Bridging the Gap: A View from France

Abstract

What kind of formal training and continuing education are provided in France for special collections librarians, and how do they prepare librarians for the variety of educational roles they have to play? To answer these two questions, I will mostly rely on my ten years’ experience as director of ENSSIB (l’Ecole nationale supérieure des sciences de l’information et des bibliothèques), the school that has a monopoly on the initial training of all French librarians and provides most of their continuing education.

Institutional Context

Among the elements of context necessary to assess the French situation, one of the most peculiar is . . .