The first library of the Genovéfains had nearly disappeared owing to bad administration when Cardinal François de la Rochefoucauld, who had charge of the reformation of that religious order, constituted in 1642 a new library with his own books. The Bibliothèque Ste-Geneviève in 1716 possessed 45,000 vols.; important gifts were made by Letellier in 1791, and the duc d’Orléans increased it still more. It became national property in 1791, and was called the Bibliothèque du Panthéon and added to the Lycée Henri IV. under the empire. In 1908 the library contained 350,000 printed vols., 1225 incunabula, 3510 manuscripts, 10,000 prints (including 7357 portraits and 3000 maps and plans).
The printed catalogues at present comprise: Poirée et Lamoureux, Catalogue abrégé de la bibliothèque Ste-Geneviève (1891, 8vo); 3 supplements (1890-1896, 1897-1899, 1900-1902); Catalogue des incunables de la bibliothèque Ste-Geneviève, rédigé par Daunou, publié par M. Pellechet (1892, 8vo); Catalogue général des MSS., par Ch. Kohler (1894-1896, 2 vols. 8vo); Inventaire sommaire des MSS. grecs, par H. Omont; Notices sur quelques MSS. normands, par E. Deville (1904-1906, 10 pts. 8vo), &c.
The Bibliothèque des Archives nationales, founded in 1808 by Daunou, contains 30,000 vols. on sciences auxiliary to history. It is only accessible to the officials.
It would be impossible to describe all the official, municipal and academic libraries of Paris more or less open to the public, which are about 200 in number, and in the following survey we deal only with those having 10,000 vols. and over.
The Bibliothèque du Ministère des affaires étrangères was founded by the marquis de Torcy, minister for foreign affairs under Louis XIV.; it contains 80,000 vols. and is for official use only. The Bibliothèque du Ministère de l’Agriculture dates from 1882 and has only 4000 vols. At the Ministry for the Colonies the library (of 10,000 vols.) dates from 1897; the catalogue was published in 1905; the library of the Colonial office is attached to this ministry; suppressed in 1896, it was re-established in 1899, and now contains 6000 vols., 7400 periodicals and 5000 photographs; it is open to the public. There are 30,000 vols. in the Bibliothèque du Ministère du commerce et de l’industrie; the Bibliothèque du Ministère des finances was burnt at the Commune, but has been reconstituted and now contains 35,000 vols.; connected with it are the libraries of the following offices: Contributions directes, Contributions indirectes, Enregistrement et inspection des finances; the contents of these four libraries make a total of 13,500 vols. The Bibliothèque du Ministère de la Guerre was formed by Louvois and possesses 130,000 vols. and 800 MSS. and an income of 20,000 francs; the catalogues are Bibliothèque du dépôt de la guerre: Catalogue (1883-1890); Suppléments (1893-1896); Catalogue des MSS., par J. Lemoine (1910). The following libraries are connected with this department: Comité de santé (10,000 vols.), École supérieure de guerre (70,000 vols.), Comité technique de l’artillerie (24,000 vols.). The Bibliothèque du Ministère de l’Intérieur was founded in 1793 and has 80,000 vols. The Bibliothèque du Ministère de la Justice possesses 10,000 vols., and L’Imprimerie Nationale which is connected with it has a further 19,000 vols. There are also the following law libraries: 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.