The reading room will be closed from July 21 to August 17, 2025 inclusive.
Consulting our resources
Archive collections
These collections contain records produced by the Institut Pasteur's scientific staff and entities between 1887 and 1965, as well as the archives of figures or institutions who played an important role in the Institut Pasteur's history.
Biographies
A collection of biographies of Institut Pasteur scientists (most of whom joined the Institut Pasteur before 1940), scientists from outside the Institut Pasteur and some laboratories.
Databases
Historical research, lists and databases related to the history of the Institut Pasteur's staff and laboratories.
Publications mentioning
the archives
Articles, books, theses and dissertations held in the archives that mention the Institut Pasteur's archive collections.
Other Institut Pasteur resources
Practical information
Archives reading room rules (in French)
Preparing for your visit
The Archives Division is open by appointment only, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 5.30pm.
Due to limited seating capacity, we recommend booking your consultation sessions well in advance.
Consulting records
To consult the archives, you will need to send us a valid request and make an appointment by email
The archives of the Institut Pasteur's management teams and departments can be freely consulted for the period 1887-1940. For the period after 1940, please contact us. Private archives may only be consulted with prior permission of the depositor.
Reproducing records
For preservation reasons, no photocopies can be provided. Researchers can use a digital camera with the flash turned off to reproduce records.
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If you plan to use your photographs for commercial purposes, please contact the Institut Pasteur's picture library.
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If you plan to use your photographs for non-commercial educational purposes, please cite the source: Institut Pasteur/Archives Division.
Donating items to the archives
The mission of the Archives Division is to collect records reflecting the Institut Pasteur's activities and the personal lives and achievements of its scientists. It develops collections of private archives to help discover more about figures in the Institut Pasteur's history. If you have any documents (manuscripts, letters, books, photographs, etc.) that could provide information about the history of the Institut Pasteur and its staff and you would like to donate them to the archives, please contact us by email.
Materials that can be donated to the archives include:
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manuscripts (handwritten or typed texts): autobiographical texts, preparatory documents for books or articles, mission reports, expert reports, preparatory teaching material;
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correspondence: work correspondence including with other scientists on scientific topics, equipment purchases; private correspondence (friends or family) if it sheds light on episodes in the scientist's career: field work, laboratory work, etc.; administrative correspondence including mission orders, passes, appointments or promotions, laboratory funding, etc.;
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work-related papers: field missions, experiments, grants, appraisals, etc.;
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laboratory notebooks;
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publications: scientific titles and works, theses, books, reprints, biographies or obituaries, collections of press cuttings;
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photographs;
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scientific or documentary films;
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documents relating to the scientist's training: lecture notes, programs, certificates;
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personal documents or items: membership cards, medals, scientific objects (objects are held at the Pasteur Museum).
How to get there
Address: 28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75015 Paris, France (map)
Metro: Pasteur station (lines 12 and 6).
Bus: Institut Pasteur stop (routes 88 and 95).
CeRIS is on the Institut Pasteur campus in Paris, on the third floor of the Scientific Information Center (CIS).
Contact
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