The internet site Bibnum (http://bibnum.education.fr) has been opened in 2008 by CERIMES, French organism depending of both Ministry for National Education and Ministry for Research. It is a digital library, with a choice of founding scientific texts (articles, chapters of books) of the 19th and 20th centuries: these texts are commented by current scientists who underline their importance, explain the purpose of the author, and bring the text into the light of today’s science. The talk will address the genesis of the project, the private-public partnership it develops and its goals. Among the latter are: 1) the valorisation of scientific heritage of the French “grandes écoles” during the 19th century (namely École polytechnique, École des ponts et chaussées,…); 2) the will to provide a lively history of science for teachers in college or university, for students at the university and 3) the will to reach out to and guide an increasingly larger public for using digital libraries.