author
Gabriel Richou
1852–1915
Best known for writing one of the early French guides to public library administration, he worked at the crossroads of history, archives, and librarianship. His books reflect a practical mind with a strong interest in preserving and organizing cultural memory.
1 Audiobook
Traité de l'administration des bibliothèques publiques
by Gabriel Richou
About the author
Born in 1852 and active in France's scholarly world, Gabriel Richou was an archivist, librarian, and historian. French biographical and library records identify him as a graduate of the École nationale des chartes, where he trained as an archivist-paleographer, and they connect his work with archives, bibliography, and historical editing.
He is especially associated with Traité de l'administration des bibliothèques publiques (1885), a substantial study of the history, organization, and legislation of public libraries in France. His body of work also includes historical and documentary editions, showing a career centered on how knowledge is collected, preserved, and made usable.
Richou died in 1915. Although he is not widely known today, his writing gives a vivid glimpse of the professional world of French libraries and archives in the late nineteenth century.