Benin: Training for 25 Professionals in Documentary Collections Management

From 29 September to 3 October 2026, the city of Porto-Novo hosts a national workshop focused on managing and building documentary collections. Organized by the National Library of Benin (BnB), this meeting brings together twenty-five professionals from libraries and reading centers across Benin. These participants were selected following a call for applications.

The session benefits from technical and institutional support from the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF). The discussions aim to help participants evolve their work methods to offer documentary collections that precisely meet the needs of local users.

Selection Methods and Promotion of Local Productions

Over the five days of training, participants explore mechanisms for selecting books and implementing adapted documentary policies. One focus of the training is bibliodiversity and the promotion of Beninese books within public, community, and associative structures. Marie Isabelle Ba, representing the OIF, emphasized that this support seeks to transform reading spaces to make them appealing and aligned with reader needs.

During the opening session, Zita Mehissou Gnidehoue, President of the Association of Archivists, Documentalists, and Librarians of Benin, expressed on behalf of the participants the profession’s interest in modernizing documentary practices. Discussions also cover the inclusion of national authors and the integration of national languages in public reading access points.

Reforms Announced by the National Library

Addressing the participants, the BnB Director General, Koffi Attede, underscored the significance of documentary choices in shaping shared knowledge. This training session is part of an institutional transformation program to strengthen links across the book sector, from literary creation to making works available to the public.

The institution plans to roll out several technical initiatives. These include modernizing the legal deposit system, establishing an exhaustive national bibliography, and developing a National Digital Library. The BnB also intends to create a dedicated statistical platform to monitor the editorial sector’s activities.

These technical initiatives will inform the drafting of a strategic development plan covering 2027-2033. This sectoral guidance document will align with Benin’s national vision, Benin 2060 Alafia, to structure the library network and public access to books.