College library

A college library (BU) is a Bibliothèque attached to a Université. The documents and the services present in the college library can thus be used for the double mission of the Université S, the Enseignement and the research.

If the basic definition is simple, it is necessary to note:

that in many University S, the college library coexists with others Bibliothèque S attached to a faculty, a Unité of formation and research (UFR), a Laboratoire, a research center or an institute;
that the same library can be used by several Université S, one then speaks about inter-University library (BIU) .
that certain libraries can have a double function, Public library and college library. It is the case in Suisse, with the cantonal library and academic of Lausanne, but also in France with the Community library and inter-academic of Clermont-Ferrand.

History

The history of the college libraries is related to that of the Université S. the college libraries were thus born with the Moyen-âge and the funds of many establishments originate in the collections made up as of this time. In France, it is the case of the old library of the Sorbonne whose old funds are distributed between the current inter-University library of the Sorbonne and the National library of France.

After having begun with Handwritten S, the college libraries very quickly adopted the printed works. It is especially at 19th and the 20th centuries centuries as a edition more properly university develops, as well by the works of course as by the documents of research and the theses. This is why it should be waited this time so that the college libraries acquire a specific documentation.

At the 19th century, the German college libraries developed much, and the France followed with a certain delay. It is the extension of the higher learning, especially starting from the Années 1950 which introduced great changes into the college libraries. However, the increase in the population coed was taken into account a little late, and the modernization of the libraries took delay, that the public authorities then endeavoured to fill.

Current location

The college libraries are, with the Université S, present in the whole world. The traditional activity of these libraries continues: acquisitions of printed works, subscriptions, intellectual and material treatment of the collections, conservation, loan and communication of the documents. However, the electronic Documentation takes a weight growing in the activity of the personnel and the budget of the college libraries. Those thus ensure more and more of other missions:

cultural activities: organization of conferences, exposures…
services of assistance to the users
training of the users to the information retrieval
development of online services and virtual libraries.

In the United States

The American universities are famous for their college libraries of quality. Most important of them, dating in general from the colonial period, important collections accumulated. They employ several hundreds of people and their funds reach the size of those of the National library of France: 15 million books in Harvard (the second of the world), 10 million with the University of Illinois, 9,3 million with Columbia, 7 million with Cornell, 6 million with Brown, etc the principal library is often open 24:00/24 (in Columbia for example). The most prestigious college libraries also have old manuscripts and rare books: Butler Library (Columbia), University of Pennsylvania, etc

More, the American college libraries are presented in the article Bibliothèques to the United States of America.

In France

Except exception, each French universities has at least a college library. Decree 85-694 of the July 4th 1985 on the services of the documentation of the establishments of concerning higher education the minister of education main road, envisages in each university the constitution of a common Service of documentation (SCD) , expressing the will to federate all documentary spaces of the university, which is sometimes more theoretical than real.

The organization of the SCD varies much because it follows that selected by the university. The SCD gathers integrated libraries and associated libraries . When a library is integrated, the personnel, the documents and financial means concern directly the SCD. The associated libraries are managed by UFR, the institutes or the centers of research. Thus the college libraries are often established on several sites, sometimes in different cities. It is easy to distinguish the SCD, common service, and each college library.

The SCD is placed under the authority of the president of the university, it is directed by a director who generally has the rank of preserving libraries and managed by a council of documentation.

In the cities or the agglomerations comprising several universities, the decree quoted above envisages the possibility of creating a Service interétablissement documentary co-operation (SICD) or possibly several. The SICD can either replace the SCD of the universities, or to intervene in complement of the existing SCD, for example for the documentation of research or the management of the old funds. The libraries entirely managed by a SICD are inter-University libraries. Paris thus lays out of a network of inter-University libraries. There are also two SICD with Grenoble, and one in each town of Bordeaux, Montpellier, Toulouse and Lyon. With Strasbourg, in addition to the SCD of the three universities, there exists the National library and academic of Strasbourg and a SICD has just been created in preparation for the constitution of the European Université of Strasbourg.

The budget of the college libraries (except personnel) is primarily allotted by the State, to a total value of 85% overall, approximately 10% coming from the rights of libraries discharged by the students and 5% of various receipts.

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