Cour d’appel (12,000 vols.); Ordre des avocats, dating from 1871 (56,000 vols., with a catalogue printed in 1880–1882); the Bibliothèque des avocats de la cour de Cassation (20,000 vols.); that of the Cour de Cassation (40,000 vols.). The Bibliothèque du Ministère de la Marine is of old formation (catalogue 1838–1843); it contains 100,000 vols. and 356 MSS.; the catalogue of manuscripts was compiled in 1907. The Bibliothèque du service hydrographique de la Marine has 65,000 vols. and 250 MSS. The Ministère des Travaux publics possesses 12,000 vols., and the Sous-Secrétariat des postes et télégraphes a further 30,000 vols. The Bibliothèque de la Chambre des députés (1796) possesses 250,000 printed books and 1546 MSS. (Catalogue des manuscrits, by E. Coyecque et H. Debray, 1907; Catalogue des livres de jurisprudence, d’économie politique, de finances, et d’administration, 1883). The Bibliothèque du Sénat (1818) contains 150,000 vols. and 1343 MSS. The Bibliothèque du Conseil d’État has 30,000 vols. All these libraries are only accessible to officials except by special permission.
The Bibliothèque Historique de la ville de Paris was destroyed in 1871, but Jules Cousin reconstituted it in 1872; it possesses 400,000 vols., 3500 MSS. and 14,000 prints; the principal printed catalogues are Catalogue des imprimés de la Réserve by M. Poète (1910), Catalogue des manuscrits, by F. Bournon (1893); a Bulletin has been issued periodically since 1906. The Bibliothèque administrative de la préfecture de la Seine is divided into two sections: French (40,000 vols.) and foreign (22,000 vols.); it is only accessible to officials and to persons having a card of introduction; the catalogues are printed.
The other libraries connected with the city of Paris are that of the Conseil municipal (20,000 vols.), the Bibliothèques Municipales Populaires, 82 in number with a total of 590,000 books; those of the 22 Hospitals (92,887 vols.), the Préfecture de police (10,000 vols.), the Bibliothèque Forney (10,000 vols. and 80,000 prints), the five Écoles municipales supérieures (19,700 vols.), the six professional schools (14,200 vols.).
The libraries of the university and the institutions dealing with higher education in Paris are well organized and their catalogues generally printed.
The Bibliothèque de l’Université, although at present grouped as a system in four sections in different places, historically considered is the library of the Sorbonne. This was founded in 1762 by Montempuis and only included the faculties of Arts and Theology. It changed its name several times; in 1800 it was the Bibliothèque du Prytanée, in 1808 Bibliothèque des Quatre Lycées and in 1812 Bibliothèque de l’Université de France. The sections into which the Bibliothèque de l’Université is now divided are: (1) Facultés de Sciences et des Lettres à la Sorbonne, (2) Faculté de Médecine, (3) Faculté de droit, (4) École supérieure de pharmacie. Before the separation of Church and State there was a fifth section, that of Protestant theology. After the Bibliothèque nationale it is the richest in special collections, and above all as regards classical philology, archaeology, French and foreign literature and literary criticism, just as the library of the Faculté des Sciences et des Lettres is notable for philosophy, mathematics and chemico-physical sciences. The great development which has taken place during the last thirty years, especially under the administration of M. J. de Chantepie du Dézert, its installation since 1897 in the buildings of the New Sorbonne, have made it a library of the very first rank. The reading-room only seats about 300 persons. The average attendance per day is 1200, the number of books consulted varies from 1500 to 3000 vols. a day, and the loans amount to 14,000 vols. per year. The store-rooms, although they contain more than 1200 mètres of shelves and comprise two buildings of five storeys each, are insufficient for the annual accessions, which reach nearly 10,000 vols. by purchase and presentation. Amongst the latter the most important are the bequests of Leclerc, Peccot, Lavisse, Derenbourg and Beljame; the last-named bequeathed more than 3000 vols., including an important Shakespearean library. The first section contains more than 550,000 vols., 2800 periodicals which include over 70,000 vols., 320 incunabula, 2106 MSS., more than 2000 maps and plans and some prints. The alphabetical catalogues are kept up day by day on slips. The classified catalogues were in 1910 almost ready for printing, and some had already been published: Périodiques (1905); Cartulaires (1907); Mélanges jubilaires et publications commémoratives (1908); Inventaires des MSS., by E. Chatelain (1892); Incunables, by E. Chatelain (1902); and Supplément, Réserve de la bibliothèque 1401–1540, by Ch. Beaulieux (1909); Nouvelles acquisitions (1905–1908); Catalogue des livres de G. Duplessis donnés à l’Université de Paris (1907), Catalogue collectif des bibliothèques universitaires by Fécamp (1898–1901). For French thèses, of which the library possesses a rich collection, the catalogues are as follows: Mourier et Deltour, Catalogue des thèses de lettres (1809, &c.); A. Maire, Répertoire des thèses de lettres (1809–1900); A. Maire, Catalogue des thèses de sciences (1809–1890) with Supplément to 1900 by Estanave; Catalogue des thèses publié par le Ministère de l’Instruction publique (1882, &c.).
At the Sorbonne are also to be found the libraries of A. Dumont and V. Cousin (15,000 vols.), and those of the laboratories, of which the richest is the geological (30,000 specimens and books). The section relating to medicine, housed since 1891 in the new buildings of the Faculté de Médecine, includes 180,000 vols. and 88 MSS. (catalogue 1910). The Bibliothèque de la faculté de droit dates from 1772 and contains 80,000 vols., 239 MSS. The fourth section, l’École supérieure de pharmacie, greatly developed since 1882, now contains 50,000 vols.
The other libraries connected with higher education include that of the École des Beaux-Arts (40,000 vols., 100,000 reproductions, 14,000 drawings). The library of the École normale supérieure (1794), established in the Rue d’Ulm in 1846, has received legacies from Verdet (1867), Caboche (1887), Lerambert-Whitcomb (1890), and a portion of Cuvier’s library; the system of classification in use is practically the same as that of the Sorbonne, being devised by Philippe Lebas (librarian of the Sorbonne) about 1845; there are 200,000 vols. The library of the Muséum d’histoire naturelle dates from the 18th century, and contains 220,000 vols., 2000 MSS., 8000 original drawings on vellum beginning in 1631. The Bibliothèque de l’Office et Musée de l’Instruction publique (formerly Musée pédagogique), founded only in 1880, has 75,000 vols. In 1760 was founded the Bibliothèque de l’Institut de France, which is very rich; its acquisitions come particularly from gifts and exchanges (400,000 vols., numerous and scarce; valuable MSS., especially modern ones).
The following may be briefly mentioned: Conservatoire national de musique (1775), which receives everything published in France relating to music (200,000 vols.); the Bibliothèque du théâtre de l’Opéra (25,000 vols., 5000 songs, 20,000 romances, and a dramatic library of 12,000 vols. and 20,000 prints); the Théâtre français (40,000 vols.); the Académie de médecine (15,000 vols., 10,000 vols. of periodicals, 5000 portraits), l’Observatoire (18,400 vols.); the Bureau des Longitudes (15,000 vols. and 850 MSS.). The scholastic libraries are: L’École centrale des arts et manufactures (16,000 vols.); l’École coloniale (11,000 vols.); l’École d’application du service de santé militaire (23,000 vols.); l’École d’application du génie maritime (14,000 vols.); l’École libre des sciences politiques (25,000 vols., 250 periodicals); l’École normale d’instituteurs de la Seine (10,000 vols.); l’École normale israélite (30,000 vols., 250 MSS.); l’École nationale des ponts-et-chausées (9000 vols., 5000 MSS., 5000 photographs); Bibliothèque de l’Institut catholique (160,000 vols.); l’Institut national agronomique (25,000 vols.); Faculté libre de théologie protestante (36,000 vols.); Conservatoire des arts et métiers (46,000 vols., 2500 maps and plans); Bibliothèque polonaise, administered by the Académie des Sciences de Cracovie (80,000 vols., 30,000 prints); Séminaire des Missions étrangères (25,000 vols.); l’Association Valentin Haüy, established 1885 (2000 vols. printed in relief) which lends out 40,000 books per annum; l’Association générale des Étudiants (22,000 vols.), which lends and allows reference on the premises to books by students; Bibliothèque de la Chambre de Commerce (40,000 vols.), the catalogues of which were printed in 1879, 1889 and 1902; the Société nationale d’agriculture (20,000 vols.); the Société d’anthropologie (23,000 vols.); the Société asiatique (12,000 vols., 200 MSS.); the Société chimique de France (10,000 vols.), the catalogue of which was published in 1907; the Société de chirurgie, dating from 1843 (20,000 vols.); the Société entomologique (30,000 vols.); the Société de géographie founded 1821 (60,000 vols., 6000 maps, 22,000 photographs, 2200 portraits, 80 MSS. of which the catalogue was printed in 1901); the Société géologique de France (15,000 vols., 30,000 specimens, 800 periodicals); the Société de l’histoire du protestantisme français, founded in 1852 (50,000 vols., 1000 MSS.; income 25,000 frs.); the Société d’encouragement pour l’industrie nationale (50,000 vols., income 8000 frs.); the Société des Ingénieurs civils (47,000 vols.; catalogue made in 1894); the Société de legislation comparée (15,000 vols., 4500 pamphlets); and lastly the Bibliothèque de la Société de Statistique de Paris, founded in 1860 (60,000 vols., with a printed catalogue).
Before the Revolution there were in Paris alone 1100 libraries containing altogether 2,000,000 vols. After the suppression of the religious orders the libraries were confiscated, and in 1791 more than 800,000 vols. were seized in 162 religious houses and transferred to eight literary foundations in accordance with a decree of November 14, 1789. In the provinces 6,000,000 vols. were seized and transferred to local depositories. The organization of the central libraries under the decree of 3 Brumaire An IV. (October 25, 1795) came to nothing, but the consular edict of January 28, 1803 gave definitive organization to the books in the local depositories. From that time the library system was reconstituted, alike in Paris and the provinces. Unfortunately many precious books and MSS. were burnt, since by the decree of 4 Brumaire An II. (October 25, 1793) the Committee of Instruction ordered, on the proposition of its president the deputy Romme, the destruction or modification of books and objects of art, under the pretext that they recalled the outward signs of feudalism.
The books in the provincial libraries, not including those in private hands or belonging to societies, number over 9,200,000 vols., 15,540 incunabula and 93,986 MSS. The number in the colonies and protected states outside France is uncertain, but it extends to more than 200,000 vols.; to this number must be
