The Hachette-BnF collection, launched in 2014 by Hachette Livre and the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), is expanding to include the funds of six major French heritage libraries. This expansion allows thousands of rare or out-of-print works to be ordered in bookstores and printed on demand. The program, previously fed by the BnF collections, now includes the Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire de Strasbourg, the Médiathèque Émile Zola de Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, and the municipal libraries of Bordeaux, Toulouse, Le Havre, and Nîmes. These collections cover a range of topics, including the history of the cities, regional literature, scientific works, and historical documents.
The production of books is carried out on Hachette Livre's distribution site in Maurepas using Lightning Source France's technology, eliminating the need for large stockpiles. This model allows the availability of texts that have been out-of-print for a long time or have become difficult to find in commerce, while avoiding the storage and disposal of unsold copies. Print-on-demand technology enables books to be produced only when they are ordered, reducing waste and making rare or obscure texts more accessible to the public.
The first works from these six funds are to be progressively marketed starting in September 2026 and will be listed in usual book distribution channels, available for purchase in bookstores and online platforms. According to Roei Amit, director of BnF-Partenariats, this new phase should allow more "linking the possibilities offered by digitization and print-on-demand to the dissemination of written heritage." Philippe Lamotte, executive director of the Operations, Digital and Commercial Development branch of Hachette Livre, points out the territorial anchoring taken by the partnership and the possibility, thanks to print-on-demand, of "reviving the treasures of our regions."
French Heritage Libraries Expand Print-on-Demand Collection
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