The Library is happy to announce On the Road, a new cultural outreach program with the support of the US Embassy in France and the cooperation of the Île-de-France and Hauts-de-France regions. The program is named after the book by Beatnik author Jack Kerouac. The French patron of the project is Rachid Santaki, founder of La Dictée géante.

Over the summer and fall of 2022, American Library staff will go “on the road” on a library pop-up tour.  They will travel to locations throughout the Ile-de-France and Hauts-de-France regions in partnership with libraries, museums, and centers for higher learning. Each two-day tour stop of On the Road will feature different American authors discussing a broad range of current issues with local public audiences on topics ranging from shared democratic values to climate change. We will also share archival exhibits, perform bilingual Story Hours, and give hands-on demonstrations of digital resources.

If you would like to learn more, or even join us On the Road, please click below.

Artwork by Marine Belkabir

On 19 May, the eve of the Library’s 102nd birthday, the Library community gathered at the Automobile Club de France. We spent the evening celebrating Library supporters and staff, Franco-American luminaries, and, of course, literature!

A warm thank you to all the speakers, ticket buyers, sponsors, and donors for making the event possible. And a grand merci to the Board of Trustees for their time and passionate support, and to the Library staff and volunteers who worked so hard on the Gala. Your support directly contributes to our mission and allows us to present over 300 events for readers of all ages, circulate 170,000 books, and serve a community of close to 5,000 members from 60 countries each year.

If you weren’t able to attend the Gala, but would like to make a donation, please click below:

photo: Ann Patchett, by Krystal Kenney

Five finalists have been selected for the 2022 American Library in Paris Book Award: a thriller set in a posh Parisian suburb (The Caretakers: A Novelby Amanda Bestor-Siegal); a galvanizing history of France from the ground up  (France: An Adventure History by Graham Robb); an encyclopedic survey of French thought (The French Mind: 400 Years of Romance, Revolution and Renewal by Peter Watson); a poetic dive into the experiences of dispossessed women (City of Incurable Women by Maud Casey); and a retelling of one of France’s most brutal and least-known colonial undertakings (In the Forest of No Joy: The Congo-Océan Railroad and the Tragedy of French Colonialism by J.P. Daughton).

The winner will be announced on 3 November 2022. This ceremony is our most significant donor appreciation event, and invitations will be sent to supporters who have contributed 250€ or more to the Library in the last year.

The award is supported by a generous grant from the Florence Gould Foundation.