Paris uni library ranks high in poll

THE Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève in Paris has been ranked as one of the world’s most beautiful university libraries, according to a new poll.

First built in 1851, some of its highlights are its grand marble entrance hall with square columns, and the 80m-long reading room on the first floor which lets the daylight in through around 40 windows.

It is the only library in France to be included in the top-ten list.

The library’s architect, Henri Labrouste, was one of the first to use metallic materials in a prestigious building, as they were usually reserved for industrial purposes.

It was also the first library to be a stand-alone building, instead of annexed to a museum or a university.

“This choice of technique allowed him to make the reading room (called Salle Labrouste) an impressive space, while also keeping the structure light. The spaces dedicated to the public were designed to offer a beauty and harmony, to encourage intellectual work,” said a representative of the library, Faustine Lejour.

She added that staff and visitors were “delighted to hear that the Sainte-Geneviève has been included.”

Located in the fifth arrondissement, it is open for both university and public use, holds nearly two million documents and has 46,000 active readers.

The three main departments are the Fonds General (documents published after 1821), La Réserve (collection of old, rare and precious books) and the Bibliotheque Nordique, which specialises in documents in Scandinavian and Finno-Ugric languages.

The library has the most Nordic language books anywhere outside of Scandinavian countries.

The Bibliothèque Saint-Genevieve was also used as a model to design the main building of the Boston Public Library.

The poll conducted by Uniplaces, Europe’s biggest student housing website, also included the Bodleian Library in Oxford and the Library of Trinity College Dublin.

Sainte-Geneviève was ranked at number seven in the Uniplaces survey list of the 25 most beautiful university libraries. The top spot was taken by St John’s College library in Cambridge.

The library can be found at 10 Place du Panthéon and is open Monday to Saturday 10:00 – 22:00. For more details visit www-bsg.univ-paris1.fr
Photo: wiki/Marie-Lan Nguyen