93 Bowker

[The Bowker Annual 1993. 38^th Edition pp.113-116 ISBN 0835233456]

Library Developments in Western Europe

Derek Law

King’s College London

Western Europe’s library scene continues to be dominated by the generally supportive involvement of the Commission of the European Community (EC) and by the relationships that are being fostered with the libraries of Eastern Europe as they emerge from decades of repression. The past year has also been notable for the activity of existing European associations and the creation of new ones.

European Commission

The role of the European Commission is not always seen as supportive of libraries. It has many constituencies to support and librarians sometimes feel that commercial groups within book trade and computer circles carry undue sway in proposing initiatives However, in the general area of promoting the book and literacy, it is easy to reach agreement that there are common goals and aspirations.

The European Parliament has adopted a wide-ranging report on the promotion of books and reading, including proposals to abolish value-added tax on books, newspapers and magazines. The report also seeks support for making books more linguistically accessible through research programs into machine translation, support for providing equipment to translate books into Braille, programs to promote literacy, research into new publishing technologies, and aid to restructure publishing in Eastern Europe. This so-called Gutenberg Plan is precisely the sort of grand design that is possible for the European Community not just to propose, but to implement.

A proposal for a levy on blank audio and video tapes and recording equipment has foundered although it is expected that a new proposal will be brought forward. Because this is seen as a contentious area and because it has large implications for groups such as the visually impaired and for schools, there is some doubt as to whether it will prove acceptable in any form.

Copyright

Copyright continues to be a hotly debated topic. A draft directive to harmonize copyright has been proposed, with a term of 70 year suggested. This would mean an increase of 20 years for many countries and there are signs of resistance to the proposal. A further directive being promoted would cover copyright in electronic databases, partly through copyright and partly through the new right to prevent “unfair extraction” of large amounts of data for commercial reuse. Many groups are attempting to resolve the issues in the area, but some unhelpful battle lines are being drawn. Since networks make this a global rather than a European problem, we may expect many years to pass before a satisfactory compromise is worked out by the various interest groups.

Supplies and Services

Other EC regulations announced on the procurement of supplies and services caused some controversy. But it now appears that large library computer systems at least will have to go through a tender process. It remains unclear whether this applies to the acquisition of books and journals. Worrying directives also appeared on the supply of information by reference services. In at least one country it has been suggested that not to supply information you do not possess may be a culpable offence. In other words, those who set up reference services must make them comprehensive. The principle is probably one that most libraries would share, but to introduce the possibility of legal action by dissatisfied customers offers disturbing prospects.

Plan of Action for Libraries

The year 1992 saw the allocation of the first tranche of funds for projects to be funded by the Commission’s Plan of Action for Libraries. Some 14 projects won approval and will be funded starting in 1993. There are plans for a second call for proposals to take place in 1993. Since most of the proposals required some revision and could not be considered finalized, it seems fair to say that the success of Directorate General XIII/B in promoting the program was eclipsed by half-hearted attempts at publicity and efforts to retain the anonymity of the bidders. Funds were provided for projects covering such diverse areas as automatic proofreading and formatting of catalog cards; solving Greek language transliteration problems in multiscript databases; electronic document delivery; development of EDIFACT standards; development of ISO standards for Search and Retrieve (SR); a pilot facility for full-color image banks; multilingual hypertext interfaces for library systems; the development of a European books--in-print; OCR conversion of bibliographic data; online access to audiovisual archives; development of a visual arts network for arts photographic libraries; improved library provision for the visually impaired; and the linking of several musical bibliographical databanks. The National Focal Point representatives from each member state of the community have also continued to meet regularly. This group is now beginning to show signs of a willingness to work on a libraries agenda for Europe and to lobby their respective governments for action and funding.

Cooperative Organizations

EBLIDA

The European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA) was inaugurated at a meeting in The Hague on June 13, 1992. Ross Shimmon, chief executive of the U.K. Library Association, was installed as president, and Emanuella Giavarra of the Netherlands was appointed director. Some 30 associations had joined within four months. Such an association had first been proposed in 1987 and, given the ever-increasing involvement of the European Commission in matters that concern libraries, it is all the more necessary to have a body capable both of disseminating information and of lobbying the appropriate officials and elected representatives.

EUCLID

Another group born in 1992 was EUCLID, the European Committee for Library and Information Departments. At an inaugural meeting in Stuttgart, Ole Harbo of the Royal School of Librarianship in Copenhagen, Denmark, was elected chairperson. Stimulated by such activities as the ERASMUS program of student exchange, the group hopes to act as a forum for information exchange and to encourage bilateral and multilateral links between the library schools of Europe.

European Information Association

The European Information Association, founded in 1991, entered its second year with its first conference and an award for European Information Sources. The category for official publications was won by the European Commission’s Directorate General III, while European Municipal Directories won in the nonofficial sector.

LIBER

LIBER (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche) continues to meet and serve as the focal point for the research libraries of Europe. Many librarians from the former socialist states were able to attend the conference in Budapest in July and to initiate contacts and relationships that will help rebuild Eastern Europe’s libraries. LIBER’s subcommittee on automation published a second edition of Library Bibliographic Networks in Europe. This lists only 49 networks of varying size and purpose, but shows the inexorable spread of standards and of interoperability.

EAHIL

Tony McSean of the British Medical Association was elected president of EAHIL (European Association of Health Information Libraries). The association held a very successful conference at Montpellier in France. A wide range of interesting papers were presented, and these will be published by Kluwer.

European Foundation for Library Cooperation

At the European Foundation for Library Cooperation, Hans Peter Geh, former president of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) took over from the redoubtable Herman Liebaars. EFLC hosted a major conference that brought together book trade and library representatives from all over Europe.

Links to Eastern Europe and the TEMPUS Program

The process of bringing Western and Eastern European librarians together – as in the aforementioned LIBER conference – was further continued not only by a steady stream of private and official delegations from most countries of Europe to the countries of the East, but also by the European Commission’s TEMPUS program. Funds from this mobility programme gave a large number of Eastern European librarians the opportunity to spend from six weeks to six months in Western Europe’s major libraries to receive formal training, take courses, and examine “best practice”.

Perhaps the year’s most surprising development, a marked reminder of the vast changes in Eastern Europe, was the announcement that Chadwyck-Healey had won a contract to microfilm the Russian archives, including those of the Communist Party and the KGB, for sale throughout the world.

National Libraries

The national libraries of Europe have continued to take the lead in a number of projects. Some are exclusive to them, like the creation of national bibliographies on CD-ROM to common standards. They lead the way in such others as the proposed CERL (Consortium of European Research Libraries) union database of older materials. A major achievement of the European Commission’s Plan of Action for Libraries was its work in ensuring that all member states of the community now have some form of national bibliography.

Networks and Computing

Much is heard of the National Research and Education Network (NREN) in the United States and much less about the state of networks in Europe. Allowing for the fact that so many governments are involved, Europe may be pleased with its steady if unspectacular progress in this area. Most libraries, at least in Northern Europe, are now automated and many are networked. If the networks form a patchwork rather than a quilt, at least they are increasingly linked together, so that one can send mail as easily to Paris, France as to Paris, Texas. Librarians have not been much involved in the creation of projects such as IXI (International X.25), although some have done work on application level protocols, such as the Anglo-French-Dutch consortium that forms Project ION, involving document delivery protocols.

Groups are forming within the computing community to consider the issues associated with networked information services. A healthy interchange of views and experience is springing up on everything from user support to the development of navigational and filtering tools to help find information on the network. Common concerns such as copyright and security are starting to be addressed. Traditional skills such as cataloguing and classification take on new life in this environment. The EARN/RARE (European Association of Research Networks/Réseau des Associations de Recherche Européennes) Conference in Pisa, Italy, in November brought together a strong contingent of librarians and their computing colleagues. If 1992 has been marked by the creation of several pan-European associations, it may be that we will have the beginnings of a long- sought European equivalent to EDUCOM in the United States.