For a European library community

Presentation of the cooperative actions taken by the Commission of the European communities (DG XIII) in the library sector. After being excluded from the various actions taken at the international and at the European level for the development of new information management means, libraries are now acknowledged as an important link in the information chain, above all regarding services and access to information. In the Resolution of the 27 September 1985, the Council of the European community layed the principles for an interlibrary cooperation, especially in the data processing sector. Following the Hearing of Luxembourg (February 1987), the Commission decided to be a catalyst for the initiatives of the libraries and of their authorities. Therefore, five lines of action have been accepted : development of online catalogues, interconnection of systems for special functions, development of innovative services using new technology, etc. They could be subjected to a five-year community programme with a shared financing.
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