Municipal lending libraries

Service

Updated on 03/06/2025

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Children reading at the Gutenberg Library (15th arrondissement)
Crédit photo : Clément Dorval / Ville de Paris

Content

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To find out all about our collections and services, and to access the catalog and your library account, visit the lending libraries website.
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The collections

All the lending libraries offer the public over 2.4 million printed books, subscriptions to 370 magazines and newspapers, 620,000 CDs, 280,000 DVDs, sheet music, language methods, etc…
Eight language hubs and five music hubs form a multi-media offering in these fields, while thematic collections are present in certain lending libraries: for example, Judaïca, histoires ouvrières, poetry (Marguerite Audoux,3rd) or Asian languages (Jean-Pierre Melville, 13th).

Libraries in figures

  • 68 libraries in Paris, including 58 lending libraries, 10 heritage and specialized libraries, and 5 associated libraries
  • 82,000 m² dedicated to reading in Paris
  • 250,000 registrants
  • 10 million loans per year
  • 3,500,000 items in lending libraries and around 17 million in heritage and special libraries
  • 400,000 new documents acquired on average each year
  • 930 self-service computer stations
  • Nearly 4,800 cultural events every year

The central reserve

In addition, the Central Library Reserve has 246,000 documents referenced in a computerized catalog.
  • 153,000 printed
  • 72 000 CD
  • 6000 DVDS
  • 1000 texts read
These documents can be reserved in the library or online via the reader account and delivered to the library of your choice within a maximum of 4 days.

Ask a question to the central reserve by e-mail: [bibliotheque.reservecentrale puis paris.fr après le signe @]ovoyvbgurdhr.erfreirpragenyr@cnevf.se[bibliotheque.reservecentrale puis paris.fr après le signe @]

Services

Free high-speed WIFI access.

Thanks to the Paris Wi-Fi service, you can connect to high-speed wireless Internet free of charge in all City of Paris libraries (with the exception of Courcelles and Chaptal libraries, where wired connections are available).

930 self-service computer stations

930 self-service computer workstations are installed throughout the Paris network. They enable users to surf the web, consult encyclopedias, databases and periodicals, as well as audio and audiovisual content, free of charge.

Multimedia workshops

Many libraries also offer multimedia workshops. From an introduction to computers to the more precise use of photo editing software, these free workshops are aimed at anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of the digital world.

E-readers and tablets

The e-readers are loaned to libraries for three weeks, renewable (under the same conditions as a book). Each one is responsible for a catalog of around 1,300 books in French, English, Spanish and German, mainly classics that have passed into the public domain.
The tablets are available in:
  • children's sections, for children to discover pure player albums;
  • Libraries that have developed a project based on reading, artistic or recreational applications;

A rich and varied cultural program

Meetings, concerts, debates on science, social issues or current affairs, computer workshops, video games, numerous group events (educational activities, French language conversation workshops) and outdoor libraries during the summer vacations.

Find out more about the program on the library website

School accompaniment

"Coup2pouce
It's a free homework support service for primary and secondary school pupils provided by civic service volunteers in libraries.
Online support
From French to English, mathematics to philosophy, physics to history, this online tutoring service provides students from CP to terminale and BAC pro with video lessons, interactive exercises and quizzes, and a whole range of multimedia tools (dictionaries, corrected annals, didactic revision planning, vacation e-books, etc.).
Accessible free of charge to all Paris library subscribers,
Access the service

Conversation for allophones

Many libraries offer conversation workshops. These are friendly moments of discussion and exchange in French, led by librarians. They are designed for allophones who want to improve their French. For around an hour, a maximum of a dozen people of different nationalities, ages or cultures will meet and discuss in French. These workshops are led by librarians.

Services for the deaf and hearing-impaired

Enhanced accessibility, personalized welcome… libraries are open to all. Most libraries are accessible to the disabled. Work is regularly undertaken to bring the facilities up to standard,

Individuals and groups are welcomed in sign language by librarians at Canopée la fontaine (1st), Saint-Eloi (12th), James Baldwin (19th), André Malraux (6th) and Louise Walser-Gaillard (9th), who are trained and/or deaf or hard-of-hearing themselves.
Deaf and hearing-impaired school groups are also welcomed and entertained at these establishments.
Specific documents: books and magazines on the world of the deaf, - books and CDs for learning French and French sign language (LSF) - online media sites for the blind and partially sighted, - CDs and DVDs subtitled in French and/or LSF, All these documents can be borrowed for 3 weeks, renewable twice. Dictionaries and encyclopedias can be consulted on site. Internet access is free of charge.

Services for the visually impaired

Many Paris libraries offer large-print books and audio books.

The Lire Autrement hubs

The Marguerite Duras (20th arrondissement) and Marguerite Yourcenar (15th arrondissement) media libraries offer special services for the visually impaired at their Lire Autrement (Reading Otherwise) centers.
They offer a range of adapted IT tools and collections accessible to all audiences:
  • audio books
  • Daisy audio books
  • DVDs with audio description
  • large-print books
  • tactile and braille books for children
  • tactile documents for adults, mainly in the field of the arts
  • a remote enlarger for adjusting the brightness, color and size of a document
  • the possibility of borrowing DAISY readers
  • tablets
Guide dogs have free access to public areas.
Guide dogs: law 2005-102 of February 11, 2005 "Guide dogs have free, unmuzzled access to public transport, public places and premises open to the public, as well as those used for professional, training or educational purposes".

Le Port'âge

Having trouble getting around? Our civic service volunteers will bring you books or reading material, and spend a little time with you. Call one of the libraries listed below and ask for this service.

An appointment will be made to schedule visits. The person in charge of this service will adapt to your needs according to their availability (pace of visits, choice of books or texts read, etc.).

This service is free of charge and can be discontinued on request. If the weight of your books poses a problem, we can also simply accompany you on the journey from your home to the library.
Find all the libraries offering the scheme on the lending libraries website :

Working in a library

Follow the Centre de Documentation sur les Métiers du Livres (CDML) blog on competitive examinations to find out more about different positions in libraries.

Practical information

Find out all about registration, loan conditions, rates and services…