” “"Information technology will enable us to draw from Europe’s collective memory with just a click": with these words, Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for information society and media, presented to the international press the European Digital Library (Bde), a project of the Executive Committee aimed at "promoting digital access to Europe’s cultural heritage". "Over the next five years, at least six million books explains the Luxembourgeois Commissioner -, documents and other cultural assets will be accessible to everyone through an Internet connection". With a view to promoting computerisation across the continent, the Commission intends to co-fund the establishment of a pan-European network of computerisation centres. "By the end of 2006, the Bde should cooperate with all the national libraries in the EU. In the future, this cooperation will include archives and museums as well". By 2008, the Bde according to the figures submitted by Brussels will provide access to two million books, films, photographs, manuscripts and other works. "The number will reach at least six million by 2010 according to Reding -, but in fact it will be much higher, since by the end of that year every European library, archives and museum will be potentially able to send their digital contents on to the Bde". A high-level group of experts will meet for the first time on March 27th about the digital library project. (to be continued)” “
