2008 Spring - Europe in Bits & Bytes

Pan-European Resources

The demonstration site of “Europeana: digital paintings, books, films and archives” has gone online at http://www.europeana.eu/. When launched in November 2008, the site will provide access to “some 2 million digital objects, including film material, photos, paintings, sounds, maps, manuscripts, books, newspapers and archival papers.” The content of the site will be selected from already digitized resources in European libraries, museums, archives and audio-visual collections. The site itself will be multilingual.

The Electronic Enlightenment is now online, with restricted access to subscribers only, at http://www.e-enlightenment.org/. Published by the Voltaire Foundation in Oxford and Oxford University Press, the site currently features the correspondence between writers of the Enlightenment, including 50,000 letters sent by over 5,000 writers, scientists, philosophers and politicians.

Dick Hacken alerts us to the consortium of Open Access-promoting publishers (OAPEN) at http://www.oapen.com/. The publishers aim to attract EU funding in order to “fully explore the possibilities of Open Access in the humanities and social sciences” and currently include Amsterdam University Press, the Georg-August Universität Göttingen, the University of Copenhagen, the Museum Tusculanum Press, Manchester University Press, the Presses universitaires de Lyon, Firenze University Press, and the University of Leiden. At the time of writing, the site provided no information about whether the initiative would be supported by the EU.

Sarah Wenzel informed the WESS list about EUFeeds, a RSS aggregator for European newspapers that provides access to more than 400 papers from the European Union at http://www.eufeeds.eu/. Maintained by the European Journalism Centre in the Netherlands, the blog permits to browse the RSS feeds of newspapers and magazines from EU member states, as well as Norway.

French Resources

Gallica 2 has been launched at http://gallica2.bnf.fr/. In addition to providing free access to materials that are out of copyright (ca. 60,000 titles), Gallica 2 now also permits access to copyrighted publications for a fee (ca. 3,600 titles). Over 100 publishers currently contribute to Gallica 2, including Gallimard, Le Seuil, Laffont, the OECD, the Editions de Minuit, P.O.L., the Presses universitaires de France, etc. As with Google Book Search, users may browse a select number of pages without charge before having to purchase access.

The French Union Catalog, the Catalogue Collectif de France (CCFr), has been considerably expanded and updated at http://ccfr.bnf.fr/. In addition to federated search access to the Bn-Opale plus, Sudoc, and the Base patrimoine, the CCFr will gradually permit users to search the three main manuscripts databases, Manuscrits du CCFr (including the “catalogue général des manuscrits des bibliothèques publiques françaises publiés de 1849 à 1993” and PALME, the “répertoire des manuscrits littéraires français du XXème siècle”), Calames (the “catalogue des manuscrits des bibliothèques de l'enseignement supérieur”), and the BnF-Archives et manuscripts. In addition, the CCFr permits searches of the “Répertoire national des bibliothèques et des centres de documentation” (RNBCD), which describes more than 4,000 libraries, archives, and special collections.

The Bibliothèques Virtuelles Humanistes, initially launched in the fall of 2006, aims at digitizing the about 2,000 works from the 16th and 17th Centuries held at archives and libraries of the Région Centre at http://www.bvh.univ-tours.fr/. The goal is to provide full text for about 200 titles, while offering the remaining works in page image format.

Antoine Compagnon's weekly lectures at the Collège de France are being made available in MP3 format http://www.college-de-france.fr/default/EN/all/lit_cont/.

As forwarded by Sue Roberts to the WESS list, the Dictionnaire électronique Montesquieu has come online at http://dictionnaire-montesquieu.ens-lsh.fr.

The “Bibliothèque de documentation internationale contemporaine” (BDIC) provides access to an array of international digitized primary materials documenting, inter alia, French pacifist movements from 1887 to 1938, life in the trenches of WWI, images from Mai ’68, and the Argentine human rights movement under the dictatorship from 1970-1980. The materials include monographs, newspapers and journals, pamphlets, photographs, archival documents, and posters from the collections of the BnF, the Ministère de la Défense nationale, the Centro de Documentación e Investigación de la Cultura de Izquierdas (CeDInCI), and the Comisión provincial por la Memoria et Memoria Abierta. The site is available at http://flora.u-paris10.fr/flora/jsp/index.jsp.

The site of the Ecole nationale des Chartes has been updated with a portal to the History of the Book at http://www.enc.sorbonne.fr/histoiredulivre/, which includes a calendar of conferences and events with an RSS feed; lists of new acquisitions; and a bibliography on the technical languages of the Middle Ages at http://theleme.enc.sorbonne.fr/sommaire240.html; as well as the “Miroir des classiques,” a repertory of translations of classical texts into French and Occitan at http://elec.enc.sorbonne.fr/miroir/; and the 17th Century dictionary of medieval Latin by Charles Du Fresne Du Cange, the “Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis,” at http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/.

Via Sarah Wenzel, we are alerted to the “Atelier Bovary,” which provides a discussion of the origins of Flaubert’s most famous novel and access to the manuscripts at http://flaubert.univ-rouen.fr/bovary/atelier/atelier.php. The “Atelier” further enriches the Flaubert site of the University of Rouen at http://flaubert.univ-rouen.fr/.

Sarah further notes that the archives of “La Tribune” are freely accessible online at http://klog.hautetfort.com/archive/2008/04/18/les-archives-de-la-tribune-en-gratuit.html.

The slides database of the Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de médecine et d'odontologie de Paris has surpassed the figure of 40,000 images at http://www.bium.univ-paris5.fr/histmed/hm_img.htm.

The société des etudes céliniennes provides information on colloquia, events, and new publications at http://www.celine-etudes.org. The site further permits users to browse tables of contents and read abstracts of conference proceedings, monographs, and issues of the Etudes Céliniennes.

Those interested in a virtual visit to the Bibliothèque nationale de France (François Mitterrand), can now do so at http://www.bnf.fr/visitefmitterrand/index.htm. The virtual tour provides an introduction to the history and architecture of the BnF, including a host of practical information and a description of its collections. More detailed information about select collections, including online access to rare materials, may be found in the online exhibits at http://expositions.bnf.fr/livres/index.htm.

The BnF further unveiled a site dedicated to Daumier, in partnership with the Centre de Liaison de l'Enseignement et des Médias d'Information (CLEMI) at http://expositions.bnf.fr/daumier/index.htm.

The Conservatoire national des arts et métiers has placed online its holdings of 128 portraits from the 16th Century, "à la manière de Clouet," at http://cnum.cnam.fr/CGI/redir.cgi?PFOLME3. The drawings represent important and lesser known figures of the court of François 1ier.

The Ministère de la culture has unveiled a new metasearch engine on its web site, under “Collections” at http://www.culture.fr/fr/sections/themes/collections?typeSearch=collection&SearchableText=&SearchWhere=. The search interface provides access to over two million images of cultural documents in all areas of the humanities and social sciences, including the history of science and technology.

Another new publication by the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication is “Lattes en Languedoc : les Gaulois du Sud” at http://www.lattara.culture.fr. The site describes the history of the city Lattara from the sixth Century B.C. to the second Century A.C. The history of Lattara is significant, as it is the only known Gaulois city to have harbored a population of Etruscans from the onset. As a mediterannean trading post, the city attracted Greeks, Romans, Phenycians, and later Italian populations that enriched its cultural history. The site is part of the network of “great” archaeological sites Arcnat at www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/fr/.

Online since 2005, PERSEE has updated its interface to provide a host of new services, such as a full text search feature that includes the metadata and provides direct access to articles and tables; summaries in several languages (as far as they are included in the original); and advanced searching and sorting criteria. PERSEE now also contains sound documents and cross-references to related articles. The new interface is available at http://www.persee.fr/beta.

Through Dominique Coulombe and Le Monde of March 17, 2008, we are alerted to http://franceterme.culture.fr, a database that proposes the creation of new vocabulary in such areas as aerodynamics, theater and performance arts, law, the economy, environment, communications, and information technology. In this manner, France aims at continuing the tradition of adapting new vocabulary emerging from globalization and areas of activity in which English dominates, to the French language. By translating or inventing words such as “courriel” and “bloc” instead of “email” and “blog,” the Ministry hopes to preserve the vitality of the French language and to avoid the fate of languages that are embracing, in some cases enthusiastically (such as German), the increasing creep of English terms into everyday vocabulary.

To celebrate the centenary of Simone de Beauvoir’s birth and the Journée internationale des femmes (March 8), the Bibliothèque de Sciences Po placed online an electronic dossier on “Simone de Beauvoir et le féminisme : l'impact du "Deuxième sexe" at http://bibliotheque.sciences-po.fr/produits/bibliographies/beauvoir/index.htm.

Revues.org has increased its offering of Open Access journals by adding the following titles:

-Documents d¹archéologie méridionale, études des données ahéologiques du sud de la France : http://dam.revues.org/
- Cahiers de recherches médiévales, revue interdisciplinaire : http://crm.revues.org/
- Recherches sur Diderot et sur l¹Encyclopédie, revue interdisciplinaire publiée par la Société Diderot : http://rde.revues.org/
- e-Spania. Revue électronique d¹études hispaniques médiévales : http://e-spania.revues.org/
- Cahier de civilisation espagnole contemporaine (de 1808 au temps présent). Histoire politique, économique, sociale et culturelle : http://ccec.revues.org/
- Cybergéo, revue européenne de géographie : http://www.cybergeo.eu/
- Géomorphologie : relief, processus, environnement : http://geomorphologie.revues.org/
- Métropoles, revue de sciences sociales sur les villes et la métropolisation : http://metropoles.revues.org/
- Confins, revue franco-brésilienne de géographie : http://confins.revues.org/
- Perspectives chinoises/China perspectives, revue pluridisciplinaire sur le monde chinois contemporain : http://perspectiveschinoises.revues.org/ et http://chinaperspectives.revues.org/
- Journal des africanistes, revue pluridisciplinaire sur l¹Afrique : http://africanistes.revues.org/
- Revue de la régulation. Capitalisme, institutions, pouvoirs : http://regulation.revues.org/
- Semen, revue de sémiolinguistique des textes et discours : http://semen.revues.org/
- COnTEXTES. Revue de sociologie de la littérature : http://contextes.revues.org/
- Féeries, consacrée au conte merveilleux de langue française, du XVIIe au XIXe siècle : http://feeries.revues.org/
- Les dossiers du GRIHL : http://dossiersgrihl.revues.org/
- Apparences : http://apparences.revues.org/
- Anthropology of food : http://aof.revues.org/
- Ateliers du LESC : http://ateliers.revues.org/
- SociologieS : http://sociologies.revues.org/

Italian Resources

As forwarded to WESS-L by Claude Potts, the “Corriere della sera” has opened its electronic archives to provide free online access at http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/. The archive provides access to over 1.3 million articles from 1992 to today and includes the supplements “Corriere Soldi,” “Corriere Salute,” “Corriere Lavoro,” “Vivimilano,” and all issues of the “Corriere Economia.”

Spanish Resources

Via Jeffry Larson we are alerted that the “Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana” is now freely available online at http://www.enciclopedia.cat/. The “Enciclopèdia” goes beyond the reproduction of the print in online format by permitting users to update the information on the site, though the final authority over the entries will remain in the hands of the editorial team. The site is completed with links to the “Diccionari de la Llengua” and to the Encyclopaedia (términos catalanes en inglés).

Not to be outdone, Adan Griego forwarded to the list the announcement by “El Pais” (of January 18, 2008), that the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), is consolidating its scientific publications into one digital library at http://digital.csic.es/. The site will include all publications of the CSIC in Open Access, in all areas of scientific investigation, from biology and medicine through science and technology, including agriculture and the management of natural resources, as well as the humanities and social sciences.

German Resources

The Fraunhofer Institut für Software- und Systemtechnik (ISST), the Deutsche Historische Museum (DHM) in Berlin and the Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (HdG) have jointly launched LeMO, the “Lebendiges virtuelles Museum Online” at http://www.dhm.de/lemo/. The site provides a multimedia experience of German history from the foundation of the national German state in the 19th Century to the present. Historical documents and texts are completed with links to film and sound recordings to provide a complete, “living” experience of historical events.

The UB Bielefeld has enriched its “Retrospektive Digitalisierung wissenschaftlicher Rezensionsorgane und Literaturzeitschriften des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts aus dem deutschen Sprachraum”-project by 27 new titles at http://www.ub.uni-bielefeld.de/diglib/aufklaerung/. Sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the project is the product of the collaboration between the UB Bielefeld, the Georg Olms Verlag AG, and the Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen. In order to remain abreast of the gradually increasing content, one may subscribe to an RSS feed.

After the U.S., Germany has the largest number of digital repositories in the world. The DFG-sponsored project, “Open-Access-Netzwerk” (OA-Netzwerk), aims at connecting the diverse repositories to enhance standardization and foster access to German Open Access publications at http://www.dini.de/oa-netzwerk. Partners in the project are the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen and the Universität Osnabrück. The network is to be certified by the “Deutsche Initiative für Netzwerkinformation” (“DINI-Zertifikat”) and to connect to the pan-european DRIVER network (Digital Repository Infrastructure Vision for European Research). The certified network will provide access to full text and metadata searching, as well as RSS feeds, and print on demand services. Citatation analysis and usage statistics are also planned.

German universities have been very active in the realm of digital preservation and in creating institutional repositories. A number of universities are now joining forces to provide print on demand services for the materials included in their digital repositories through http://www.proprint-service.de/. ProPrint is supported by some of the largest German universities, including the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, the Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen, the Freiburger Dokumentenserver FreiDok, and the Konstanzer Online-Publikations-System (KOPS). The service currently provides access to over 8,000 articles, dissertations, proceedings, and other university publications. ProPrint centralizes billing for any library running an OAI-compliant repository and permits users to select documents, collate separate documents into one, and have these printed and bound. Users pay by credit card and have titles sent directly to them or may pick up titles at participating printers (currently only in Berlin and Göttingen). ProPrint may also deliver to the U.S., though shipping could be more than printing and binding.

Via Jim Campbell we are alerted that the Frankfurt UB has digitized 63 manuscript notebooks by Heinse at http://edocs.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/volltexte/2007/9999998/.

The University of Lüneburg has launched a Judaica database at http://db.uni-lueneburg.de/db/judaika/search.php. The “Lüneburger Judaika” database includes over 3,000 bibliographic entries documenting all aspects of Jewish culture and history in Lüneburg.

Select digitized titles from the Special Collections of the Universitätsbibliothek Greifswald have been made available at http://digibib.ub.uni-greifswald.de. The collections focus on the history and culture of the Pommern-region in Germany and Poland. While only a small subset of the about 30,000 titles pertaining to Pommern are digitized, this includes “Pommersche Urkundenbücher” and, in particular, the journal “Baltische Studien,” which is available in full text from 1832-1940 (“Alte” and “Neue Folge”).

Forwarding a posting from the IDW list, Linwood DeLong informs us that Franconica Online (integral part of the Bayerische Landesbibliothek Online) has created a virtual historic model of the city of Würzburg in 1525 at http://stadtmodell.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/. The model is based upon historical documents and a previous recreation of the city in wood and papermaché at the Fürstenbaumuseum. The site includes historical facts and links to relevant entries of the “Unterfränkische Bibliographie,” as well as to drawings and maps from the collections at the University of Würzburg library. Additional time periods are planned, documenting the rapid development of the city during the 19th Century, as well as its destruction in March of 1945.

Franconica Online, at http://www.franconica-online.de/, further includes content not yet featured in this column, such as the digitized facsimile of the “Papsturkunden des Benediktinerklosters St. Stephan in Würzburg,” as well as the portal “Historisches Unterfranken.” The latter provides access to a bibliography on medieval local history, the “Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte des Mittelalters” at http://www.historisches-unterfranken.uni-wuerzburg.de/index.php, as well as to a database of historic breweries (which, unfortunately, excludes Oberfranken) at http://www.historisches-unterfranken.uni-wuerzburg.de/db/biermarken/.

Through the site http://archiv.twoday.net, we are informed of the platform MALTE of the Universitätsbibliothek München, which offers page image access to some of the library’s treasures. For the complete story, please refer to http://archiv.twoday.net/stories/4826873/.

Through Jim Campbell and Inetbib we are alerted that “Der Spiegel” has placed its archive freely online at http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/start/home.html. With the exception of the two most recent issues, which are subject to a rolling embargo, users may access all issues back to 1947, including special reports and other supplements, such as the KulturSPIEGEL/SPIEGEL EXTRA, UniSPIEGEL, and “manager-magazin.” To browse the contents of the site, go to http://wissen.spiegel.de/wissen/index/.

BeNeLux Resources

The Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB) has placed online a bio-biographical dossier of Dutch poets that combines nationally recognized poets from all centuries with contemporary voices at http://www.kb.nl/dichters/index.html. Featuring short entries on carefully selected poets with biographical chronologies and bibliographies of primary works, the site provides insight on canonical Dutch poets, as well as on the contemporary poetry scene, and serves as a highly useful discovery and collection development tool.

The KB’s “Geheugen van Nederland” project continues to expand rapidly and to add new content at http://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/. This includes the digitized collection of over 12,000 loose prints, drawings, and book illustrations by Jan and Casper Luyken from the Amsterdams Historisch Museum at http://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/?/nl/collecties/jan_en_casper_luyken, as well as the exhibit “In het spoor van de oorlog,” which documents important events during WWII, including the German occupation of the Netherlands, as well as the Japanese occupation of “Nederlands-Indië” (Indonesia) at http://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/exposities/sporen/index.html (with more complete information at http://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/?/nl/themas/geschiedenis_en_samenleving/oorlog).

The “Bibliographie et actualité d’Hergé” has come online at http://www.bibchato.fr/opacwebaloes/index.aspx?IdPage=84.

English Resources

Over the past fall, the British Library (BL), in partnership with the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and Gale/Cengage Learning, launched its 19th century British Library Newspapers website, described at http://www.bl.uk/collections/britishnewspapers1800to1900.html. The project provides access to one million pages from 48 19th century British newspapers, including London national newspapers, English regional papers, home country newspapers from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and titles in specialist areas such as Victorian radicalism and Chartism. Access to the database is available without charge to the UK’s Higher Education and Further Education communities, but libaries and users outside the UK must acquire the database from Cengage.