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Bibliothèque Nationale de France

In research, Bibliothèque Nationale de France stands highest in Social Sciences (#4,816 of 10,521 worldwide), Arts and Humanities (#1,073 of 1,998 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#5,331 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Music, Anthropology and History and Philosophy of Science — Music is 75.4× its share of world research.

bnf.fr/en/tools/a.welcome_to_the_bnf.htmlROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#13,389
of 28,054 · #18,182 all time
Rank in France
#557
of 1,422
Research works
3.4k
▼ 19% vs 2013–17
Citations
2.7k
0.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
3.2%
record average 16.5%
Open access
33%
world 28%

What is Bibliothèque Nationale de France known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #4,816 of 10,521 3.4%336 #3681
Arts and HumanitiesField #1,073 of 1,998 3.3%194 #1036
Social SciencesField #5,331 of 6,365 3.6%129 #3333

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Bibliothèque Nationale de France sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#3,681 #4,816
  2. Arts and Humanities#1,036 #1,073
  3. Social Sciences#3,333 #5,331
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Bibliothèque Nationale de France specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Music takes 75.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. MusicSubfield · 25.1 works75×
  2. AnthropologySubfield · 39.9 works35×
  3. History and Philosophy of ScienceSubfield · 21.5 works34×
  4. HistorySubfield · 29.7 works23×
  5. ArcheologySubfield · 23.6 works19×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.15× its world share, 3 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.14× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.24× its world share, 2 worksNeuroscienceChemistry: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.44× its world share, 45 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.51× its world share, 3 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.04× its world share, 2 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.11× its world share, 2 worksEnvironmental ScienceMathematics: 0.19× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.22× its world share, 2 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.28× its world share, 3 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.08× its world share, 6 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 16.50× its world share, 194 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.24× its world share, 3 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.19× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.32× its world share, 3 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.54× its world share, 7 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.50× its world share, 129 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 16.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Bibliothèque Nationale de France?

Ranked on the composite score, Mathias Auclair, Gennaro Toscano and Jean-Marc Châtelain lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

  1. 1 Mathias Auclair France · #130,764 worldwide 2 citations · 80 works
  2. 2 Gennaro Toscano France · #142,208 worldwide 3 citations · 97 works
  3. 3 Jean-Marc Châtelain France · #160,450 worldwide 1 citations · 60 works
  4. 4 Jean Vallery-Radot France · #250,344 worldwide 5 citations · 50 works
  5. 5 Maxime Préaud France · #265,646 worldwide 1 citations · 36 works
  6. 6 Sylvie Aubenas France · #266,651 worldwide 0 citations · 36 works
  7. 7 Jean-Baptiste Giard France · #279,414 worldwide 12 citations · 34 works
  8. 8 Jean-Didier Wagneur France · #292,205 worldwide 0 citations · 29 works
  9. 9 Céline Chicha-Castex France · #296,947 worldwide 0 citations · 29 works
  10. 10 François Avril France · #310,816 worldwide 11 citations · 28 works
All ranked researchers at Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Which keywords describe research at Bibliothèque Nationale de France?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Cultural Heritage, Archaeology, Roman Economy, History, Pompeii, Urban Workshops, Gender and Colonialism.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Cultural Heritage42▲ 19×22 topics
  2. Archaeology35▲ 64×9 topics
  3. Roman Economy31▲ 185×2 topics
  4. History31▲ 11×28 topics
  5. Pompeii31▲ 346×1 topic
  6. Urban Workshops31▲ 346×1 topic
  7. Globalization30▲ 3.8×30 topics
  8. Colonialism30▲ 16×20 topics
  9. Gender30▲ 14×21 topics
  10. Social Media29▲ 4.9×4 topics
  11. Historiography28▲ 55×9 topics
  12. Innovation28▲ 6.5×7 topics
  13. Open Access27▲ 68×2 topics
  14. Digital Communication27▲ 93×2 topics
  15. Information Studies27▲ 316×1 topic
  16. New Media27▲ 164×1 topic
  17. Identity26▲ 8.8×29 topics
  18. Global Perspectives24▲ 132×2 topics
  19. Gender Roles23▲ 48×3 topics
  20. Culture22▲ 10×14 topics
  21. Ethnomusicology22▲ 139×2 topics
  22. Artistic Expression22▲ 167×2 topics
  23. Literary History22▲ 189×2 topics
  24. Educational Practices22▲ 87×2 topics
  25. Cultural Evolution21▲ 105×1 topic
  26. Cultural Studies21▲ 14×18 topics
  27. performance arts21▲ 307×1 topic
  28. Literature21▲ 9.4×24 topics
  29. Historical Narratives20▲ 85×3 topics
  30. Historical Analysis20▲ 165×3 topics
  31. Musical Theory20▲ 299×1 topic
  32. Musicology20▲ 299×1 topic
  33. Community Engagement20▲ 14×4 topics
  34. Cultural Impact19▲ 85×2 topics
  35. Scientific History19▲ 107×1 topic
  36. Technological Development19▲ 107×1 topic
  37. Gender Studies18▲ 29×6 topics
  38. Social Justice17▲ 7.1×7 topics
  39. Nationalism17▲ 8.9×13 topics
  40. Religion16▲ 8.4×15 topics

Which research topics does Bibliothèque Nationale de France publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Historical and Literary Studies, Cultural Insights and Digital Impacts, Historical and Literary Analyses and Musicology and Musical Analysis.

Historical and Literary Studies: 31 fractional worksCultural Insights and Digital Impacts: 27 fractional worksHistorical and Literary …21Historical and Literary Analyses: 21 fractional worksMusicology and Musical A…20Musicology and Musical Analysis: 20 fractional worksHistorical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis: 19 fractional worksFrench Historical and Cultural Studies: 12 fractional worksFrench Urban and Social …12French Urban and Social Studies: 12 fractional worksCultural Identity and Heritage: 11 fractional worksDiverse Cultural and Historical Studies: 10 fractional worksHistorical Art and Culture Studies: 7 fractional works
AnthropologyComputer Networks and CommunicationsLiterature and Literary TheoryMusic6 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Historical and Literary Studies Anthropology 31 works
  2. 2 Cultural Insights and Digital Impacts Computer Networks and Communications 27 works
  3. 3 Historical and Literary Analyses Literature and Literary Theory 21 works
  4. 4 Musicology and Musical Analysis Music 20 works
  5. 5 Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis History and Philosophy of Science 19 works
  6. 6 French Historical and Cultural Studies History 12 works
  7. 7 French Urban and Social Studies Sociology and Political Science 12 works
  8. 8 Cultural Identity and Heritage Archeology 11 works
  9. 9 Diverse Cultural and Historical Studies Cultural Studies 10 works
  10. 10 Historical Art and Culture Studies Museology 7 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available32.8%not open67.2%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors7.9%domestic only92.1%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Bibliothèque Nationale de France's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 19% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Paris

All research institutions in Paris

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.