On 27 May 2010, the Institut français du Royaume-Uni launched Culturethèque, its new digital platform. Culturethèque is an original and innovative online platform offering carefully selected and edited cultural and educational content in French throughout the UK.

Culturethèque will offer more than 5000 contemporary e-books in French, which constitutes the first French digital library in the UK. Contemporary novels will be available alongside great French classics as well as a selection of essays on French society. In addition, practical books will be available, including travel and culinary guide books on France as well as resources allowing users to find out information about studying in France. The Institut has also digitilised its exceptional collection of old books, made up of more than 200 rare editions dating from between the 17th and 18th centuries, and which for the most part don’t exist anywhere else. This corpus proposes, for example, an edition dating from 1788 of Le Paysan parvenu by Marivaux and the first translation in French of The Arabian Nights. Culturethèque will also propose audiovisual content. An impressive collection of audio books will be accessible to enable users to practise French and discover French culture. In addition, nearly 250 recordings of conferences held at the Institut since 1967 will be available online to listen to. The greatest names in philosophy and French literature as well as cinema all feature on Culturethèque; contributors include Etienne Balibar, Julia Kristeva, Michel Butor, Patrick Chamoiseau and Pierre Boulez. Podcasts for learners of French, specially designed by the Institut and the Alliance Française in Glasgow, will equally be available for free to all users. Culturethèque will offer users more than 500 French documentary films about major current issues, including topics such as the climate, ecology, immigration and religion. Furthermore, Culturethèque will allow subscribers access to a full online programme of French films, which will be accessible for a limited period on VOD and renewed regularly.

Click on the Culturethèque logo to access the site.