Bulac, University library in Paris, France
The BULAC is a university library in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, focused on languages and civilizations from around the world. It is housed in the Pôle des langues et civilisations on Rue des Grands Moulins, with several reading rooms, closed stacks, and a dedicated area for fragile and rare documents.
The BULAC was formed by bringing together around twenty libraries that were previously scattered across Paris and the surrounding area. It opened in December 2011, uniting collections from universities such as the Sorbonne and Paris Diderot, as well as several language and research schools.
The BULAC's shelves hold writings in nearly 350 languages, and browsing them feels like moving across continents: Arabic, Chinese, Tibetan, and dozens of other scripts sit side by side. The building is shared with INALCO, a school where around 90 languages are taught, which gives the place a very active student energy throughout the day.
The library is open six days a week, with the ground floor accessible until late evening while the upper floors close a couple of hours earlier. Researchers and doctoral students can also access a night library service under specific conditions, which is worth checking in advance.
Although the BULAC is a public institution, it is open to any adult who registers for free, not just students or researchers. Its collection includes writing in scripts that many visitors have never seen before, among them rare manuscripts from Central Asia and the Middle East.
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