Home | Access to Diverse Cultural Content (Summary)
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SUMMARY

SCOPE
This DGM covers the provision by public libraries of access to cultural content by means of electronic sources particularly the Internet. It includes the creation of content cultural for community information webpages and the management of partnerships for the production of content.

POLICY ISSUES
It is EC policy to provide access to the cultural riches of Europe and a number of programmes further this aim. Institutions are encouraged to co-operate across national frontiers. Public libraries, museums and archivescan provide access to these resources for the public but their role but they also have a role in the generation of content.

Museums, archives and other heritage organizations are digitising their collections at a rapid rate. Increasingly digitisation is now being conducted at local level. More and more sophisticated methods of finding images are becoming available. Digitisation has the potential to give very wide access to cultural content and so to strengthen cultural networking. Access to cultural content has implications for social inclusion and lifelong learning.

In large cities, towns and regions, there are often centralised local authority departments which sponsor cultural institutions with a strong strategic interest in this work. 

Public libraries are well-placed to demonstrate that they have the skills to lead in this area on behalf of the local authority, working in partnership with other agencies and local organizations to provide access to Cultural Heritage.

GOOD PRACTICE GUIDELINES
The activities of libraries, archives, and museums must be co-ordinated on the national, regional and local level. An example of good practice is Resource in the UK.

• The activities of libraries, archives, and museums must be co-ordinated on the national, regional and local level. Examples of good practice are Resource in the UK and the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority.

• Libraries must remain a key cultural centres for their communities, a role which they have traditionally fulfilled.

• Content of various types can be produced and co-ordinated by public libraries: including community information and the development of digitised versions of special collections.

• Access to local cultural information and community information is an area not well covered by other gateways or general search engines and one in which public libraries are well placed to make a key contribution.
  

FUTURE AGENDA
The future for access to cultural resources is closely affected by developments in resource description, delivery of access to the Internet, the progress of digitisation of cultural goods and the development of multimedia. For example such issues as the safeguarding of bandwidth for non-commercial purposes and the effect of copyright legislation will need to be considered. Content can be seen as a key driver for developing a market for broadband.

The digitisation of cultural collections will continue until a substantial proportion of the cultural heritage of Europe is available in one way or another by digital means. Local content will form an increasing part of this picture. Museums, archives, public libraries, community and voluntary organisations will need to work jointly to ensure that this material is accessible. 

The generation of content, such as cultural community information, by libraries will become more sophisticated and involve co-operative projects across institutional boundaries, creating databases of increasing power and speed which will become communal assets of great value.

Home | Access to Diverse Cultural Content (Summary)
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