Frédéric Barbier

Fellowship 2013

ARCHIVE

Born in 1952, former student of the École nationale des chartes (promotion 1976), PhD in Humanities (1987, University Paris IV). Director of the library of Valenciennes (1976-1982), researcher (1982) and then director of research at CNRS (1992). Director of studies at École pratique des Hautes Études (VIe section, Book history and civilisation). Project manager at French Historical Institute of Göttingen (1998-2000), professor of book history at the National School of Information Sciences and Libraries (2000-2004).
Doctor honoris causa of the University of Szeged.
Recently published books : L’Europe de Gutenberg. Le livre et l’invention de la modernité occidentale (XIIIe-XVIe siècle) (2006) (Europe of Gutenberg. Book and invention of western modernity (12th-16th cent.) ; La Capitale des livres. Le monde du livre et de la presse à Paris, du Moyen Âge au XXIe siècle (2007) (Capital of books. The world of book and press in Paris, from Middle-Ages to 21st cent)) ; Le Rêve grec de Monsieur de Choiseul. Les voyages d’un européen des Lumières (2010) (The greek dream of Mr de Choiseul. Journeys of an European from the Enlightenment) ; Histoire du livre en Occident (2012) (Book history in the West). Coming soon : Histoire des bibliothèques, du Musée d’Alexandrie aux bibliothèques virtuelles (2013) (History of Libraries, from the museum in Alexandria to virtual libraries). Editor of Histoire et civilisation du livre. Revue internationale (Genève). (2006) (Book History and Civilisation. International Review).
Former student of Henri-Jean Martin, and his successor at École pratique des Hautes Études, Fréderic Barbier is a specialist of book and printing history from 15th to 20th cent., as well as the issue of cultural transfers between France, Germany and Central and Eastern European countries.

Here is the webpage of Professor Barbier.

In memoriam: USIAS was saddened to learn of Professor Barbier's passing in May 2023.

Libraries and cultural transfer: the case of the National University Library (BNU) Strasbourg

Since the 1450’s, Strasbourg is one of the historical capitals for books and printing, thus all related activities have tremendously developed for centuries. In addition, the city has played a key role in cultural transfer between France, Germany and most of the continental Europe until the modern era.
The history of the main library of Strasbourg, the Bibliothèque National Universitaire Strasbourg (BNUS), can provide a new perspective to these phenomenons. Under the French monarchy, Strasbourg owned one of the finest collections in Europe (libraries of Magistrat and of the city, but also of religious and teaching institutions). After the Revolution everything was seized and restructured into a new library, which was then nearly entirely destroyed by German bombings in 1870.
The new authorities started reconstituting a collection conceived as a showcase for the success of the German empire. A new building was inaugurated in 1895, and the library ranked second, in terms of budget, among all German libraries. The end of the First World War and the re-annexation of Strasbourg and Alsace to France lead to the start of a new project; the “BNU nouvelle” which aimed at enhancing this rich patrimony and to put the library on a trajectory that would go beyond the traditional national rivalries.
The BNUS is a unique example to better understand not only the history of the city and the Rhineland, but also the history of institutions and ideas, as well as the issue of cultural transfers, national identities and European integration between two major actors, France and Germany. The main objective of this projectis to propose a History of the BNU, which will be analysed through the issue of cultural transfer in order to make sens of the European framework. The project will be linked to the creation in Strasbourg of a Center for Book History.