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FYI France : France.fr, & "LeLabo" @ LeBnf digital library

Amid all the economic crashes and political shenanigans and other dodgy news,

recently, France soldiers on -- that's one thing I like, about the place and its people,

they're long-lived... adept at surviving and enjoying it, as I too very much hope to

be...

So the French, for example:

* Online now, France.fr !

Nous autres are not used to the energy with which the French promote France,

certainly not officially. The current Whitehouse.gov site does a pretty good job, as

does USA.gov altho that is more for bureaucracy-assistance than for selling-the

-image. So, imagine a UK.uk, or a USA.us : most government tourist authorities and

commercial offices are hard-working but under-funded, these days, at-war

perpetually with competing arms of their various bureaucracies, and poorly-

supported by the folks back 'ome -- not so, however, the French -- see,

http://www.france.fr

-- the links lead to,

Connai^tre
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Visiter

Vivre

Etudier

Travailler

Entreprendre

-- significant main-heading omissions include "manger", "boire",

and the many other activities and interests for which the place

and its people are famous, but they must be in there somewhere...

-- and yes the site is available in English --

http://www.france.fr/en

Knowing

Visiting

Living

Studying

Working

Investing

-- also in German, Spanish, and Italian.

Sumptuously-illustrated, like everything the French produce...

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The site is a very useful, and new, one-stop entry-point / gateway for anyone with any

interest in or now learning about France, and the French, and things-French: worth-a-

journey, and now via a resource-rich website just a mouse-click away.

Among which "resources" is included the following :

* Online now via France.fr : the BnF, and "On l'appelle << Le Labo >>"

[tr. JK]

"The 'Labo': the library of the future"

"The Bibliothe`que nationale de France (BNF) has opened, to the public, a reading

room of the future, the only one in Europe equipped with all the latest technologies

for information access and knowledge.

"It is called << le Labo >>: a 120 square meter space, nearly 1300 square feet, in the

East Hall of the Bibliothe`que Franc,ois-Mitterrand in Paris, next to the reading room.

"The reader, the researcher, or even the simple visitor is met there by a giant touch-

screen, offering access to thousands of entries in the digital collections of the BNF.

"These entries are relayed via e-readers and << papier e'lectronique >>, on small
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screens equipped with a stylus. All the information systems are inter-connected, with

Twitter among other sites.

"By providing this place for experiments, the Bibliothe`que Nationale enables users

to try out the new media of reading, of writing, and of the distribution of knowledge,

which are coming in the future.

"This way the library stays up to date on the new technologies -- 'disruptive'

technologies, capable very soon of replacing the book or even the simple computer.

"Workshops and conferences also offer occasions for discussion, of the evolution of

the new media, and for expressing the ideas of the BnF on these disruptive

technologies.

"A little prototype robot named 'Kompaï' ('companion', in Basque), originally

designed to help the aged and the handicapped, also helps visitors by translating

data, presenting online catalogs, and guiding them in their reading.

"If you are not yet decided, about visiting this 'espace du futur', the 'Labo' also may

be seen on the BnF website, in a virtual reality presentation."

http://labo.bnf.fr/html/accueil.htm

Pour aller plus loin :

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* Le blog du Labo --

http://labobnf.blogspot.com/

* Le Bibliothe`que nationale de France en vide'o sur DailyMotion --

http://www.dailymotion.com/BNF

* The original note, translated above, on France.fr --

http://www.france.fr/vivre/detente/loisirs/article/le-labo-la-bibliotheque-du-futur-

ouverte-au-public