The objective of the BNR national program created in 2010 is to help local authorities like Lille Metropole to equip themselves with high-level digital tools in order to :

reach new audiences (young audiences, the elderly, people with disabilities, distant audiences);

contribute to the modernization of libraries so that they remain at the heart of the cultural and social activity of their territory.

In December 2020, Lille Metropole started a reading and libraries development plan for the period 2020-2026. The aim of this plan is to change the image people have about libraries. The goal is also to revitalize their activities through digital transition. The project is constructed around 3 main objectives:

Develop the cooperation between Lille Metropole and its municipalities in order to facilitate the digital transition with an online networking of voluntary libraries. 

Democratize access to culture by online resources accessible to all metropolitan residents registered in libraries such as the press, self-training, video on demand, digital books or heritage documents digitized.

Train library professionals in digital skills in order to better support all digital library users through digital mediation tools and a communication plan.

The Metropolitan Digital Libraries project is part of this development plan. It aims to help more than 125 municipal and associative libraries of Lille Metropole in their digital transition.

Today, a library in Lille Metropole is a real place to live and meet. It is an area where you can play, borrow a book or an instrument, exchange objects, participate in a workshop, attend a concert,... Our libraries are the first local cultural venues. The digital component makes them accessible 24 hours a day.

The provisional financing plan for the project, amounting to two million euros for the first four years. Financial support from the State will take part in the BNR labeling.