Reading rooms
Work in our reading rooms and consult our collections of books and newspapers, electronic resources and multimedia documents. There are 1500 seats available, as well as computer and multimedia workstations and wifi access.
Please note: Documents can be consulted on-site only. Home loans are not permitted.
The 10 reading rooms
Consult the Affluence
Reading room © Béatrice Lucchese / BnF
room A : Audiovisual Media
room B : Press and Media
room C : Science and Technology
room D : Law, Economics, Politics
room E : Bibliographic Research, Books, Libraries
room F : Arts
room G : World Literature
room H : French Literature
room I : National Centre for Children’s Literature
room J : Philosophy, History, Humanities
You can also search by subject:
Discover our Public Library’s Collection [In French]
Resource centres
The resource centres give reference information on a selection of subjetcs, both on-site and online [in French]:
Electronic Resources
The Library offers many electronic resources – periodicals, monographs, databases, Gallica and Internet Archives - accessible on-site or online.
Via Wifi
Simply connect to the BNF WIFI network from your laptop, tablet or smartphone to access a selection of electronic resources. These resources are also accessible in areas that do not require a pass: halls, alleys, cafés etc.
On Computer workstations
Computer workstations in reading rooms grant access to all the electronic resources the library has suscriptions for.
On your laptop, in a reading room
In the reading rooms, you can access all electronic resources from your laptop.
You will need to install the software AVEC on your first connection.
Remote access
Electronic resources can be partly consulted outside of the library
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Please note
Please note: Documents can be consulted on-site only. Home loans are not permitted.
Looking for a spot to work on Sunday?
We welcome you from 1 PM to 8 PM
Looking for a spot to work outside of the reading rooms?
You can work in the foyers, the Encyclopedia alley, the Eastern Hall in front of the Historical Timeline and in the Western Hall in front of the Louise Bourgeois Sculpture.