IFLA President Sinikka Sipilä accepted the invitation of the National Committee and travelled to France on April, 28-30. This trip had a very positive, affirmative agenda. She held two press conferences in Lyon and Paris and met both with Ministry of Culture and Communication and the Secretary of State for Higher Education. With representatives from the major professional institutions and associations, she discussed such issues as the IFLA Trend Report, eLending for libraries, copyright limitations and exceptions as well as the issues and opportunities associated with Massive Open Online Courses. Sinikka expressed her satisfaction with the arrangements made by the National Committee on the eve of the 80th Congress. This visit was an opportunity to solidify and energize the French professional community.

During the congress, we invite you to visit our Treasures! Exhibition

The exhibition is accessible in French, English and Chinese.

To learn more about the exhibition and about Lyon Public Library, visit our website, now available in French, English and for some pages in Chinese:
http://www.bm-lyon.fr/espaces-dedies-aux-professionnels/For-IFLA-WLIC-ers.

Opening hours: Tue-Fri: 10:00-19:00 / Sat: 10:00-18:00

The collections of the Lyon Municipal Library reflect several centuries of meetings, discussions, reflection, opposition and reconciliation. The three million documents which have gradually converged to the stacks tell stories without number which are our history.
Lyon has been at the crossroads of European exchanges since antiquity. Its collections are like a river with tributaries as numerous as they are unexpected, having patiently carried along a multitude of treasures of which the Municipal Library is now the custodian: manuscripts, maps, extremely rare printed documents, sumptuously bound tomes, engravings, photographs, and even improbable objects. … From 20 May to 23 August 2014, the Library dips into its coffers and invites you to come and contemplate a few golden nuggets chosen from among its most wonderful items. Speaking several languages, coming from the most diverse horizons, they have patiently crossed centuries and borders to converge on us. The Treasures! Exhibition is a unique opportunity to embark on their exploration.

Public Information Library

The Bibliothèque publique d'information (Bpi) is a national public library funded by the Ministry of Culture and Communication. Located in the Centre Pompidou, opened in the very heart of Paris in 1977, it is a great encyclopaedic library, with extended opening hours.

It is completely free of charge and open to everyone, whether in search of information or training, for work, school or university or by personal motivation. It specifically offers collections and services for lifelong learning in various fields (such as languages, digital literacy, personal development), on citizens and consumers rights, vocational guidance or job seeking. Workshops and visits are proposed, various partnerships are built with NGOs enhancing social inclusion, and the access for disabled persons is facilitated, as well as appropriate services available for visually-impaired users.

Being a national library, the Bpi leads cooperative projects with French public libraries: “ask a librarian” services, documentary films, online resources. The Bpi organizes study days on many topics, highlighting questions about knowledge sharing, user-driven services and the role of libraries in the communities. It thus contributes to encourage networking among French public libraries.

The Bpi is an active member of IFLA, working in several standing committees, and also participates in EBLIDA and some European projects. The Bpi has built relationships with libraries worldwide, receives international trainees and aims at developing the involvement of French public relations in international cooperation and exchanges.