Les archives et la bibliothèque du Sénat

Notes: Resumen: The French Senate, from its origin in An VIII, has been looking for setting up a specific library. But it is rather the Chambre des Pairs that constituted the library, either by acquiring specific books or by receiving donations, such as the Vicomte de Morel-Vindé prints, maps and plans collection. The first catalog was drawn up in 1834.
The actual Senate library is dedicated to the parliamentary work and gathers 380.000 volumes that have been inventoried during the catalog computerization process from 2006 to 2009. It converses the whole parliamentary publications from its origins and determines its acquisitions according to the legislator needs, regarding either printed r digital type such as law data bases. Moreover, it leads a wide digitization program of the debates and specific prints from the institution, and also of some rare books from its collection. A preservation plan has been set up these last years. A distinctive workshop composed of a team of professional library agents le by an external conservator, is able to repair modern books quickly as well as to preserve the rare books collection. During the past, some historical reasons and the lack of place have sometimes pushed the Assembly to transfer a part of its archives to the National Archival in Paris. However, the 15 juillet 2008 law, initiated by the Senate, has reinforced the administrative autonomy of parliamentary assemblies concerning the gestion of their archives. The Senate archives are constituted of institutional reports and unit documents. They are composed of paper (2 linear kilometers), as well as maps, photographs, audiovisual recording, digital files, currencies and medals. A professional management has been developed from the 2000. Like the library, the archives unit is organizing digitization programs in order to increase the visibility of its collection, such as putting on line historical studies about Palais du Luxembourg or parliamentary institution. Finally, a global conservation assessment has led to the repackaging of all the documents, and to the setting up specific operations on some of them

Texto en francés