See also: CNL

The National center of the Book (CNL) is a public corporation in administrative matter placed under the supervision of the ministry for the Culture (Direction of the book and the reading). Its vocation and its role are to support the whole of the chain of the book (authors, editors, booksellers, libraries, promoters of the book and the reading), and in particular the creation and the diffusion of the most demanding works on the literary level. It allots loans and subsidies after opinion of Committees.

History

After some attempts Inter-war period and under Vichy, the National bank of the letters is created like autonomous public corporation by law 46-2193 of October 11th, 1946. Supplied with the product of a Tax on the edition, it has for only mission the assistance with the edition or the republication of certain books.

In 1973, the establishment takes the name of National center of the Letters and passes from the supervision of the State education to that of the Culture. Its activities are extended to the assistance with the authors and the nonFrench French-speaking literature.

Following the creation of the Direction of the book and reading in 1975, the CNL knows a new reform with decree 76-113 of January 30th, 1976. A board of directors is created there, chaired by the director of the book and the reading. The missions are again widened, with the assistance with the libraries to enable them to buy books which would be likely to be sold badly, but also the assistance with the translation (nonFrench-speaking authors in French and French authors in various languages) and to support the “radiation of the French book”.

The Center takes its current name following of March 19th, 1993. Its missions are again widened, since it is charged to help the diffusion of the book through the Librairie S. In 1996, the assistances with the libraries intensify since they more generally aim at enabling them to develop their data bases.

Current organization and actions

More than 200 specialists (writer S, academics, journalists, researchers, translators, critics, editor S, Bookseller S, etc) sit in 14 commissions. Those meet three times per annum in order to study the requests and to deliver an opinion on the attribution of the assistances to the authors, to editors, Bibliothèque S, and associations.

The activity of these commissions is also based on a vast network of external collaborators - readers and rapporteurs - who composes the third circle of experts and contributes by his experiment and his competence to the quality of work of Cnl.

The National center of the Book has like principal resource the product of the two tax taxes. The global amount of the interventions of the CNL, including the loans, represents an annual budget of approximately 22 million euros.

These interventions take the form is of direct aid to those which make the books (which they are the authors or the editors) that is to say of indirect assistance by subsidizing those which diffuse the books (booksellers, libraries). The CNL thus allots assistances at the time of the opening or of the enlarging of some public libraries or to support the constitution of specific funds. It helps also the college libraries to acquire high level documents scientist published in French.

The CNL is chaired of right by the director of the book and the reading. Its president is thus currently Benoît Yvert.

The French areas for the majority created in their turn of the regional centres of the book which work towards similar ends and relay or supplement the action of the CNL.

Prospects for evolution

Recent reports/ratios recommend the transformation of the National center of the Book into a “Agency of the Book”. This one would see its means of increasing by 39 to 50 million euros, however that its missions would be specified. Inter alia, the assistance with the college libraries would not pass any more by the CNL, but by the Ministère of Higher education and Research.