Rafael McTell

In France, some public libraries are known as classified (BMC) or “of first category”.

History

The notion of “classified as library” is introduced by article 6 of the decree of July 1st 1897 which provides that the most important libraries could be classified by the Minister for the state education. The direction of these classified libraries could be entrusted only to graduates of the National school of the charters or after examination. However, the personnel expenditure remains with the load of the commune.

This system is envisaged by the Loi July 20th 1931 relating to the mode of the public libraries of the cities and their personnel. This law distributes the French libraries in three categories, the first correspondent with the classified libraries. The librarians and, in some cities, an associated librarian, become civils servant of the State. They must be provided with one of the diplomas being reproduced on a list; however the librarians has posted some for more than ten years could be maintained in function, even if they do not have the diplomas in question.

The law of 1931 was codified successively with the code of the communes (Article L. 341-2 and L. 341-4), with the general Code of the territorial collectivities (Article L. 1422-2 with L. 1422-5), and finally with the Code of the inheritance (Article with).

The statute of the classified public libraries was specified by the decree of the April 29th 1933 relating to the classification and the mode of the public libraries of 1st category. The provisions always in force of this decree from now on are codified with the articles and of the general Code of the territorial collectivities.

These texts clearly do not specify the criteria of classification. In fact, the BMC answer at least one of the following characteristics:

to manage data bases belonging to the State, coming primarily from the revolutionary confiscations, but also from deposits carried out by the government, especially at the 19th century and, in certain cases, of ecclesiastical funds preserved by the State after the law of separation of 1905;
to have into clean invaluable, often old funds;
to serve an important population.

The classification of a library or its downgrading can intervene only with the agreement of the Municipal council. He is pronounced by decree taken on the report/ratio of the Minister for the Culture and the Minister for the Economy and Finances.

The statute of classified public library carries the two following consequences:

the public libraries classified are subjected to the permanent control of the General inspection of the libraries, which means that the inspections are theoretically more frequent;
especially, the classified public libraries can profit from the provision of preserving of State, placed under the authority of the mayor but paid by the State.

Currently, some 150 conservatives of State are thus put at disposal of the BMC, their number which can vary from one to fourteen per community.

List classified public libraries

The list of the BMC, established by the article 1st of the decree of 1933, modified on several occasions, from now on is contained by article R. 1422-2 of the general Code of the territorial collectivities.

the libraries of the cities indicated in Italic have an inter-commune function .
the libraries of the cities in fat also profited from a national construction schedule under the name of Public library with regional vocation (BMVR).

Aix-en-Provence, Albi, Amiens , Angers, Autun, Avignon
Besancon, Bordeaux, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Brest
Caen, Cambric, Carpentras, Châlons-in-Champagne , Chalon-sur-Saône, Chambéry, Clermont-Ferrand , Compiegne
Dijon, Pares, Douai
Grenoble
La Rochelle , Le Havre, Lille, Lyon , Mans
Marseilles , Montpellier , Mills
Nancy, Nantes , Nice , Nimes
Orleans
Pau , Périgueux, Poitiers
Rheims , Rennes , Roubaix, Rouen
Saint-Etienne
Toulouse , Turns, Troyes
Valencian, Versailles

The libraries of Colmar, Mulhouse, Strasbourg and Metz, although comparable with the classified public libraries, are not it, the legislative measures quoted above not being applicable to the departments subjected to the local right Alsatian-native of the Moselle region.

Moreover, other libraries have conservatives of State placed at the disposal, without their name appearing in the official list.

Future of the BMC

The system of BMC still exists but it is blamed, taking into consideration development of the Décentralisation.

It was announced initially that the system was to be rationalized, the stations of conservatives of State being granted only for certain precise functions. The last projects of the ministry for the Culture would rather announce a pure and simple abandonment of this provision.

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