European digital libraries have existed in diverse forms and with quite different functions, priorities, and aims. However, there are some common features of European-based initiatives that are relevant to non-European communities. There are now many more challenges and changes than ever before, and the development rate of new digital libraries is ever accelerating. Delivering educational, cultural, and research resources-especially from major scientific and cultural organizations-has become a core mission of these organizations. Using these resources they will be able to investigate, educate, and elucidate, in order to promote and disseminate and to preserve civilization. Extremely important in conceptualizing the digital environment priorities in Europe was its cultural heritage and the feeling that these rich resources should be open to Europe and the global community.

In this book we focus on European digitized heritage and digital culture, and its potential in the digital age. We specifically look at the EU and its approaches to digitization and digital culture, problems detected, and achievements reached, all with an emphasis on digital cultural heritage. We seek to report on important documents that were prepared on digitization; copyright and related documents; research and education in the digital libraries field under the auspices of the EU; some other European and national initiatives; and funded projects.

The aim of this book is to discuss the development of digital libraries in the European context by presenting, primarily to non-European communities interested in digital libraries, the phenomena, initiatives, and developments that dominated in Europe. We describe the main projects and their outcomes, and shine a light on the number of challenges that have been inspiring new approaches, cooperative efforts, and the use of research methodology at different stages of the digital libraries development. The specific goals are reflected in the structure of the book, which can be conceived as a guide to several main topics and sub-topics. However, the author's scope is far from being comprehensive, since the field of digital libraries is very complex and digital libraries for cultural heritage is even moreso.

Autorentext

Tatjana Aparac-Jelusic received her Ph.D. in Information Sciences (IS) at the University of Zagreb (1991). She graduated in Comparative Literature and Italian Language and Literature, Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb (1972). She was the Head of the Department of IS at the University of Zadar from 2007 until 2012, and Head of the Department of IS at the University of Osijek from 2003 until 2007. In 2008 she designed the new Ph.D. program Knowledge Society and the Information Transfer at the University of Zadar and acted as the dean of the program from 2008 until 2015. She is the author of one book, nine chapters in other books, over 120 research and professional papers (in Croatian and English), and over 30 reviews and opinion papers. She edited 25 books and started several series such as Croatian Librarians, Handbooks in LIS, and Advances in IS. She is the supervisor of over 200 diploma papers and 13 MS and 9 Ph.D. theses of Croatian and Slovenian (L)IS students. She was a member of theeditorial board of Information Processing and Management (2003-2008). She is currently a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Documentation, JELISE, and Bibliotekarstvo, Serbia. She was the Chair, ASIST/European Chapter, 2003-2009; Chair, Euclid-European HEI for LIS education and research, 2008-2014; and Chair, Croatian Council on Libraries, from 2013. To the international IS community she has been known as the co-director of LIDA Conferences from 2000-2014 together with Professor Tefko Saracevic. She was/is a member of PC for a number of international conferences in IS. She was PI for two Croatian research projects: Organization, Preservation and Usage of Croatian Written Heritage, 2002-2006 and 2007-2010, and Croatian Written Heritage, 2007âEUR"2012; and started several projects aimed at reorganizing and digitizing rich but neglected collections of monastery libraries in Croatia, Bosnia, and Hercegovina, as well as a project for several library buildings in Croatia. In 1998 she received Kukuljevic's Award (Croatian highest award in LIS field); in 2006 she was given by ASIST Thompson/ISI an Outstanding Teacher of Information Science Award. She retired in 2015 from the University of Zadar as Distinguished Professor in Information Sciences.