On access and libraries

If librarians are still raising the age-old debate about accessibility -surely one of the core values of the profession- it is because the issue is still evolving. What was once essentially a matter of physical accessibility has now developed in a number of new directions. The article looks at issues of access and accessibility to the French library network and how it is hierarchically structured into central, annexe, and territorial libraries. It also looks at questions such as opening hours (comparing the situation in France and elsewhere) and access to virtual libraries (via hybrid libraries) and to print-based and digital collections. It concludes by studying the accessibility of... librarians themselves.
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