Europeana moves on

Europeana – Europe's online library, museum and archive – aims to make Europe's cultural and scientific heritage accessible to all. On 10 May, the Council adopted conclusions outlining the further development of the web site.

Wolfram von Eschenbach: Willehalm
(Fragment) Cgm 193,III.
© Bavarian State Library, Munich
Found through Europeana

The tool currently gives access to more than 7 million digitised works, including books, paintings, films, newspapers, photographs and maps. The target is to make 10 million objects available by the end of 2010. Europeana is a single multilingual online portal, hosted by the Dutch National Library. The prototype was launched in November 2008, and a first full-blown version is set to go online this year. Ministers underlined that Europeana should continue to improve its site, by a more appealing presentation of the items, enhanced search facilities and full multilingual functionality.

The content is provided by more than 1,000 cultural institutions from across the EU, but contributions remain unbalanced. The conclusions argue that it is necessary to increase the number of objects accessible through Europeana, in full compliance with copyright law. At the same time, a broader geographical spread and a better balance between the types of works is needed.

Until mid-2011, Europeana will be co-funded by the Commission, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania and Hungary. The Commission is invited to present a proposal for the sustainable financing of Europeana in the long run, together with a vision for the consolidation of the portal as a reference point for European culture on the internet.

More information:
Council conclusions 
Webcast of press conference 
Europeana