Christine Dugdale comments on some recently published EC statistics.
An interesting set of European Commission statistics have recently been published [1]. These provide a general overview of the scope and involvement of European organisations in those research activities across Europe, in the LIS field, that have been funded under the two Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development between 1990 and 1998. These have been carried out under the more familiar names of the "Libraries Programme" and the "Telematics for Libraries" Programme.
The rather dry lists and tables of statistics reveal an increasingly wide range of interest in undertaking library-related research activity right across Europe. One of the aims of the Exploit Interactive web magazine is to raise awareness about the effort and interest expended in projects and current research within the pan-European library and networking communities. Its publication of these statistics reveals that there is, indeed, a great deal of work being done and a great deal of interest has already been generated. Exploit Interactive also aims to encourage the development of partnerships. Again, these statistics reveal the depth of collaboration that has already taken and is taking place. International co-operation is, of course, necessary to promote a global consensus for interoperability and standardisation and to encourage the adoption of best practice across different areas. In the digital age and the global economy, co-operation is necessary across countries and across sectors. These figures show that such co-operation is regularly taking place both between organisations and through the multi-faceted involvement of the individual organisations that have participated in several proposals and/or projects.
Despite the fact that some organisations have actually participated in several proposals and/or projects, the numbers of organisations and individuals who have actually participated and, especially, the number of those involved in the submission of proposals is very impressive.
The statistics detail numbers of individuals, organisations and countries that have submitted proposals or have been involved in projects funded to carry out research under the two frameworks. In all, there were five calls for proposals; three under the "Libraries Programme" and two under the "Telematics for Libraries Programme". One big difference between these calls was that the 1996 call under the "Telematics for Libraries" Programme included Central and Eastern European countries (through the funding of the International Co-operation Programme). In total, 520 proposals were submitted under the five calls made between 1991 and 1996 - involving 3023 individuals.
These two figures alone reveal the depth of interest and desire for research across Europe in the library sector.
From these proposals, 104 projects were selected for funding. These included 87 projects, 3 concerted actions and 14 accompanying measures. Again the corresponding numbers are impressive. The projects involved 653 individuals who represented 451 different organisations. They also involved individuals and organisations from 24 different countries, though those from Central and Eastern Europe have only participated in the later projects funded under the 1996 call. The largest number of participants from a single country is 134 from the UK with 61 from Italy and 59 from the Netherlands. Interest in participation, however, is widespread with the involvement of 638 individuals from 17 EU/EFTA countries and 15 individuals from 7 C and EE countries. Moreover, the figures reveal a growing interest in participation from most countries as different calls were made over the years. There were few exceptions to this increased level of interest.
The areas of research/study represented by projects are as wide as the individuals participating in them are numerous. Action lines under Framework Programme III (Telematic Systems in Areas of General Interest) include:
Action lines under Framework Programme IV (Telematic Applications of Common Interest) include:
Certainly, these statistics will reward more detailed reading for anyone interested in European research in the library sector. They will be quite an "eye-opener" for those who, mistakenly, think that little research and still less co-operative research is taking place across Europe.
They are presented in three different sections. The first provides an overview of library activities under both Framework Programmes. The second and third parts are devoted, respectively, to the detailed data related to each of the two Programmes.
Christine Dugdale
ResIDe Electronic Library
University of the West of England
Email: Christine.Dugdale@uwe.ac.uk
URL: <http://www.uwe.ac.uk/library/itdev/reside/>
Tel: 0117 965 6261 ext 3646
Christine Dugdale manages the ResIDe Electronic Library at the University of the West of England, Bristol.
For citation purposes:
Dugdale, C., "European Commission Library Research, 1990-98",
Exploit Interactive, issue 3, October 1999.
URL: <http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue3/ec-statistics/>
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