Le dépôt légal de la musique à la Bibliothèque nationale de France : état des lieux et nouveaux enjeux

Established in 1537 by King Francis I, the legal deposit applies primarily to "printed books." It was only gradually that legal deposit was extended to other types of documents, in particular musical scores and, later, sound recordings and audiovisual and multimedia productions. Governed today by the Heritage Code, which came into force in 2004, and the decree of 31 December 1993, as amended by the Decree of 13 June 2006, legal deposit has undergone many changes over the last decade. Using as an example the deposit of musical scores and sound recordings, this article will examine the problems that the National Library of France (BNF) will face in this vital mission for the establishment of national heritage. The celebration of the bicentennial of the French national bibliography, which gives a periodic reporting of documents entered through legal deposit, also offers the opportunity to return briefly to the history and recent developments of this publication.