Shared memories: combining library and archive services at Rize, Villeurbanne

Rize, a dynamic young institution which opened in Villeurbanne in 2008, has launched a cultural project to collect and share the memories of local people. The project involves bringing the municipal archives and the new multimedia library (which is also part of a wider network to promote reading) together on the same site. Such a pooled resource is unusual; linking the holdings of the two services has raised questions both in terms of acquisitions policy and building up a historical collection in what is a very new town. The project has been running for two years and the time has come for an initial survey of the opportunities offered by combining library and archives services in terms of the institution’s wider cultural strategy and vision.
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