The foundation of the Grenoble Municipal Library was the work of some natives of Grenoble who were interested in literature and who launched a public subscription when their bishop, Jean de Caulet, died, so as to be able to purchase the contents of his very extensive library. It was opened in 1772, and was built up initially by the addition of books from Saint-Antoine-en-Viennois Abbey, and subsequently by the confiscation during the French Revolution of the 3500 volumes belonging to the Grande Chartreuse Monastery.
Later, the library benefited from some remarkable purchases and gifts, such as manuscripts by Barnave and by Mounier, the files produced by the historian and genealogist Guy Allard, and 60 volumes of manuscripts by Stendhal in 1861 and, more recently, manuscripts by Paul Léautaud, Jean Prévost, and Suzanne Renaud. The Municipal Library is listed and houses a general stock of 250000 printed works, including 706 incunabula. Predominant categories are literature, travel books, geography, law and theology, plus a local collection relating to the former province of Dauphiné from its beginnings up to the present day, a collection for lovers of contemporary literature and the Stendhal collection. The latter comprises three quarters of the known manuscripts written by the author, works with notes, first editions of his works and extensive documentation, plus the recent acquisition of six books of the Journal.
The preservation of these renowned collections, which are part of our local heritage, and the promotion of their image are carried out by the Bibliothèque Municipale d'Étude et d'Information (Municipal Study and Information Library), which offers exhibitions, publications, teaching activities and the distribution via Internet of digitized collections relating to Berlioz, Champollion and Stendhal. This set-up also functions as the study and reference department for the Grenoble municipal libraries network. This network consists of 14 units forming a network covering all parts of the town, plus five associated libraries belonging to local cultural organizations. They are the library of the Regional national Conservatoire, the library of the Grenoble Museum, the library of the Grenoble Higher School of Art, the municipal Archives and the library of the Museum of the French Revolution.
The network of municipal libraries has made the development of reading its priority, relying on the nine local area multimedia libraries, a library specifically oriented towards groups and organizations, a mobile library and a service taking books to people’s homes.
Access to information and to the different cultural and artistic developments is covered by specific services which are accessible to all. These include: multimedia areas, the art library, the international library, the service for those who have eyesight problems, language booths and the loan of digitized books. A schedule of cultural activities, which involves a large number of partners and is highlighted by an annual "Books in the Spring" event, reinforces the attractiveness of these libraries, which, according to a recent survey, are used by 49 % of the population of Grenoble.
There are new services which are based on the libraries in the Grenoble urban area, the network of libraries in the Rhône-Alpes central cities, and the Bibliothèque Publique d'Information (Public Information Library) and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (French National Library).
The Library also participates in decentralized cooperation programmes with Ouagadougou, Sfax, Constantine and Essen.
