The Cité Scientifique campus library (illustration).

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M.Libert / 20 Minutes

  • The university library on the Pont de Bois campus will be modernized

  • Work will start in 2022 and be completed no later than 2026

  • During the work, a temporary structure will allow students to continue to consult and borrow documents

A damp building, with questionable aesthetics, and in which no work has been carried out since 1974, the date of its construction.

The Pont de Bois university library has nothing to do with that of the Cité Scientifique, modern, bright and spacious.

It was high time to renovate it.

And indeed, the State, the Hauts-de-France regional council and the European Metropolis of Lille (MEL) are joining forces to finance the transformation of this old building into a place of study more suited to the needs of students.

At the start of 2022, the university library will therefore close its doors to students to accommodate workers.

The University of Lille assures us that it is “not just a coat of paint, nor a simple renewal of material”.

A provisional library available to students

Indeed, the project resembles that of 2016 which transformed the Cité Scientifique library.

The “new” university library at Pont de Bois will be equipped with a café, wifi and group work rooms.

It will also house a large exhibition space and a “learning lab”, a place of experience in educational innovation.

In addition, doctoral students and young researchers will be able to benefit from privileged access to the collections.

In the meantime, a smaller, temporary library will be set up.

Part of the collections, stored outside, will only be accessible on request.

The university has therefore devised a shuttle system that will make the trip several times a week to meet the demands of the students.

The total budget for the rehabilitation of the library amounts to 44 million euros and the site will last four years.

This relatively long period is explained by a consequent operation of asbestos removal from the building.

Students will therefore have to arm themselves with a little patience before seeing their BU transformed.

The knowledge odyssey takes place in Lille-I

Nantes

Nantes: Vieillotte, the largest university library on campus will change its face

  • Library

  • Modernization

  • Works

  • University

  • Lille