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In the world of online information, the continental European Union (EU) is terra incognita for many U.K. citizens. Britons are notoriously bad linguists and are encouraged in this by the international dominance of American English, whether in the realm of high geopolitics or in cyberspace.
Indeed, José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, has bemoaned the dearth of Britons applying to work for the EU and is conceding a unique English-only entrance examination to remedy this. Yet, the hegemony of Google and the straitened economic circumstances of recent years have had the combined effect (or unintended consequence) of encouraging pan-European digital library and museum efforts, which are made manifest in Europeana.
Initiated by the European Commission, Europeana is a search platform that provides access to digital libraries and museums across the continent, including the archipelago to the west of mainland Europe. Jill Cousins, Europeana's programme director, says it originated as a response to Google's digitization activities. Barroso was approached with the suggestion that Europe should respond to Google's digitization program, as shown in its Google Books Library Project. "There was a sense that we should do this for Europe," says Cousins. "The English language bias of the Internet means that European languages and cultures are being neglected."
Europeana launched with the support of 27 institutions and euro2 million (about $2.76 million) in EU funding in November 2008, with initial teething problems. Tbday, the Europeana Foundation is the governing body of the service and promotes collaboration among libraries, museums, and archives so users can have access to their content. The foundation, housed within Koninklijke Bibliotheek (the national library of the Netherlands), is incorporated under Dutch law as "Stichting Europeana." Its stated aim is to "provide new forms of access to culture, to inspire creativity and...