The Bibliothèque publique d'information (Bpi)

The Bibliothèque publique d'information (Bpi) is part of the Pompidou Arts and Culture Center, constituting the main French public library, with a national and international cooperation mission given by the French Ministry of Culture.

From its conception, the Bibliothèque publique d'information has established itself as an institution that is one of a kind. Since its opening in 1977, democratising culture has been at the heart of its concerns, whether through its operating principles, through the content of its collections, through the events that it organises or through its activities in France and abroad.

At one and the same time, the Bpi is:

areas for reading and working, open to everybody;

encyclopaedic collections in all formats, that can be consulted on the spot;

cultural activities organised in the Pompidou Centre (conferences, debates, exhibitions, projections etc.);

a range of activities designed for professionals working in public libraries in France and abroad.

Its operating principles are:

open access: which means free of charge, and an emphasis on promoting the autonomy of the user;

providing information that is up-to-date, through constant monitoring of sources and a continuous renewal of the collections;

searching for the most advanced technologies in order to expand the access to materials and information, including through distance services.

It offers:

A self-training area; self-taught multimedia courses available: 250 languages, Office training, digital skills etc.

An area dedicated to practical matters, to help users in everyday life

An area dedicated to job search, career, professional guidance, company foundation, with specific collections

Visits for specific groups, among which groups coming through associations from the social sector, with a focus on the Self-Training area.

The team of the self-training area works with a national network and helps French city libraries to create Lifelong learning Services.

For more infos visit http://www.bpi.fr