Rivista "IBC" XI, 2003, 4
Dossier: L'IBC per l'Europa
biblioteche e archivi, dossier /
The leading role of libraries for research in Europe was politically recognised in the mid-1980s, when the new Information Society was about to emerge. The European Parliament first drew political attention to the importance of libraries in the Community in 1984. In 1985 the Council of Ministers adopted a Resolution which called for action by the European Commission in this area. The Resolution assigned a key role to libraries in Europe as promoters of knowledge and culture in the emerging Information Society.
Yet, the library sector revealed major differences among the EU Member States and that is why concerted action was needed to develop a European system for information. Libraries, which historically had been the first institutions to make use of computerised systems in their daily activity, were nevertheless experiencing difficulties in offering library services through the use of advanced information and communication technologies. In 1985, after a number of preparatory studies and extensive consultation of experts from European libraries, the Commission was able to identify critical areas and outline a strategy aimed at developing specific actions in the library sector. Through the offer of funding opportunities for libraries, the "political" goal of the Commission was to promote structural changes and the widespread application of information technologies.
With time, all programmes addressed to libraries have been developed with a view to their key role in the Information Society: service providers, sensitive to consumers' needs. EU action can then be divided into different phases which correspond to the launch of different programmes. Each programme aims at a distinct goal, but all of them are set in the framework of a longer-term objective: offering the opportunity to create a European system of information where libraries act as providers and producers of services. In order to play a prominent role and meet changing users' needs, libraries were asked to focus on the services they provided, to exploit the advantages of new technologies and to improve their internal organisation.
The first programme for libraries, launched in 1990, focused on key library activities and was structured around the following four complementary action lines: electronic bibliographies, innovative library services based on information technologies, library networks and interconnection of systems, which were considered the basic structures for the development of innovative services. The structural goals of the Commission were the rapid introduction of cost-effective information technologies and the development of common-shared standards in libraries, in view of the subsequent widespread offer of new services.
The Programme showed that there was good breeding ground, that the strategy of funding innovative projects had been successful and that the action lines matched libraries needs. The Fourth Framework Programme, launched in 1994, moved into the new phase: consolidating and integrating the results achieved. Starting from 1994 and for all later programmes, the Commission built new initiatives upon the results of the projects already funded.
The Fourth Framework Programme developed in a different context: the Internet was rapidly evolving and information was increasingly created and distributed in electronic form. Thus libraries had the opportunity to play a key role in managing information sources and services as well as educating users to effectively use electronic information. Library services were no longer restricted to single library-based collections and libraries became the points of access to local as well as network resources. Therefore the programme aimed at supporting the development of electronic and telematic infrastructures and promote resource-sharing. There were three action lines: network-oriented internal library systems, telematic systems for library co-operation, new library services for users' direct access to network information resources. During this phase the complexity of the new context where libraries operate emerged: on the one side libraries still provide traditional library services and deal with the traditional information chain and on the other side they also offer innovative services based on the distribution of electronic information.
In the late 1990s the Fifth Framework programme started. Here libraries were under the Digital heritage and cultural content area of the programme, as part of the multimedia content and tools action line. The key goals were the creation of digital cultural content and flexible, user-friendly services to access multimedia content. With the advent of the digital era, the possibility to create new information tools which mix sounds and images was endless and libraries started a new phase of collaboration with other cultural institutions such as museums and archives. In the digital era, cultural institutions represent an inexhaustible source of "content" which can be commercially exploited. This is a new challenge for libraries which are now asked to look beyond their local context and develop innovative projects also taking account of the commercial aspects of the services.
In 2003 the Sixth Framework Programme was launched. The development of the Information Society is one of the top-priorities of the European Commission policies and actions and involves all sectors of European society, from transports to education to tourism. In this new programme, libraries' specificity is not easily recognisable. Libraries are part of the cultural heritage sector together with museums and archives and digital libraries are no more a prerogative of traditional libraries only. The objectives of the programme are the creation of new services and tools for improving access by the wider public to digitised European cultural and scientific heritage and the development of a European system of collections of digitised resources to preserve European cultural heritage.
In the last ten years European programmes for libraries have led to remarkable results, both in terms of technology and organisation. One of the most interesting outcomes was enhanced cooperation among libraries: some groups of interest have been established bringing together librarians and institutions on common subjects of discussion. Under the impulse of European actions, many countries launched new policies and actions in the sector of library services and the co-ordination of different projects at a European level was promoted. European funding opportunities and projects were a driving force to develop new services, support the most creative initiatives, promote the implementation and use of format standards in libraries and last, but not least, encourage integration and co-operation between Member Countries to foster further development of library services.
The results achieved were heterogeneous among the EU Member States, mainly because of different starting conditions. Some countries enjoyed an ancient tradition of high quality library services accessible to a wider public and these countries have certainly been a fertile and receptive ground for European initiatives. Nevertheless the whole European library community certainly evolved under the impulse of EU initiatives. The present time is critical: the organisational structure of most libraries is inadequate for the dimensions of the new projects. Yet libraries cannot surrender or exclude themselves from the European context.
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