The Chambéry public library was set up in 1783, thanks to a legacy from Abbé de Mellarède. It was further built up by acquiring the collections from the Savoy seminaries after the separation of Church and State. Having the largest collection relating to the heritage of Savoy and Haute-Savoie, it became a listed municipal library in1972.
The Jean-Jacques Rousseau Multimedia Library (surface area 8000 m²), in the Carré Curial, right in the centre of the town, was built in 1992 to the design of the Swiss architect Aurelio Galfetti. The building also houses a centre for scientific and technical culture. The Georges Brassens library (1400 m²), in the Chambéry-le-Haut district, was rebuilt in 2001.
The Chambéry municipal public libraries participate in the town’s cultural life and the integration of all the inhabitants in today’s world of information. They have been computerized since 1988. The Internet site, which was inaugurated in 2001, includes an on-line catalogue, an interface for simultaneous searches in the Chambéry municipal libraries catalogue, the Sabaudia bibliographical data base and the catalogue of the University of Savoy library catalogue, professional data (activity report, collections charter, valuation manual), and a selection of recommended web sites and on-line exhibitions. The two libraries are equipped with multimedia workshops. The Jean-Jacques Rousseau Multimedia Library also features the Médiavue workshop for those who are blind or who have poor eyesight.
A project for an improved service, which was designed during 2003 and 2004, has given a fresh impetus to the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Multimedia Library since 2005, by improving availability to the general public (the extension of the public opening hours for all the services from 32.5 to 38 hours per week, and the organization of a comprehensive service including reception of the public, orientation and information) and staff working conditions.
