Borrow a musical instrument for free from one of these Parisian libraries

Violin, guitar, ukulele and much more, in a library you can (obviously) borrow books but not only. In several Parisian libraries, it is possible to come in and leave with a musical instrument, for free.

There are a total of 8 libraries offering this service in Paris. Whether you have musical experience or not, let yourself be tempted to maybe one day become a maestro in the matter. Vincent Bruand, library curator, explained in a report by France Musique that "what works really well is that we deal with absolute beginners: people who have never played a musical instrument. (...) And before diving into this instrument, they want to try it out.".

Dans les #bibliothèques, le prêt d’instruments de musique favorise la pratique amateur.
Un reportage au cœur de la médiathèque Hélène Berr @francemusique @BibParis https://t.co/eVu5ypdHNQ

— Anne-Marie Vaillant (@nomealore) April 18, 2023

A musical pack

Borrowing an instrument comes with a learning method. The budding musician will have to experiment with it in a self-taught manner, accompanied by useful accessories for their training. To rent an instrument, all you need is the library membership card for the Paris library network. You can keep the instrument for a duration of 4 weeks (renewable once, as long as it hasn't already been reserved in the meantime). And beware, there are many reservation requests, so make sure to plan ahead to repeat the borrowing process.

The 8 libraries offering this service

Buffon Library – 5th arrondissement
Claire Brétecher Library – 10th arrondissement
Hélène Berr Media Library – 19th arrondissement