Finally. After three years of work, the reopening of the Renaud-Barrault* library – first announced for the spring – is effective this Saturday morning. If the official inauguration is scheduled for January 10, to launch the Avignon Terre de culture 2025 festivities, the City could not deprive residents of such equipment in working order any longer. “ It is about offering the library of the 21ste century, a new cultural beacon which reopens after substantial work and a virtuous and breathtaking transformation renovated from top to bottom, in the heart of a district in full urban renewal », Presents the mayor, Cécile Helle (PS).
For the occasion, an open day is on the program (10 a.m.-6 p.m.): guided tours, reading session, board games in the new game library area, video game tournaments and even shows are planned. Inaugurated on February 5, 1986, the Rocade library was nicknamed the “Beaubourg Avignonnais”. It now has a collection of 25,000 documents, an auditorium with 80 seats, 5 loan and return machines and 30 digital tablets, all managed by 18 agents. A service accessible by simple registration, the library network being free. Total cost of this rehabilitation, 10 million euros with strong support from the State and the Region.
The works had the desire to offer “ a sustainable and digital second life » at the library. Thus, the restructuring retained the concrete structure, much better insulated, coupled with the installation of photovoltaic panels on the green wooden roof terrace. This makes it possible to provide 30% of the energy consumed. The philosophy of the equipment has been rethought, with the aim of integrating it as best as possible into the life of the neighborhood. Several partnerships have been established with the associative, educational or social world, like the neighboring Espace Plural social center.
Remember that during the work, residents were not deprived of cultural facilities. A temporary library (300m2 of prefabricated buildings) was installed at Parc de la Murette in the summer of 2021. Which will not disappear completely since in the spring it will be permanently reassembled in the Pont-Des-Deux-Eaux district, next to the René-Char high school.
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