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Analysis of the Information
Environment in France
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INFO 780, Spring 2011
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4/20/2011
Rachel Gordon
1
Table of Contents
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 3
International Information Standards and Institutions .............................................................................. 4
Information Organizations in France ........................................................................................................ 5
French Culture and Information Organizations ........................................................................................ 6
Legal Framework ....................................................................................................................................... 7
Publishing, Telecommunications, and Technology in France ................................................................... 9
Information Ethics Issues ........................................................................................................................ 10
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 10
References .................................................................................................................................................. 12
Academic Honesty Statement........................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
2
Abstract
This report analyzes the information environment in France. The information
environment in France is in flux because of political decentralization, the evolution of the French
cultural identity, and French attitudes about copyright law and enforcement. Political pressures
complicate the information environment because France struggles to balance its strong
nationalistic ideals with its membership in the European Union. Social tensions in France also
complicate the information environment for similar reasons – French people strive to preserve
what makes them French but may fail to include non-traditional French citizens in their
definition of France.
Analysis
Introduction
France is a modern country with major global influence. It played a pivotal role in the
establishment of the European Union (EU) and continues to shape the EU by advocating its
interests in EU institutions. It is also the largest country in the EU,1 the fifth largest economy in
the world,2 and France assumes the Presidency of the G-8 and G-20 this year, so its influence
regionally and globally are far reaching.
France is a republic with a President, Prime Minister, National Assembly (parliament),
and national court system. The French government was traditionally very centralized with many
sectors partially or wholly controlled by the government.3 Since 1982, France has been slowly
decentralizing its government, but government spending was still high at 55.6% of the GDP in
1
Member States of the European Union: France. (2011).
http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/eu_members/france/index_en.htm
2
United States Department of State. (2010). Background Note: France.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3842.htm
3
Id.
3
2009 and the government is still a major shareholder in corporations in the banking, energy,
automobile, transportation, and telecommunications sectors.4
International Information Standards and Institutions
France follows many international information standards established by the International
Federation of Library Associations and other groups, including UNIMARC, INTERMARC,
Dublin Core, ISBD, and ISSN (depending on the audience) in addition to having several
national-level standards.5 The Bibliothéque nationale de France (BnF) is the institution
responsible for the French national bibliography and the implementation of information
standards.6 At the national level, cataloging rules are established by the Association Française de
Normalisation (AFNOR) and are ISBD-compatible.7 Subject standards follow the Répertoire
d’authorité-matière encyclopedique et alphabétique unifié (RAMEAU) and the BnF uses the
INTERMARC/A name authority standard.8
There are several professional information associations in France. The Association des
Bibliothécaires Français (ABS) adopted the Librarian’s Code of Ethics in 2003.9 This code
defines the relationship between librarians and users, establishes the goals of collection
development, lays out the administrative responsibilities of librarians, and sets standards for the
collaborative responsibilities of librarians to one another and the profession.10 The Association
des Directeurs de la Documentation et des Bibliothéques Universitaires (ABDU) is a
4
Id.
International Federation of Library Associations. (2010). French National Bibliography.
http://www.ifla.org/en/node/4858
6
Id.
7
Id.
8
Id.
9
Association des Bibliotechaires Francais (ABF). (2003). The Librarian’s Code of Ethics.
http://archive.ifla.org/faife/ethics/frcode-e.htm
10
Id.
5
4
professional association for University library directors and the Association des Professionels de
l'information et de la Documentation (ADBS) is an organization with membership of over 5,000
information professionals and claims to be the largest information professional organization in
Europe.11 This organization also publishes a code of ethics called Code déontologique de l'ECIA
that is only available in French.12
Information Organizations in France
The original function of French libraries following the French Revolution was to preserve
French cultural heritage.13 In the mid-twentieth century, national and local governments, leading
librarians, and public attitude shifted in favor of the library as a place to experience modern
technology (the mediathéque movement).14 Libraries are still viewed as primarily cultural centers
and have only recently been integrated with secondary and post secondary education for
purposes of improving information literacy.15
Information literacy in education was almost non-existent until relatively recently. In
1996 a new national law helped integrate information literacy education in secondary and postsecondary education.16 Post secondary library education programs in France are integrated with
journalism and communication studies, so while students are exposed to multi-disciplinary
topics, there is limited focus on library science as a distinct discipline.17
11
Association des Professionels de l'information et de la Documentation. (2011). http://www.adbs.fr/un-reseaude-professionnels-809.htm?RH=PLANSITE&RF=R1_ADBS
12
Association des Professionels de l'information et de la Documentation. Code deontologique de l’ECIA. (2011).
http://www.adbs.fr/code-deontologique-de-l-ecia-1980.htm?RH=ADBS_INSTIT
13
Id.
14
Id at 476.
15
Bertrand, A. (2009). Inventing a Model Library “à la française.” Libraries & the Cultural Record, 44(4), 471-479.
16
Chevillotte, S. (2007, updated 2010 by Colnot, A.). French Speaking Countries: Belgium, France, Quebec,
Switzerland in Information Literacy: An International State of the Art Report. Retrieved from www.infolitglobal.info
17
Herubel, J. (2005). Phoenix ascendant: French higher education and its significance for research and learning for
library, book, print, and media culture history. Libraries & Culture, 40(2), 156-176, n. 6.
5
The structure of the information environment in France has also been changing. Libraries
were traditionally centralized in Paris with a few smaller regional libraries. With the
decentralization efforts of the last few decades, regional libraries have gained importance and
become more relevant to users. University libraries have also grown and assumed more
important roles in conjunction with higher education. Public libraries remain institutions of
cultural heritage, generally lack reference services, and treat students like intruders.18
Traditional physical libraries in France focus on the collection as opposed to the user,19
but digital libraries seem to be agents for change in this arena. Because of more stringent
collection criteria (discussed later in the section called Publishing, Telecommunications, and
Technology in France), digital libraries are not as limited to cultural heritage collections as
physical libraries and are helping forge new attitudes about the place and function of libraries in
France.20 The results of the user study cited in footnote 20 coupled with statistics comparing
physical visits to the BnF (950,000 in 2010) to remote visits (7.4 million in the same timeframe)
could signal that French libraries need to focus more on library user needs and less on the
collection in the near future to remain viable.21
French Culture and Information Organizations
A key theme in the French information environment is the preservation of French culture
and language. The unique French identity is one of the most pervasive themes of French history
and permeates French political and social policy today. After World War II, France was a leader
in the development of a unified Europe, starting with the European Coal and Steel Community
18
Bertrand, A. (2009). Inventing a Model Library “à la française.” Libraries & the Cultural Record, 44(4), 478.
Id at 472.
20
Assadi, H., Beauvisage, T., Lupovici, C., and Cloarec, T. (2003). Users and Uses of Online Digital Libraries in
France. Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries, 2769, 1-12.
21
Digital Visits to French National Library Archive Grow 85% Y/Y in 2010. (1/17/2011). Corporate IT Update.
19
6
and culminating in today’s European Union. The French have always been protective of their
cultural and linguistic heritage and the early unification of Europe and European citizenship was
initially seen as a threat to French distinctiveness.
This focus on preserving French cultural and linguistic history has led to tensions with
other countries and corporations. France has been aggressive in making cultural materials
available digitally and contributed more than half of the two million initial items to Europeana,
the European digital library launched in 2008, sparking criticism that European history was being
rewritten from a French perspective.22 The former head of the BnF waged a war of words against
Google because he perceived “a risk of crushing domination by America in defining the idea that
future generations have of the world.”23 Because of cultural and linguistic concerns like this and
issues with copyright, the French government has resisted working with Google to digitize its
collections and started its own digitization effort called Gallica. News reports within the last
week indicate that France may finally be willing to work with Google because Gallica has been
expensive and labor intensive.
Legal Framework
France is considered one of the strictest countries in Europe with respect to copyright
law. French copyright law protects the interests of the artist as opposed to other countries whose
copyright laws protect the rights of the distributor. Lack of international understanding of this
critical difference has prompted criticism that France is too strict with respect to copyright
enforcement and that France’s current President, Nicolas Sarzosky, advocates for laws that
benefit artists because he is married to a recording artist. In addition to national laws, France is
bound by European Union directives and international copyright agreements which include the
22
23
Castle, S. (2008). France Dominates Europe's Digital Library. New York Times 20 Nov. 2008: B6(L).
Albanese, A. (2005) Will Google Hurt French Culture? Library Journal, 20.
7
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and the Universal Copyright
Convention.24
In 2009 France’s anti-piracy law was ruled unconstitutional by the Conseil
Constitutionnel (Constitutional Court) in part because its penalty provisions that took away the
internet access of anyone convicted of copyright infringement for a minimum of several months
infringed on basic rights in the French Constitution.25 Critics also argued that the law made no
distinction between personal use and organized crime profiting from illegal activity. France has
been in the news as recently as this week for its sponsorship of copyright law changes at the
European Union level in a European Parliament Resolution seeking to standardize online and
offline copyright laws, to strengthen the fight against online piracy, and to educate “bodies and
citizens” on piracy and counterfeiting.26
The BnF is responsible for collecting French publications under a collection of laws
known as the Legal Deposit Act. The concept of legal deposit originated with the "Ordonnance
de Montpellier" in 1537 which said that no book could be sold until a copy had been deposited in
the King’s library.27 This concept evolved to include all works published or distributed in France
including websites, which were added in 2006. The BnF has a strict website collection policy
statement on its website saying, “This mission entrusted to the BnF reverses the traditional
relationship between the publisher and the depository institution. Website collection is now
performed by the Library. Publishers, for their part, cannot oppose this collection, and must
24
1 France Law Digest 17.01. (2010). Martindale-Hubbell European Law Digests.
Decision n° 2009-590 DC of October 22nd 2009http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseilconstitutionnel/root/bank_mm/anglais/en2009_590dc.pdf
26
European Parliament Resolution of 6 April 2011 on a Single Market for Enterprises and Growth. 2010/2277(INI).
Provisional Edition P7_TA-PROV(2011)0146.
27
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. History of Legal Deposit. (2000).
http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s1/gnl/chap2.htm
25
8
provide the BnF with access to online resources.”28 It is interesting that the BnF seems to either
anticipate non-compliance or hint at problems with voluntary compliance in this statement and
this calls into question future of relationships between the BnF and French publishers.
Publishing, Telecommunications, and Technology in France
Publishing in France is a private enterprise. Publishers must comply with the Legal
Deposit Act for any material published or distributed in France and any website with a French
domain. Publishers seem to be autonomous from the central government as evidenced by the fact
that a few publishers made deals with Google to have their collections digitized as part of the
Google books project. These seem to be very recent developments so it remains to be seen how
this will impact the relationship between publishers and the French government.
Telecommunications in France is one of the sectors that was privatized in the late
twentieth century. France Telecom originated as a department of the French government but was
privatized in 2004. The government still owns 27% of the corporation and names the CEO.29
Because France Telecom used to be a government department, competition did not exist until
after privatization and competitors have struggled to capture market share in traditional
communications products and have alleged antitrust violations on the part of France Telecom.30
Because the internet is a newer communications product, there is more competition among
internet providers resulting in low cost access to the internet.
Technology and telecommunications are very connected industries in France. Several
telecommunications companies offer basic computer terminals in conjunction with internet
28
http://www.bnf.fr/en/professionals/digital_legal_deposit.html
France Telecom Shareholding Structure. http://www.francetelecom.com/en_EN/finance/stock/shareholderstructure/index.jsp
30
Watchdog warns on fibre optic competition. Financial Times. March 10, 2011.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a57a2b2e-4aa5-11e0-82ab-00144feab49a.html#axzz1JnFfZfSE
29
9
subscriptions.31 Internet penetration in France was 71.3 users per 100 people in 2009 according
to the World Bank.32 This is comparable to other developed countries and has likely increased
since the data for the World Bank report was collected in 2009. Public access to technology and
the internet is generally not an issue for information organizations in France.
Information Ethics Issues
One of the major ethical issues confronting information professionals in France is racism.
France was criticized in a 2010 report by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination in 2010 for its treatment of minorities.33 This is a concern for information
organizations because minorities are not considered part of French culture that is the raison
d’être for French libraries, so they may be marginalized as users and contributors. This should be
somewhat mitigated by the Legal Deposit requirements because those do not distinguish
national-level collection efforts based on any other criteria than the works having been published
or distributed in France, but could still impact more traditional information organizations.
Conclusion
Even though France is a modern country with advanced technology and high levels of
access to technology, it still has a dynamic and challenging information environment. The
preservation of French linguistic and cultural heritage is so engrained in the attitudes of the
French that these will always impact information organizations in France. The French Copyright
Code is very strict and it will be interesting to see how this evolves over time especially as the
31
France caters to market for the most simple of computers. April 20, 2007.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/technology/02iht-neuf.1.5109043.html
32
World Bank. (2011). World Development Indicators.
http://issuu.com/world.bank.publications/docs/9780821387092
33
France experiencing “resurgence of racism.” (2010). Telegraph (UK).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7939841/France-experiencing-resurgence-ofracism.html
10
European Union addresses issues like internet piracy because France may have to compromise in
order to reach agreement on European-level intellectual property standards. The deregulation of
industries such as telecommunications in France is a work in progress and is something that
information organizations must remain aware of in order to take advantage of the higher level of
use of digital libraries evidenced by the BnF visit statistics for 2010. Finally, information
organizations in France must take steps to avoid racism in their policies and practices in order to
serve all user groups effectively and comply with the codes of ethics established by professional
associations.
11
References
Albanese, A. (2005) Will Google Hurt French Culture? Library Journal, 20.
Assadi, H., Beauvisage, T., Lupovici, C., and Cloarec, T. (2003). Users and Uses of Online
Digital Libraries in France. Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries, 2769, 112.
Association des Bibliotechaires Francais (ABF). (2003). The Librarian’s Code of Ethics.
http://archive.ifla.org/faife/ethics/frcode-e.htm
Bertrand, A. (2009). Inventing a Model Library “à la française.” Libraries & the Cultural
Record, 44(4), 471-479.
Castle, S. (2008). France Dominates Europe's Digital Library. New York Times 20 Nov. 2008:
B6(L). Retrieved from
http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IACDocuments&type=retrieve&tabID=T004&prodId=AONE&docId=A189442128&source=gale&s
rcprod=AONE&userGroupName=drexel_main&version=1.0
Chevillotte, S. (2007, updated 2010 by Colnot, A.). French Speaking Countries: Belgium,
France, Quebec, Switzerland in Information Literacy: An International State of the Art Report.
Retrieved from www.infolitglobal.info
Constitutional Council. Decision n° 2009-580 of June 10th 2009. Retrieved from
http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/root/bank/download/2009-580DC2009_580dc.pdf
Dalbello, M. (2009). Cultural Dimensions of Digital Library Development, Part II: The Cultures
of Innovation in Five European National Libraries (Narratives of Development). The Library
Quarterly, 79(1), 1-72. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/593374
Digital Visits to French National Library Archive Grow 85% Y/Y in 2010. (1/17/2011).
Corporate IT Update.
European Parliament Resolution of 6 April 2011 on a Single Market for Enterprises and Growth.
2010/2277(INI). Provisional Edition P7_TA-PROV(2011)0146. Retrieved from
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P7-TA-20110146&format=XML&language=EN
France experiencing “resurgence of racism.” (2010). Telegraph (UK).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7939841/France-experiencingresurgence-of-racism.html
Herubel, J. (2005). Phoenix ascendant: French higher education and its significance for research
and learning for library, book, print, and media culture history. Libraries & Culture, 40(2), 156176.
12
International Federation of Library Associations. (2010). French National Bibliography.
http://www.ifla.org/en/node/4858
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. History of Legal Deposit.
(2000). http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s1/gnl/chap2.htm
Johnson, B. (2011). Is France Plotting to Kill the Free Internet? Business Week. Retrieved from
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2011/tc20110415_331091.htm?campaign_
id=rss_topStories
Martindale-Hubbell European Law Digests. 1 France Law Digest 17.01. (2010).
Member States of the European Union: France. (2011).
http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/eu_members/france/index_en.htm
Rovisco, M. (2010). One Europe or Several Europes? The cultural logic of narratives of Europe
– views from France and Britain. Social Science Information, 49(2), 241-266. Retrieved from
http://ssi.sagepub.com/content/49/2/241
United States Department of State. (2010). Background Note: France.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3842.htm
13