Bibliothèques de l'Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1

What Bibliothèques de l'Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 does

Bibliothèques de l'Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (BU Lyon 1) is the Service Commun de la Documentation of Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, a French public research university. Organized under the post-1970 French university framework, the service operates a network of 9 interconnected libraries serving primarily the university's students, faculty, researchers, and administrative staff, with extended access provisions for staff of partner institutions including the Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL) hospital system and external readers.

The library holds CADIST (national heritage collection) designation for chemistry and pharmacy, manages Collections d'Excellence in those disciplines, and is certified ISO 9001 for quality management. Its technology stack includes SciFinder-n (CAS) for chemistry literature and patent searching with embedded AI-assisted retrosynthesis, the elabFTW/Mbook electronic lab notebook platform, a proprietary Open Science Barometer for measuring open access performance, and an integrated library management and search layer. The service participates in national interoperability initiatives, including researcher identifier alignment with ABES (Agence Bibliographique de l'Enseignement Supérieur).

BU Lyon 1 is a publicly funded institution with no commercial revenue model; access is governed by institutional affiliation rather than transactional pricing. Recent strategic activity includes a 2026-2028 Wiley publishing agreement, deployment of ClinicalKey Student for medical education resources, and extension of Click & Read document delivery capabilities.

Name

Bibliothèques de l'Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1

Legal name

Service Commun de la Documentation - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1

Website

https://portaildoc.univ-lyon1.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

French public university library network of 9 interconnected libraries serving Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 students, faculty, researchers, and partner hospital staff, with CADIST heritage holdings in chemistry and pharmacy, and ISO 9001 certification.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Library Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries) (EDAEAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) & Resource Sharing Operations (EDAEAGAK), Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ), Research Monographs & University Press Publishing (MPAJABAJ)

Keywords

• Academic library services
• Research support
• Open science
• Document delivery
• Electronic resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Villeurbanne

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: Government-funded university library service provided free to students, researchers, and staff of Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1. Part of Service Commun de la Documentation (SCD) funded by Ministry of Higher Education and Research.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BU Lyon 1 operates a network of 9 interconnected university libraries serving students, researchers, and faculty of Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1. The core offering includes access to physical collections (345,000 volumes), electronic resources (107,000 ebooks, 25,000 online journals), study spaces (2,746 seats), interlibrary loan/document delivery (PEB), and research support services including the HAL Lyon 1 institutional repository, Open Science Barometer, electronic laboratory notebooks, and researcher identifier management.

Product overview

BU Lyon 1 operates a network of 9 interconnected university libraries serving the academic community of Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1. The core offering comprises physical library spaces (2,746 seats), physical collections (345,000 volumes, 280,000 directly accessible), and electronic resources (107,000 ebooks, 25,000 online journals). The digital service portfolio centres on HAL Lyon 1 institutional repository, the Open Science Barometer for monitoring open access rates, and the Guichet Unique Chercheurs (GUC) researcher support platform. Electronic access tools include Click & Read (INIST-CNRS browser extension), BU Connect bookmarklet, and institutional authentication via EZProxy. Subject-specific database access is provided for chemistry (SciFinder-n with AI retrosynthesis, Reaxys), pharmacy, health sciences (ClinicalKey Student, AKIVI anatomy platform), and general academic research. Research support services encompass electronic laboratory notebooks (elabFTW, Mbook), data management plan support via DATACC, researcher identifier alignment, and open access publication support. The collection also includes labelled Excellence Collections in Chemistry and Pharmacy under the CollEx-Persée framework, along with heritage collections dating from the 16th to 20th century.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HAL Lyon 1 Institutional Repository Institutional open archive portal for depositing, preserving, and disseminating scientific publications, theses, and research data produced by Lyon 1 researchers. Connected to the national HAL infrastructure.
• Open Science Barometer (BSO Local) Annual monitoring tool measuring open science progression through indicators on publication open access rates, theses availability, and research data sharing. Local adaptation of the national barometer for Lyon 1.
• Document Supply Service (PEB) Interlibrary loan and document delivery service providing access to documents not held in local collections, serving both France and international locations. Free for document supply.
• Guichet Unique Chercheurs (GUC) Online question-and-answer platform for researchers providing rapid, personalized responses to queries about documentation, databases, research data management, and open science services.
• Researcher Identifier Services Support services for creating and managing researcher IDs including ORCID, idHAL, and IdRef. Includes tutorials, workshops, and individual appointments for aligning researcher identifiers.
• CollEx-Persée Excellence Collections Labelled research collections in Chemistry and Pharmacy. BU Lyon 1 acts as associated library in the CollEx-Persée network, with 13,000 research books, 1,800 journal titles in chemistry, and 800 journal titles in pharmacy.
• Chemistry Collection Portal Subject-specific portal for chemistry resources including ACS and RSC journal packages, reference books, databases (ChemSpider, PubChem, Reaxys, SciFinder-n), and open access archives (arXiv, HAL).
• ClinicalKey Student Elsevier platform providing access to EMC medical encyclopaedia treatises and medical textbooks including Référentiels des collèges collection. Includes Bookshelf mobile app. Replaced EMPremium and eLibrary in 2026.
• AKIVI Anatomy Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 79% open access rate for 2024 publications vs 62% national average
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration14 records

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GIS CollEx-PerséecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroupement d'Intérêt Scientifique CollEx-Persée aims to modernize the CADIST network by placing researcher services at the heart of collection projects. BU Lyon 1 is an associated library, animating a network of partner libraries around structuring actions including shared acquisition, digitization with BnF, and national negotiation consortia.
• Couperin ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational consortium for negotiating electronic resource agreements with publishers. BU Lyon 1 participates in negotiated agreements including Wiley 2026-2028 agreement covering 1,316 journal titles, reading access, archiving, and APC support for hybrid journals for 140 member institutions.
• ABES (Agence Bibliographique de l'Enseignement Supérieur)coreTechnology or IntegrationABES provides national bibliographic infrastructure including IdRef, Sudoc, and thesis.fr. BU Lyon 1 collaborates with ABES on researcher identifier alignment (ORCID, IdRef, idHAL), data treatment for national quality and coherence of scientific production in national referentials.
• Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for digitization of heritage collections including chemistry, botany, pharmacy, and homeopathy. Multiple corpora selected and digitized, available on BU website and Gallica.
• PANISTminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational platform for archiving digital content. Part of Wiley 2026-2028 agreement, providing archiving of content published during the agreement period.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF): France's national library, partner with BU Lyon 1 for heritage digitization and Gallica distribution. Operates as a national-level incumbent with overlapping archival and reference missions, and provides infrastructure that BU Lyon 1 leverages for its heritage collections.
• INIST-CNRS: CNRS national institute for scientific and technical information, providing bibliographic databases, document supply, and developing tools like Click & Read. Functions as a national-level infrastructure provider and technology partner to BU Lyon 1 and the broader French academic library network.
• ABES (Agence Bibliographique de l'Enseignement Supérieur): French national bibliographic agency operating Sudoc, IdRef, thesis.fr, and other shared infrastructure used by BU Lyon 1. Functions as an enabling incumbent providing the core identifiers and catalog systems that underpin BU Lyon 1's services.

Others

• Couperin Consortium: French national consortium for negotiating electronic resource agreements with publishers, of which BU Lyon 1 is a member. Functions as an enabling organization that aggregates demand and negotiates licenses (including the recent Wiley 2026-2028 agreement) on behalf of academic libraries.

Direct peers

• Bibliothèques de l'Université Paris-Saclay: SCD of Université Paris-Saclay, a major French research-intensive university library network with strong science collections, HAL portal, and similar Open Science Barometer deployment. Directly comparable in scale, scientific collection depth, and institutional mission.
• Bibliothèques de l'Université de Bordeaux: SCD of Université de Bordeaux, a multi-site French academic library with science, health, and law collections, active Open Science services, and HAL institutional repository. Comparable service portfolio and national consortium participation.
• Bibliothèques de l'Université Grenoble Alpes: SCD of Université Grenoble Alpes, a French public research university library with strong science and engineering collections in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Comparable geographic and disciplinary overlap with BU Lyon 1, and direct Couperin consortium peer.
• Bibliothèques d'Aix-Marseille Université: Service Commun de la Documentation of Aix-Marseille Université, a multi-campus French public university library with similar Open Science, HAL, and research support services. Closely comparable as a multi-site public university library serving sciences and health.
• Bibliothèques de l'Université de Strasbourg: Service Commun de la Documentation of Université de Strasbourg, operating multi-site academic libraries in France with comparable sciences and health focus, HAL participation, and national consortium engagement. Comparable scope and service portfolio.
• Bibliothèques de Sorbonne Université: Service Commun de la Documentation of Sorbonne Université, operating a multi-site academic library network in the Paris region with comparable collections, HAL institutional repository participation, and Couperin consortium membership. Closely comparable as a French public university library serving sciences and health disciplines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UnivLyon1
• YouTubeyoutube.com/UnivLyon1
• Facebookfacebook.com/bibliotheque.universitaire.lyon1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/biblioth%C3%A8ques-de-l-universit%C3%A9-claude-bernard-lyon-1
• Instagraminstagram.com/univlyon1

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bibliothèques de l'Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1