Two months ago we talked to Prof. Dr. Robert Darnton, Historian and Director of Harvard University Library, when the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) went online. Now we want to know more about the European equivalent, called Europeana. Europeana is an internet portal that provides access to millions of books, paintings, films, museum objects and archival records that have been digitised throughout Europe. Some highlights are, for example, Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, the works of Charles Darwin or the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Jill Cousins is Executive Director of the Europeana Foundation, responsible for the running and management of Europeana.eu and explains Europeana’s significance to us.
"A new Renaissance"
L.I.S.A.: What is the significance of Europeana? To what extent does the Europeana follow in the tradition of the Enlightenment? Would it be possible to say that Europeana is an enlightening project for the digital age? Why?
Cousins: We tend to see Europeana as being a new Renaissance, where cultural heritage is digitised and made available to everyone in a very democratic way via the internet. However the analogy with the Age of Enlightenment definitely has some resonance. As well as ensuring that our culture is accessible to all, Europeana connects Europe by providing a level, open playing field connecting all communities, helping them understand the past and appreciate cross-cultural differences. It uses our joint cultural heritage to promote understanding. This concept has been taken further with our Europeana 1914-1918 (www.europeana1914-1918.eu) Family History Roadshows, where we collect memorabilia from the First World War that people have in their attics, digitise it and record the story that goes with it. So far, 10 countries across Europe have joined us to tell the personal stories of this period of history. We are about to launch a similar exercise around 1989 with our Europeana1989.eu site.
Following the ideas of the Enlightenment philosophers sits very well with the concept of Europeana from the lofty ideas embodied in our culture to tackling issues such as copyright and use of standards to allow easy access.