BU Beaulieu [Beaulieu Library]

Computer science, engineering sciences, philosophy, life sciences, earth sciences, mathematics, matter sciences...

The library is open to everyone, academics and non-academics.
BU sciences © Cyril Gabbero pour le SCd de l'Université de Rennes

How to find us

Batiment 40 - Beaulieu Campus

  • Travelling to the library by public transportation

 Subway : line B - Beaulieu université stop

 Bus stop:  Beaulieu-INSA (Bus C4, 10...)

  • Postal address:

263, avenue du Général Leclerc
CS 74205
35 042 Rennes cedex

  • Phone number: +33 223233431
  • Email: bu-contactatlistes [dot] univ-rennes [dot] fr

Opening hours

 

The extended opening hours are open to everyone, free of charge and without registration.

Only the ground floor is accessible during the extended opening hours: the first floor is closed.

Reading room collections

On the ground

Computer science and engineering sciences

Ground floor.

  • Computer science: Shelfmarks 003 to 006
  • Engineering sciences: Shelfmarks 604 to 690: materials, energy, networks and telecommunications, chemical engineering, construction

The computer science collection is intended for computer science students (ESIR, ISTIC) but also for non-computer scientists. It covers languages, software and systems, with a majority of academic textbooks in French.

The engineering sciences collection includes academic textbooks and professional guides, particularly in the fields of materials, energy, networks and telecommunications, chemical engineering and buildings.

"Salon" - Lounge

Ground floor.

The Salon features a relaxation area, including comics, documentary DVDs, novels and a newspapers area (daily and weekly newspapers, scientific journals).

Earth Sciences

Ground floor.

  • Geology: Shelfmarks 549, 550
  • Paleontology: Shelfmark 560

This section features books on geology, mineralogy, oceanography, climatology, geological maps and palaeontology.

The earth sciences section includes academic textbooks, reference books, some research documents and a selection of more than 800 geological maps in french (mainly BRGM- French geolocical survey), particularly for western France.

The OSUR library provides specialised research collections on campus. OSUR purchases all French geological maps (BRGM) and a selection of foreign maps.

Life Sciences

Ground floor.

  • Biology: Shelfmark 570
  • Ecology: Shelfmark 577
  • Botany: Shelfmark 580
  • Zoology: Shelfmark 590
  • Medical sciences: Shelfmarks 610 to 619
  • Agronomy: Shelfmarks 630 to 639.9
  • Applied biology: Shelfmarks 660.6 to 664.07

This section features books on biology, botany, zoology, medical sciences, agronomy, food technology and biotechnology.

The biology collection is firstly developed for students of the UFR SVE. It also includes research-level works (mainly in English).

In botany and zoology, there are academic works but also documents for the general public, in particular nature guides and fine books.

In medical sciences, the disciplines covered are anatomy, histology, embryology, physiology, neurology, nutrition, pharmacology and immunology. They are mainly developed for biologists and biochemists. The textbooks are purchased in several items. This collection is complementary to the documents of the BU Villejean Santé, which can be brought to Beaulieu by the Library drive service. Books published by Dunod are also available online via Cyberlibris.

In agronomy, the range of publications is significant. Books published by France agricole and Quae are accessible online via Cyberlibris. The library of Agrocampus Ouest (located on rue de Saint-Brieuc in Rennes) is in charge of supplying documentation to students in engineering, agronomy and agri-food’s masters and provides a more substantial range of documents.
Thanks to the agreement between the two institutions, registration at this library is free for students of  Université de Rennes.

Sciences and society

Ground floor.

Shelfmarks 000 to 507

This section explores the history of sciences and the interactions between sciences and society.

The sciences and society collection proposes books for critical reflection and debate on contemporary scientific and social issues.

Books for the general public on science, if they are deemed to be of high quality (recognised authors and publishers, reference collection), are classified in the disciplinary sections and not in the Sciences and Society section.

On the other hand, works written by scientists or specialised journalists that shed light on scientific news in all fields are included in this collection.

On the floor

Competitive examinations → Competitive examinations room: CAPES and agrégation preparation, didactics

First floor.

This room is mainly for students preparing for the teaching competitions, especially the CAPES or the agrégation. It may also be of interest to teachers. It contains :

  • Pedagogy and didactics books: a selection of theoretical and practical books on pedagogy, didactics of scientific disciplines, the education system and teaching methods
  • Specific books to the CAPES and the agrégation
  • Examination papers
  • Reference manuals at bachelor's and master's level
  • School textbooks (especially highs school)

It doesn’t contain materials for the preparatory classes for the grandes écoles (CPGE).

Languages

First floor.

  • French: 440
  • English: 420, 813, 820
  • Ancient languages: 470, 480
  • Other languages: 430-469, 490, 830-890

The languages presented in the collection are: German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, ancient languages, other languages (Chinese, Japanese, Breton, Dutch, Russian).

These are academic and general public documents, with a training objective only: dictionaries, grammar books, TOEIC / TOEFL preparation books, DVDs (fiction, TV shows, etc.). To complete this books for learning the written and spoken language, you can find a selection of bilingual or foreign language novels or short stories.


This language centre is a complement to the Centre de Ressources du SCELVA, Beaulieu campus, on the ground floor of building 26.

Mathematics

First floor.

  • Mathematics: general, courses and exercises:  Shelfmarks 510, 511
  • Algebra and arithmetic: Shelfmarks 512, 513
  • Topology and geometry: Shelfmarks 514, 516
  • Analysis: Shelfmarks 515
  • Applied mathematics: Shelfmarks  518, 519

The mathematics collections are developed mainly for training purposes. The textbooks are purchased in several copies.

The mathematics research library, IRMAR, located on the Beaulieu campus, is complementary and provides research-level collections.

You can find materials involving mathematics, physics and chemistry (preparatory class books, forms, etc.) in the mathematics section

Philosophy

First floor.

The Philosophy room features books, journals and DVDs.

  • General philosophy: Shelfmarks 100-179. The general philosophy collection covers philosophy by subject.
  • Ancient and Medieval Philosophy: Shelfmarks 180 - 189. Works by ancient and medieval authors are presented, as well as works on these authors.
  • Modern and contemporary philosophy: Shelfmarks 190 - 199. Works by modern and contemporary authors are presented, as well as works on these authors. This corpus represents the majority of the materials in the philosophy room, including the great english, german and french authors.
  • Philosophy of other disciplines: Shelfmarks 200 to 900, including philosophy of sciences (shelfmark 501).This collection covers political philosophy, legal philosophy, philosophy of economics,  philosophy of langage, philosophy of history, philosophy of science. There is an overlapping with the collections of the BU Centre for legal philosophy and political philosophy.
  • Espace Ortigues: this collection, inaugurated in 2008, is the result of the bequest of the personal library of Edmond Ortigues (1917-2005) who was a lecturer at the University of Rennes
Physics, chemistry, astronomy

First floor.

  • Astronomy and astrophysics: Shelfmark 520
  • Physics: Shelfmark 530
  • Chemistry: Shelfmarks 540-548

The astronomy and astrophysics collection is mainly composed of educational material (textbooks, works for the general public). Dedicated to students with EU courses or to general scientific culture.

The physics and chemistry collections are developed both for training and for research and are intended firstly for students of the SPM UFR, but may also be of interest to biologists and geologists. The textbooks are purchased in several copies. Several items of books for the preparation for competitive examinations, recommended by the teachers, are available.

University-Professional Life

First floor.

With documents on career guidance, integration, business and management, Université -Vie professionnelle is a local centre for career guidance. It provides science and philosophy students with guides on job hunting and careers, adapted to the professional sectors in which they are likely to work: life sciences, material sciences, computer sciences, engineering sciences, teaching and scientific research....

Here you will find books on careers, job hunting and internships. Collections on management, professional life, public speaking, meeting management, project management, etc., are also availables. It also includes some examination papers of administrative competitions and many examination papers for the CRPE (Concours de recrutement des professeurs des écoles), guides on drawing up a curriculum vitae, a covering letter, preparing for a job interview, as well as manuals on working methods and writing academic papers.

There is an orientation documentation centre in the SOIE (Campus Centre) which covers all the academic fields  represented at the University of Rennes.

Storerooms collections

The BU Beaulieu has two storerooms: the main storeroom and the Réserve (dedicated to antiquarian books and heritage collections).

Main storerooms

The main storerooms holds:

  • 42,000 books, published after 1920 but older and less consulted than the books in the reading rooms
  • Nearly 140,000 journal issues (prior to 2004)
  • About 6,000 theses defended at the University of Rennes:
    • theses defended until 2013: the library has 2 copies, 1 that can be borrowed and 1 that is in storage and not available for loan.
    • old theses, currently being catalogued, defended in various universities, representing 35 linear metres

Since 2013, theses are natively deposited online, without depositing a paper copy at the library: you can find them in Supernova or in Theses.fr Exception: confidential theses or theses deposited only on the intranet, for which the library obtains a paper copy, for conservation only.

These documents are available indirectly. You can fill in a request form, available at the library reception,and the librarians will bring them to you in a few minutes.

The Réserve: antiquarian books and Heritage collections

More than 9,000 works from the 16th century to 1914.

The 19th century occupies an important place in this collection, reflecting the spirit of the times and the scientific advances of the period: Cuvier, Lamarck, Darwin, Pasteur, Liebig, Chevreul, Berzélius...

The natural sciences (botany, zoology) are well represented thanks to donations from old laboratory libraries.

You will also find a great many books on mathematics and astronomy, agronomy as well as physics and chemistry.

A few collections of note:
  • library of the bryologist Édouard Gabriel Paris (1827-1911): about 260works that used to belong to him, and manuscripts of his letters.
  • documents from Lucien Daniel(1856-1940): manuscripts, metal sheets and other archival documents from this former botany lecturer who specialised in grafting.
  • manuscripts from the philosopher Jules Lequier (1814-1862)

 

You can consult antiquarian books on the spot when the library is open, except during extended opening hours.They must be returned 30 minutes before the floor closes.

To consult this special books in the libraries on a Saturday, remember to culture-patrimoineatuniv-rennes1 [dot] fr (make a prior request by email) or in person.

  1. Check whether the book is available online in digital format: Gallica, Biodiversity Heritage Library, Europeana, or Medic@. You will not receive the hard copy, except if specifically required.
  2. Fill in a request form, available at the library reception.
  3. You must leave your student card, library card or proof of identity while you consult the documents.

Some works, manuscripts or journals cannot be given out for conservation reasons (documents in poor condition or too rare and precious). Documents dated before 1920 are not available for loan. Microfilms can only be consulted at the BU Centre.

  Réserve de la BU Beaulieu - copyright Cyril Gabbero