EU Framework Projects

BIBdel

The Project was designed to explore, identify and improve the availability and accessibility to the remote user of the services provided by modern library services by demonstrating that library services can be delivered to users at a distance instead of users being required to visit libraries. It recognises that many users who need to study do not have access to the library services they need.

Information technology affords an opportunity to make service delivery both practical and cost-effective, but experience of IT utilisation by libraries is spread very unevenly across the EU. The Project brought together three very different models of provision through the medium of three universities. It demonstrated how technology and expertise can be transferred between libraries in different states and adapted to the needs of each. It did not aim to produce a single solution for EU-wide adoption but rather a series of solutions each of which will find application in different geographical areas of different Member States.

The main objectives of CHILIAS are:

to develop a new concept for European children's libraries of the future as a stimulating environment for innovative learning and creative use of multimedia and networked technology with links to traditional library services.

to enhance the competence of children using interactive multimedia and networked information and communication systems, and to improve their information seeking skills in new learning environments.

DECOMATE

DECOMATE aimed at providing end-users access to copyright materials in electronic form. Three university libraries in three different countries have received part of their journal holdings in electronic form (images) directly from the publisher. Special software has been developed which links bibliographic records to electronic full-text articles and allows the user to view documents or have them delivered in printed form. This software and the document distribution service has been made accessible to end-users (academic staff) within the participating academic institutions, both in the library and at the end-user's workplace through the campus network. The system includes a module for user-authorisation and usage monitoring and reporting, in order to enable solutions for the problems of copyright in the electronic library. User studies and dissemination activities form an important part of the project.

Delivering copyright materials in electronic form to end-users creates a number of interesting problems in the area of protection of legal rights and document integrity. The project has studied the problems in order to develop both legal and technical solutions. Copyright aspects have been regulated through bilateral agreements between several publishers and the libraries participating in the project and has lead to new agreements with additional publishers.

The overall objective of EXLIB has been to investigate and provide a range of user requirement specifications and standards to ensure compatible access to the European Unions information resources between normally sighted and visually disadvantaged Union citizens.

Visually disadvantaged persons (a substantial minority in the Union of 20-25 million citizens) have severe difficulties in gaining access to information in comparison with normally sighted persons. The increasing use of digital storage of information in libraries and the dominantly visual presentation of output calls for other forms of output that are accessible to the visually disadvantaged. EXLIB has therefore examined existing technologies, systems and services including existing and near-future telematics provision for visually disadvantaged and normally sighted persons. This should lead to recommendations (i.e. standards, specifications and planning of implementation trials) upon the most

appropriate means to provide enhancements of service to the target population.

HELEN

The main goals of the project were:

the development of advanced transliteration software for the conversion of bibliographic records into and out of the Greek character set;

to promote the wider use of consistent and reversible transliteration standards.

Machine-readable records for Greek language materials exist mostly in transliterated form. Past practices in transliteration have been diverse and the use of reversible schemes limited, thus impeding the conversion and exchange of records for use in the Greek alphabet. The project developed software to aid the conversion of bibliographic records between Greek & Roman alphabet languages. The structure of the bibliographic record, the MARC format,

and the relationship of key data elements to authority files was used to enhance the transliteration software. In the process, research was carried out on name authority issues and transliteration standards and practices. The software was designed as general purpose modules for use in a stand-alone environment and was tested operationally by being integrated into a library system in Greece.

IFLA-EU

The action organised a two-day pre-session seminar on the Telematics for Libraries Programme in the frame of the 64th International Federation of Libraries Associations (IFLA) General Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands, August 16 - August 21 1998. The seminar took place on 13 and 14 August 1998 in Amsterdam and some 125 professional from the libraries, museums and archives fields attended.

The seminar had two objectives:

To disseminate the results of the Telematics for libraries Programme.

To give an analysis of the consequences of the tendencies of convergence between memory institutions, such as libraries, museums and archives, for their future work and for the formulation of strategies for co-operation between these.

REACTIVE TELECOM

The main objective of this project has been to develop a new public library service which is easily accessible from every home via telephone and (cable) television.

This service consists in providing:

community and library information;

educational packages, in particular on the use of information and communication technologies, suitable for adult independent learners and library staff alike;

information on EU matters.