In 1997, the idea of creating a Grande Bibliothèque was born out of the desire to provide widespread availability to the materials of the BNQ and of the Montreal Public Libraries Network. The institution founded to create a major public library, called the Grande bibliothèque du Québec (GBQ), was merged with the BNQ in 2002. The new entity pursued the acquisition, preservation and promotion of the national collection, and the acquisition and promotion of the circulating collection for the general public. The construction work of the Grande Bibliothèque took place from 2001 to 2004 in downtown Montreal, and the collections of the Montreal Library, the circulating collections of the BNQ and the new acquisitions were placed on the shelves of the Grande Bibliothèque in Fall 2004. The Grande Bibliothèque was formally inaugurated on 29 April 2005, and it began its operations on 3 May 2005.