Do you represent a library with research collections?

Would you like your metadata to be aggregated through the Europeana Libraries project, and featured on prominent cultural websites such as Europeana.eu and a new portal for digital humanities researchers (currently being designed by The European Library)?

This page explains how you can participate in this exciting project. Click to learn about:

• What the Europeana Libraries project does
• The type of content we are looking for
• Reasons to provide content
• The European Library Standards Handbook
• How to get in touch

About The Europeana Libraries Project

Europeana Libraries is a 2-year project that will make 5 million digital objects from 19 leading European research libraries freely accessible on  Europeana and on a new portal for digital humanities researchers (currently being designed by The European Library).

This is done by aggregating metadata and adding it to a central, searchable index, which will be accessed by researchers, educators and the general public. The full digital objects are held by the contributing institutions, and users can access the objects by clicking a link to the content holders' own website.

Through its work, the Europeana Libraries project is also creating a robust network of libraries for researchers, and an efficient aggregation model that can be used by research libraries across Europe.

What Type Of Content?

The project aggregates content from research and university libraries. Some of the items currently being added to our database include:

• Spanish civil war photographs
• Ottoman manuscripts
• Historic medical films
• Academic articles
• Theses
• Journals

Why Provide Content?

Here are some of the reasons to join the Europeana Libraries project:

1. Promotion of Your Content: Your metadata and links to your content will be featured on high-profile websites and exposed to search engines – both directly and through APIs. This will make it easier for users to discover your digital treasures, and will in turn drive traffic to your own site.

2. Better User Experience: Users today expect content to be integrated. By showcasing your content alongside relevant items from other institutions, users will be able to find everything they are looking for in one space. They won't have to visit multiple sites to try and find related items on their chosen topic.

3. Networking and Learning Opportunities: When you join the Europeana Libraries project, you are joining a network of like-minded professionals across Europe. You will be invited to participate in conferences, workshops and seminars, and will have the opportunity to hear from leading thinkers and practitioners in fields such as metadata standards, aggregation and digitisation.

The European Library Standards Handbook

The European Library Standards handbook serves as a handbook for libraries providing data to The European Library and other services such as Europeana. The document clarifies the advantages of outsourcing specific data-provision tasks to an aggregator and provides a complete description of the process.

• The European Library Standards Handbook
• The European Library Standards Handbook Factsheet

 

 

Get In Touch

If you would like to participate in the Europeana Libraries project, please send your contact details and an outline of your digitised collections to:

collections [@] theeuropeanlibrary.org