control, materials for the furniture, physical security Circulation
of the public, norms for museums and access to persons with
disabilities Good practices for exhibiting books, graphic documents
and small objects Future management of collections Budget and
planning
First results F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
34 Sketch of a showcase for historical books, in the Reserve 2
First results F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
35 Cross-section of reserve 3
What still needs to be done F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon,
August 17th, 2014 36 Construction and installation of the furniture
Final selection of items to be exhibited Physical preparation of
some of the selected items Writting of the descriptive texts for
the selected items Installation of the documents in the showcases
and stacks End of the project: Dec. 2014 => fingers crossed
Expected impact F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th,
2014 37 Greater visibility for our treasures Inclusion of the BNU
in the touristic routes of Strasbourg and the Alsace region =>
bringing new public to the library Source for scientific and
cultural dynamism and creativity for the staff
Thank you for your attention, enjoy your stay in France, and
see you soon in the BNU Strasbourg! [email protected] @BFL50 38
F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014
39 F. Blin, IFLA-WLIC 2014, Lyon, August 17th, 2014 Thanks to:
N. Michelin N. Moutinho J.P. Rosenkranz Slides available on:
Slideshare Slides placed under CC-BY-NC
