Aisha Labi, European Union Officials Support French-Led Proposal for Digital Library of Europe's Literature, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 5, 2005 (accessible only to subscribers). Excerpt: 'A French-led project to establish a digital library of European literary and cultural works -- begun in response to a U.S.-based library project led by Google -- was endorsed this week by key European Union figures. Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the 25-nation bloc, expressed his support for a European digital archive, as did a leading member of the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union. Earlier this year, Jean-Noël Jeanneney, president of the National Library of France, warned that plans by Google and five leading academic institutions and libraries in the United States and Britain to digitize and make available online the content of millions of volumes posed a risk to Europe's cultural heritage through "Anglo Saxon" domination of online information....Last month 19 European national libraries, including France's, announced their support for the digital project. They said the project was "aimed at a large and organized digitization of the works belonging to our continent's heritage." In the run-up to a summit of European culture ministers in Paris, six European leaders sent a letter to Prime Minister Juncker and José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, underscoring the priority they attach to the project. "The heritage of European libraries is unequaled in its richness and diversity," the leaders wrote. "However, if it is not digitized and made accessible online, this heritage could, tomorrow, not fill its just place in the future geography of knowledge."...As the culture ministers' meeting concluded, Mr. Juncker underscored his support for the European library project. At the same time, the European Commission announced that it would step up its efforts to preserve and exploit Europe's cultural heritage and that it would back that support with increased financing.'
Posted by
Peter Suber at 5/05/2005 09:48:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
