European culture and science - at a click 

Since welcoming the proposal first suggested in April 2005 by six heads of state and government to the Presidency of Council and to the Commission, advocating the creation of a virtual European library, the Commission has laid down guidelines to ensure that the digital libraries initiative is a success. 

Digital libraries are organised collections of digital content made available to the public. They can consist of material that has been digitised, such as digital copies of books and other ‘physical’ material from libraries and archives. Alternatively, they can be based on information originally produced in digital format, an increasingly popular storage method for scientific content. Both aspects – digitised and originally digital material – are covered by this initiative. 

An online consultation will deal with some of the major challenges influencing digitisation, online accessibility and digital preservation. Replies will be an important input for a possible proposal for a Recommendation on digitisation and digital preservation and will feed into other relevant Community initiatives such as the review of the copyright framework.