Development of a business plan for an international co‐operative digital library – The European Library (TEL)

The European Library (TEL) project aims to give digital access to the combined resources of the national libraries of Europe, operating under the auspices of the Conference of European National Librarians (CENL). A preparatory project, part funded by the European Union, ran from January 2001 until January 2004. Because of the diverse nature and missions of the participating libraries, developing a coherent business plan was a significant challenge. It appears that business planning for digital libraries, with some exceptions, is not hitherto well documented. This paper describes the research process carried out, the harmonisation of business objectives leading to the final business plan and some observations on the process.