This article provides an overview of Eurotext [1], a project funded for three years under the eLib Programme and currently making the transition to a subscription service. A collaborative project, Eurotext has sought to provide an accessible learning and teaching resource for those teaching or studying aspects of European policy and integration.
In Issue 3 of Exploit Interactive Elizabeth Graham outlined the background and rationale behind the UK Electronic Libraries Programme and drew attention to a number of the projects funded under its auspices [2]. The ‘On-Demand Publishing’ area of the eLib Programme sought to facilitate access to course materials and resources in electronic form whilst promoting the acceptance and use of these resources and services. Funded under this section of the eLib programme from 1996-99, Eurotext sought to provide a meaningful learning and teaching resource for those studying aspects of European integration and policy. The project is currently making the transition to a sustainable subscription service.
European Documentation Centres (EDCs) established by the European Commission in some university libraries have, for many years, been the principal support for those teaching or researching European policy. Receiving a single printed copy of all official publications of the European Union, EDCs provided a vital, but limited point of contact with the vast amounts of EU documentation available. Currently more than half UK universities do not have an EDC, creating a divide between resource rich and resource poor institutions. Indeed, even within universities with an EDC students frequently experience difficulty accessing and locating relevant documentation. Similarly, rising student numbers and the diversification of the student body (namely the increase in part-time and distance learners) in recent years has increased the strain on library resources and academic departments in terms of both resources and staff time. In response to issues such as these the 1993 Follet Report concluded that the “exploitation of IT is essential to create the effective library service of the future” [3]. More recently this theme has been reiterated in the UK Government's ‘e-University’ initiative through which Higher Education is urged to “use technology to spread excellence [4]. Therefore the need to create enhanced access to EU documentation, and to contribute to the creation of on-line learning and teaching resources follows a sustained commitment to ITC within education.
In March 1995 a consortium of three universities, the University of Hull, the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside and the University of Ulster submitted a successful bid to establish the Eurotext project. Coincidentally the European Commission had just launched its web site Europa [5] which provided basic information about the institutions and policies of the European Union. The aim of Eurotext was to facilitate the creation of a digitized collection of the key EU texts, selected by academics, which would be appropriate to the needs of students. Made available over the web as a national – and potentially international – service, Eurotext would meet the shortfalls in resources and encourage the use of electronic resources in teaching and learning. Accompanied by an academic introduction to each topic, the documents would be searchable by both keyword and bibliographical reference and would provide easy-to-use access to key relevant documentation. A collaborative venture, the project was built on the documentation collections, technical expertise and institutional commitment of the partners.
The processes of consultation, user testing, feedback and response are vital to the creation of user-centred resources. Such resources, created by and for the user, are essential in fostering the use of ICT and electronic media in teaching and learning. From its inception Eurotext has functioned as a path-finding initiative between librarians, academics and students. To this end all three groups have been directly involved in creation of the resource at various stages. Within the first two years of the project five groups of students, at sites across the UK, provided vital feedback on the design and creation of Eurotext's interface. Specifying features such as navigation method, structure, page layout and search capacity students, as potential users, were intrinsic to the creation of an accessible interface.
Similarly, the academic community played a major role throughout the project. From providing input into the original funding proposal to writing subject introductions UK academics have been involved in the development and enhancement of the service. In the project's second year interested UK academics were invited to join an ‘Academic Network’ to contribute to the selection of texts and to the production of subject introductions. Of the 55 academics who volunteered to participate, many were Jean Monnet professors of European integration or were teaching modules funded under the Jean Monnet Programme. The criteria for text selection was primarily those texts which the academic community viewed necessary for their educational purposes.
The European Commission's policy of encouraging the re-use of copyright materials enabled a reproduction licence for the duration of the project to be agreed. The major stipulation, a clause somewhat at odds with the accepted nature of copyright, was that texts from the Official Journal and COM Documents (the series most frequently used for Eurotext) could not be reproduced as facsimile copies in PDF format. In short, they could not look like the original. The implementation of a ‘Eurotext house style’ required the development of a cost effective OCR scanning operation. The cost per page has gradually been reduced to £1, while the rate of growth now averages 1,000 pages a month – all presented in a structured way by 28 subjects and searchable by keyword. In addition to this, Eurotext provides links to relevant EU sites, a help section in response to user feedback, and 21 academic introductions.
In the meantime, Europa, the free web site which the European Commission launched in February 1995, has grown at a rapid rate to about 1,600,000 pages and includes a wide range of current full-text documents as well as supporting information. It dwarfs Eurotext in size but its aim is to be comprehensive, whereas Eurotext has always offered only the texts thought relevant for study and teaching. Users of Europa suffer from an excessively high number of accesses (80,000,000 in January 1999) with the associated delays experienced when trying to access it after 11.00 a.m. Eurotext offers ease of access, a structured format, simple keyword searching and introductions covering, background, key issues and their implications for the UK – all very popular with students faced with a growing quantity of information available. It also leads students into relevant sections of Europa, thus encouraging independent learning.
Whilst a funded project Eurotext was offered as an open access resource for evaluation purposes. As such it was used throughout the UK both within library and teaching environments and was successfully accessed in over 30 other countries. Though successful in achieving its aims and objectives, Eurotext's labour-intensive development has only been possible due to institutional support and generous funding regimes. In order to continue the service from August 1999 Eurotext needs to generate income from subscriptions to supplement the on-going institutional support.
The shift to service status has in no way slowed the development of Eurotext. The content of the site has recently been doubled through the provision of searchable directed links to specific texts on Europa. A redesigned home-page, a site-map, expanded content pages and the inclusion of further subjects have brought a new dimension to the site.
Whilst the use of technology has facilitated an increase in access to materials, the sheer volume of resources, journals, data sets and statistics currently on offer over the Internet may swamp many users. Making a web-based resource visible to its appropriate potential user groups is not an entirely simple task. Through the organization of resources into hubs and directories the sea of information available on the web has been made somewhat more accessible. Eurotext is grateful to hubs for hosting us on their resource pages and particularly to the Joint Information Systems Commission ‘Resource Guide for the Social Sciences’ for including us in their workshop programme. A continuing effort to raise awareness of the service's existence has produced a marked rise in both national and international interest. Eurotext is currently supporting users both nationally and internationally, with recent requests received from Iceland and Australia as well as UK higher and further education.
The continuation of the Eurotext service is dependent on its ability to function as a sustainable subscription service. A restructuring of pricing now includes a 30 day free trial period as well as discounts for HE institutions in the UK, for EDCs and other European information specialists. A reduced subscription rate is also offered to individuals.
Over the last four years there has been a substantial change in learning and teaching practice and in the accepted methods of knowledge access within libraries. The eLib Programme contributed greatly to this and the staff of Eurotext feel privileged to have been part of it and to have been given the opportunity to develop a meaningful user-centred resource as a valuable service for the education community.
Freda Carroll
EDC Librarian & Eurotext Co-ordinator
Academic Services: Libraries
University of Hull
HULL
HU6 7RX
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 1482 465966
URL: <http://www.hull.ac.uk/lib/euro/euroinfo.htm>
and
<http://eurotext.ulst.ac.uk/>
Email: w.m.carroll@acs.hull.acc.uk
Liz Pearce
Project Assistant
Academic Services: Learning Development
University of Hull
HULL
HU6 7RX
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 1482 465966
URL: <http://www.ctls.hull.ac.uk/>
Email: e.h.pearce@acs.hull.ac.uk
For citation purposes:
Freda Carroll and Liz Pearce, "Eurotext: The Transition from Project to Service",
Exploit Interactive, issue 5, April 2000
URL: <http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue5/eurotext/>
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