Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec (BAnQ) is undoubtedly one of the greatest achievements in Quebec in recent decades. But for the past few years, it has been clear that one of BAnQ’s three pillars, the Grande Bibliothèque, is deteriorating a little more every day before our eyes. Like Montreal itself, it is often dirty and deplorable.
Opened in May 2005, the Grande Bibliothèque appeared to us as a true architectural gem, a high place of knowledge and general culture accessible to all, bathing visitors in light. A national treasure filled with books, films, newspapers, music, comics, etc. In short, countless possibilities for discovery. However, for a few years now, the state of affairs has clearly deteriorated and a simple visit to the largest French-language library in North America will be enough for you to see it.
First, by setting foot there, you will discover that the noise there is frightening, boring. Filled with cafes-restaurants and activities of all kinds, both for adults and children, the entrance hall and the ground floor sometimes look like a shopping center, a neighborhood fair, if not is a huge daycare center.
People of all ages are talking loudly, while children are shouting, running around… Good luck, just reading a magazine or a newspaper there.
While at one time reverent, absolute, even sacred silence was demanded in public libraries in Quebec, today too many people are talking on their cell phones, chatting on a portable gadget or, worse, are in a virtual meeting. at the workstation right next to us. “Yes, so today, on the agenda…” No, but are you kidding?
And note in passing that this filthy and terrible noise increases tenfold from hour to hour, resonating up to the third and fourth floors.
Homelessness, drugs and psychotic crisis
Being located in the heart of the Latin Quarter in Montreal, near Émilie-Gamelin Park, the Grande Bibliothèque inevitably attracts a large fringe of homeless people who frequent this unloved corner of the neighborhood. For lack of public services and sufficient external resources to support these people in need, many homeless people and people struggling with a mental health problem take refuge in the Grande Bibliothèque to be able to rest. While some people talk alone in a corner, others sleep in a comfortable armchair.
Public toilets sometimes look like a shooting gallery and it is also not uncommon to observe security guards having to intervene with a person in crisis in order to expel him.
And that’s not to mention the many predators and “headstrong girls” who constantly prowl the Grande Bibliothèque in search of (very) young girls… Yes, I’m telling you.
Bedbugs, Dirt and Litter
In 2019, there was also a long episode of bed bugs. To solve the problem, the Grande Bibliothèque then installed antiparasitic armchairs1. However, since the pandemic, oddly, the place seems to be facing a real lack of maintenance and cleaning. Work surfaces and carpets are often dirty, and several chairs are stained, in poor condition or damaged.
Trash and rubbish sometimes lie in the same place for weeks or even months, and if you frequent the place regularly, you will find the same coffee stains as the day before or the week before. To believe that no one vacuums the carpets, where thousands of people circulate every day, nor cleans the work surfaces. It is rather disturbing and disgusting. And if we rely on the number of trapdoors installed on the different floors, the Grande Bibliothèque seems to have a serious mouse problem – no doubt due to the endless excavations on the boulevard de Maisonneuve just next door.
In short, like many projects and individuals in this disreputable corner of Berri-UQAM, too often left to their own devices and neglected, our national treasure, the Grande Bibliothèque, is also in great need of care, silence and love?