Founded in the 14th century as a royal library, the BnF is one of the world's most prestigious cultural institutions. Its mission is to collect, conserve, and make available to the public more than about 40 million documents inherited from France's successive kings. The objects conserved by the BnF include all types of documents, such as manuscripts, printed materials, prints, periodicals (newspapers, magazines...), photographs, maps, coins, audiovisual materials, video games, and websites. In the BnF's digital library "Gallica", more than 8 million digital documents are accessible to the public regardless of their physical distance from the actual documents.

At the end of the project, the Richelieu site - the historical origin of the BnF - will be ready for opening to the public after the first complete renovation since its foundation in 1721. To create a genuinely open library, the BnF and DNP continue to work together on the 3D digitalization of the national library's previous collections and historical spaces.

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  Richelieu Site of Bibliothèque nationale de France
  © Jean-Christophe Ballot/ BnF/ Oppic

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  DNP's staff at work in the digitalization studio
  © David Paul Carr / BnF