Admittance to the "salle de travail" is obtained through a card procured from the secretarial office. The slip catalogue bound in volumes dates from 1882, and gives a list of all acces sions since that date; it is divided into two parts, one for the names of authors and the other for subjects. Of the Catalogue general des livres imprimes (authors only), 91 vols., A.-Lecompte, had appeared in 1928. It is expected to be completed in I i years. Anonyma, periodicals, etc., are reserved for later treatment. The preface to vol. i., by L. Delisle, is a valuable historical account of the library. The place of the unpublished volumes was, from 1925, supplied by a photographic issue of the ms. slips of the classed catalogue. Other exceptionally important catalogues, out of very many, are : Catalogue de l'histoire de France (1885-89, I I vols.) ; Table des auteurs, Catalogue general des incurables des bibliotheques publiques de France, by M. Pellechet and L. Polain, t. i.-iii. A.-H. (1897-1909) ; Livres d'Heures imprimes au XVe siecle conserves dans les bibliotheques publiques de Paris, by P. Lacombe (1907), etc. L. Vallee's Catalogue des cartes et plans relatifs a Paris et aux environs de Paris (1908) ; Bibliog raphie generale des travaux historiques et archeologiques publies par les societes savantes de la France, by R. de Lasteyrie in collaboration with d'E. Lefevre-Pontalis, S. Bougenot, A. Vidier, t. (1885-1908) ; H. Omont's Catalogue general des scrits francais (1895-1918, 13 vols., and index in the press, 1928). For the Greek collection important catalogues have been made by H. Omont, the present keeper of the manuscripts, and for the Latin by Delisle, M. Omont and others. For many oriental languages catalogues have been compiled ; and those of manu scripts in modern languages are nearly all completed. The Departements des Medailles et des Estampes possess excellent catalogues. The former department includes vases, bronzes and gems ; the catalogues of the Greek and Early French series are remarkable. The Departement des Estampes has been described in the vicomte H. Delaborde's Le Departement des Estampes a la Bibliotheque Nationale (1875) ; it includes drawings. F.
Courboin's Catalogue sommaire des gravures et lithographies composant la Reserve (19oo-oi) is supported by many fine special catalogues. A list of works on and of the catalogues of the Bibliotheque Nationale, and most other French libraries, may be found in A. Vidier, Annuaire des Bibliotheques et des Archives, 1927, pp. 13-38. The second copy of every new French publication deposited by the printer is allotted by the Council of the National Libraries to one of the other institutions repre sented upon it.
The Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal was founded by the marquis de Paulmy (Antoine-Rene d'Argenson) in the 18th century; in 1786 it received 8o,000 vols. from the duc de La Valliere's library. It contained, in 1926, about 950,000 vols., 11,462 mss., with the Bastille collection (2,500 portfolios) of which the inventory is complete, and 120,000 prints; it is the richest library for the literary history of France and has more than 30,00o theatrical pieces, including the Auguste Rondel collection, added in 1922, and, accordingly, it receives belles lettres in the allotment of deposited books.
The Bibliotheque Mazarine owes its origin to the great cardinal, who confided the direction to Gabriel Naude; it was open to the public in 1642. Dispersed during the Fronde, it was reconstituted with 40,00o vols. after Mazarin's death, in 1661, and left to the College des Quatre-Nations, which, in 1691, made it again public. It is now one of the libraries of the national "consortium," and forms a 5th department of the Nationale ; it has 300,00o printed vols., including 1,900 incunabula, and 4,600 mss.
The first library of the Genovefains had nearly disappeared when Cardinal Francois de la Rochefoucauld, who had charge of the reformation of that order, constituted, in 1642, a new library with his own books. The Bibliothèque Ste.-Genevieve, in 1716. possessed 45,000 vols. It became national property in 1791, and was called the Bibliotheque du Pantheon and added to the Lycee Henri IV. under the Empire. In 1926 it contained 510,000 printed vols., 1,225 incunabula, 3,872 mss., 40,00o prints and 4,000 maps and plans. There is a special Scandinavian section under the patronage of the Governments of the four Scandinavian countries, which, in turn, appoint the librarian. The general catalogue of printed books (1891, and suppl. to 1910), of mss. (1894-96, and suppl. 1913), and others are printed.