The National Library of France did not wait until November 28 to reopen its den, as announced by President Emmanuel Macron during his speech.
His decision was made long before.
Earlier this week, the institution announced in a press release the reopening of its reading rooms for researchers, from November 24.
“
The reading rooms of the BnF Research Library reopen their doors on the François-Mitterrand, Richelieu, Arsenal and Opéra sites from November 24, 2020, from 10 am to 5 pm, from Tuesday to Friday,
” explains t -she.
Done.
If the National Library of France has decided to transgress the rules, it specifies on the other hand to do so only for "
readers holders of research pass, only on reservation and exclusively for the consultation of reserved works
".
This pass, for a fee, is usually given to students, teachers, academics and journalists, as well as to authors of personal research wishing to access rare documents.
Angry staff
This hasty reopening is nevertheless part of a delicate internal context.
On Thursday, November 19, several agents of the National Library of France in Paris voted for a renewable strike against the reopening of the site.
“
We remain in a strong context of contamination and circulation of the virus.
There is no rush to reopen a library, you have to know how to balance health and necessity,
”the Sud Culture union declared to our colleagues at ActuaLitté magazine.
The reopening was however authorized by a decree of the Prime Minister on November 6, and resumes the same conditions that prevailed before the reconfinement.
In this sense, "
the general public library remains closed as well as the demonstrations
", and the maximum occupancy will not exceed 50%.
We hope that these measures, coupled with the President's announcements, will help relax the atmosphere within the National Library of France.