If I tell you that for only €1.25 per month you can access hundreds of titles from the French and international press as well as lots of magazines of all kinds, would you believe me?
I certainly hope so, because it is possible and it is totally legal thanks to the BNF (National Library of France)!
Indeed, it is a little-known trick but the BNF subscribes for us to hundreds of newspapers around the world and gives online access to these magazines to all its subscribers! It is truly a gold mine for those who want to browse the entire press at a lower cost.
This way you will have access to 7 newspapers and magazines from 000 countries and in 100 different languages: Le Figaro, Les Echos, Libération, L'Equipe, Le Parisien, The Guardian, Alternatives Economiques, Marie-Claire, Vogue, Parents, GQ, Ouest France, Cuisine & Vins, PC Magazine, Video games Magazine, Les Inrocks… In short, there’s something for everyone!
But this trick is worth it and requires some manipulations that I will explain to you in this tutorial! It is not very instinctive but it is really worth it!
Access to 7 newspapers and magazines for €000 per year
the access to these press resources, newspapers and magazines is not particularly instinctive and that is why I have prepared this little tutorial for you. As you will see, you will have to create an account at the BNF and an account on the PressReader platform before being able to access these 7000 newspapers and magazines. So hang on, read all the steps carefully... I promise it will go well!
Creation of a BNF account and subscription
The first step in this obstacle course is to create an account at the BNF and subscribe.
- To do this, go to the BNF ticket office: https://inscriptionbilletterie.bnf.fr/
- Click on the “Library for all audiences” section to see the available offers
- Select the “UNLIMITED BNF READING / CULTURE PASS” offer for €15
- Then go to your basket to validate your subscription
- Enter your personal information to create your BNF account (identity, email, password, address)
- You will then have to upload a photo and an ID to validate the creation of your account
- Click on “VALIDATE MY FILE” to move on to the payment stage, which is made by bank card.
The machine is launched, you will receive an email confirming your request. The finalization of your order is manual and will have to be validated by the BNF agents within 3 working days.
Beyond the online press, this subscription also provides physical access to the BNF and the BNF WiFi.
While waiting for your registration with the BNF to be active, you will be able to move on to the next step.
Creating a PressReader account to access resources
PressReader is a digital kiosk providing online access to newspapers and magazines from the whole world.
The BNF therefore uses (among other things) this platform to give you access to the world press. This is why you will have to create an account on PressReader.
This part is very simple. Download the PressReader app (App Store ou Google Play) or appointment on the kiosk website.
Then you just have to register for free to the service by creating a user account (email, first name, last name and password).
Once this step is completed… you will need an active subscription to the BNF.
BNF account validated? Here we go my kiki!
When I tested the service, I admit that I didn't really understand when my BNF account was actually active... It happened within the 3 business days but I don't feel like I received a specific validation email. Test and check, you will see if your account and subscription are active.
If the following part of this tutorial does not work, it is because your subscription is not yet validated. Wait or contact the BNF if you are beyond the 3 working days.
The BNF website offers a page that groups together all the resources that you have access to with your subscription at €15 per year. This page is as follows: https://bdl.bnf.fr/bases-de-donnees-par-titre. You will find a pretty impressive list there that you can browse.
But in our case, what interests us is PressReader. In this list, click on the PressReader link or go directly to this link https://www-pressreader-com.bnf.idm.oclc.org/.
You will be prompted to log in with your BNF ID. Do so. You will then be redirected to the BNF space of PressReader. On a smartphone, you will have the option to go to the application rather than the website. The best way to be efficient is to log in to your PressReader account.
In fact, the BNF PressReader link gives you access to all PressReader resources for 7 days.
You understand, you will therefore need to reactivate your access every 7 days to access all the magazines and newspapers… To do this, you just have to go through the list of BNF resources or the following link:
https://www-pressreader-com.bnf.idm.oclc.org/
I have added this link to my favorites and on smartphones you can easily add it to your home screen.
We agree that it's a bit of a pain, but it's a reasonable constraint given the cost of this system!
But once this mechanism is well understood and all these steps have been completed, you will have reached the Holy Grail with unlimited access to a truly significant mass of resources from the French and international press... so, what do you think? Was it worth it or not?
