Transmission of our heritage is an intellectual and material endeavor at one and the same time, and cannot be imagined without the long-term survival of the physical support that makes books and other library items of the Bibliothèque de Genève possible.
Because it has ultimate responsibility for the collections, the Administration unit is tasked with ensuring their conservation through preventive measures meant to stop the deterioration of library items by taking advance action on their environment (appropriate climate conditions, adequate equipment, optimal security conditions by drawing up emergency plans and the protection of cultural property, etc.), and initiating actions that aim to continually improve and secure the conditions of their conservation (dust-removal operations, packaging materials with specific physicochemical properties, work areas for redeploying or moving the collections, deacidification, disinfection).
Designed as a department to provide backup and support, the Administration unit implements the policies of the other units of the Bastions main library and the branch sites in terms of restoration and rebinding programs. It is the quintessential department that works horizontally with the other library departments and provides support in all the library’s missions having a scholarly impact, whether through communications, consultation, or promotion of the collections, notably through exhibitions. The unit likewise takes part in the oversight and implementation of construction work on library buildings, the upkeep of the storage areas and the management of library space. It is also tasked with the spatial verification of the collections themselves.
