In this article, Teresa Hackett reports on the final concertation meeting
of the European Commission Telematics for Libraries Programme (1990-1998), as libraries
become an integrated part of the IST Programme under the Fifth Framework Programme.
«Consolidating the European Library Space»,
organised by DG Information Society/D-2 Cultural Heritage Applications
(formerly the Libraries Unit), was a major and final concertation
meeting of the Telematics for Libraries [1] Programme
1990-1998. The meeting attracted over 120 participants and speakers from all
over Europe and fifteen Fourth Framework Programme (FP4) projects took the
opportunity to demonstrate their project results. The aim was to mark the
transition from the Telematics for Libraries programme as libraries become an
integrated part of the Information Society Technologies [2]
(IST) Programme under the Fifth Framework Programme (1998-2002). The meeting reviewed
the achievements so far of the Telematics for Libraries programme, evaluated
results and looked at new alliances and key issues facing the European
information society in the new millennium and aimed to create a platform for
future co-operation and development.
There were keynote speeches on the main aspects of the Programme, new media literacy in the Information Society, the converging worlds of libraries, archives and museums, new synergies between national and European library policies, opportunities for co-operation with Central & Eastern Europe and the future role of the cultural heritage sector in the IST Programme. There was also discussion of key issues : copyright & licensing, e-commerce and cultural heritage institutions, new ways of delivering education services, interoperability & standards and digital preservation. A workshop dealt with the exploitation of FP4 project results and there was a practical session on how best to promote a project Website, including using metadata.
The conference proceedings will be available on the Telematics for Libraries concertation meeting Web site [3].
The location for the conference was Mondorf-les-Bains [4] in Luxembourg. Mondorf-les-Bains is a small thermal resort about 20 km south of Luxembourg city near the Moselle region [5] and next to the border with France and Germany. Some people visited the thermal baths, others took a trip to France. The conference was held at Casino 2000 [6] which, as well as being a conference centre, is an established casino and some of the participants could be seen trying their luck at the roulette table! The conference dinner was enjoyed by around eighty and the relaxed and friendly atmosphere contributed to the "human networking" aspect of the meeting.
The meeting was aimed at FP3 and FP4 libraries projects, National Focal Points, policy makers and key players in Europe. All 15 EU countries were represented, as well as EEA/EFTA countries, Norway and Switzerland. Partners from 30% of FP3 projects and 68% of FP4 projects were at the meeting, with almost half of these from on-going FP4 projects (in December 1999, 29 FP4 projects and Accompanying Measures will still be running). This demonstrates a strong sense of community and cohesion in the Programme, as well as an active interest in continuity.
 Figure 1: Graph Showing Participants by Country (EU) |
 Figure 2: Graph Showing Participants by Project |
A short follow-up email questionnaire was sent to everyone who attended. Participants found the agenda interesting and informative, enjoyed the venue and location and particularly appreciated the interaction with colleagues from all over Europe. The main problem participants had was choosing between parallel sessions!
 Figure 3: Responses to Question "Overall, were you satisfied with the conference?" |
 Figure 4: Responses to Question "Were you happy with the content of the conference?" |
 Figure 5: Responses to Question "Do you think that your attendance at the conference will be of use to your future work?" |
The Fourth Framework Programme contained a new and specific action line for international co-operation, within which the countries of Central and Eastern Europe were a priority objective. Under the Fifth Framework Programme, candidate countries are able to participate, with Community funding, in the projects of the programme under basically the same conditions as organisations from the Member States [7]. So a welcome aspect of the meeting was that it attracted participants from CEE countries. This is largely due to the efforts of the Accompanying Measure EXPLOIT [8] (although not all CEE participants were on EXPLOIT grants). One of the objectives of EXPLOIT is to provide opportunities for key personnel from CEE countries to acquaint themselves with the results of Libraries sector projects and related activities. This specifically includes facilitating their participation in major EC events.
Travel grants to the IST Conference in Helsinki [9] and the Telematics for Libraries meeting were advertised on relevant discussion lists e.g. DIGLIB, PACS-L, Jesse, ELAG, IOIS, Knihovna, (Slovak), AIBIBL, INFOBIB (Polish) and at recent regional conferences and seminars e.g.
One application for the IST Conference and eight applications for the Telematics for Libraries meeting were received. Seven applications for the Telematics for Libraries meeting were accepted, although two of the chosen applicants were unable to attend as they couldn't obtain travel visas on time.
The meeting proved useful in identifying issues and speakers for a planned conference about European-led projects and concrete discussions took place with EU institutions about common areas of interest and future co-operation. A suggestion for future events was to include a partner-finding session for CEE partners, who would describe their areas of interest and competencies.
Examples of how information on the meeting will be disseminated:
 Figure 6: Graph Showing Numbers of CEE Participants |
CEE Associated States not represented were Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slowenia.
"Although I have read a lot of about libraries, consortia and information technology, meeting people during the conference, listening their presentations and discussing different aspects of their projects allowed me to see the issues from a different point of view, to broaden my knowledge about trends and activities in the field of IT." - CEE participant
"I think the conference at Mondorf was an outstanding event. It was one of the best professional events in which I have ever participated. It provided very useful and practical information not only about developments that have taken place in Europe as a result of the different programmes, but concerning the current situation and planned developments as well. It was quite intriguing to see the "new philosophy" behind the current and planned programmes and gain more understanding about possibilities, procedures and plans. I wish that more of my colleagues could participate although I hope that many of them will read the text of the presentations when they will be available hopefully some of them in Hungarian, too. I also hope that it will be possible to join in some projects in the near future. Realising that the main focus of the conference was not the situation of libraries in CEE countries and their potential for European co-operation, I was satisfied with the programme. However it might be useful to devote more efforts in the future to discuss this aspect." - CEE participant
"After consolidation of my library, I expect that next year, after a new law on libraries is passed, it will be possible to join some suitable project(s) which will now be easier to identify. Sometimes it seems to me that western Europe libraries are far ahead of our libraries especially in applied technology and their financial status. It is difficult to undertake research when the library has to fight for day-to-day survival. We still must solve "basic" problems and tasks that have already been solved in western libraries for some time. It is difficult to foresee that a library could be a contributing partner in a digitisation project, for example, when the library does not have even a scanner or to talk about the Internet, if they are not able to pay for an Internet connection. Many such libraries do not need to know about contracts with publishers of electronic documents, if they do not have money to purchase electronic resources. However, our librarians hope that the situation will change and that our libraries will soon be in a position to co-operate better with EU partners. As a national library, we would consider joining several projects. However our library system must first be upgraded to be able to implement a Z39.50 server. I think that a workshop with project presentations, preferably in local languages, would be very useful." - CEE participant
Since the launch of the first Telematics for Libraries programme over nine years ago, there have been very rapid and fundamental changes in information availability and use. Advanced information technologies are widespread and new products and services are constantly emerging driven largely by consumer demand, rather than being technology-driven. In order to preserve their role as key intermediaries for scientific, technical and business information and as managers of Europe's cultural heritage, libraries need to be prepared to adapt to change, accept innovation and create new partnerships and alliances in the information society. The response to the first Telematics for Libraries programme illustrated the awareness among European libraries of the principal issues affecting the library world. The Telematics for Libraries programme under FP4 has maintained the momentum already established, helping to integrate European libraries into the much broader European information and communication infrastructure. The IST programme, with a budget of €3.6 billion (1998-2002), brings together and extends the ACTS (telecommunications), Esprit (information technologies) and Telematics Applications programmes of FP4 to provide a single and integrated programme that reflects the convergence of information processing, communications and media technologies. The programme offers a real opportunity for all the institutions (libraries, archives and museums) concerned with cultural heritage to develop joint practical experiences which can help address and find solutions to common problems and issues. It is an opportunity to create new partnerships and strategic alliances with the ICT industry, which can provide the tools and systems required for memory institutions to realise their full potential within Europe and to play a major role in creating a new "cultural economy" for the Information Society. This concertation meeting successfully marked that consolidation and transition.
If you have any comments on this article, please contact the editors (exploit-editor@ukoln.ac.uk).
Teresa Hackett
Libraries Support TechServ Team
9 Rue Schiller
L-2519
Luxembourg
Tel: +352 49 24 291
Email: thackett@ip.lu
Teresa Hackett has most recently worked on the Libraries Support Team in Luxembourg, providing technical support and services to the Libraries Programme under the Fourth Framework Programme, on contract from the British Council. In addition to experience working in a variety of library services, Teresa has managed Customer Support for a UK library automation company, involving consultancy, project management, Help Desk, technical training and support worldwide. She later worked for the British Standards Institution, responsible for electronic product sales and development before joining the British Council Munich to set up and manage a new electronic Information Centre. Teresa is a graduate of University College, Dublin in German, History and Politics and has a postgraduate diploma in Library and Information Science from the Polytechnic of North London. She is a chartered member of the Library Association (UK) and an associate of the Institute of Information Scientists.
For citation purposes:
Hackett, T., "Consolidating the European Library Space",
Exploit Interactive, issue 4, January 2000
URL: <http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue4/mondorf/>
[HTML Validation] - [Accessibility check]
|
Issue Home | Editorial | Features | Regular Columns | News and Events | Et cetera | ||
|
| ||
| Go to Top |
A UKOLN Service. Contact Us. Copyright © 1999 |
Last Updated: 10 January 2000 |