Digitisation in European libraries

Throughout Europe, institutions in the cultural heritage sector (libraries, archives, museums and galleries) have been taking steps towards making available their collections in digital form for education, research and the general public. These initiatives range from small‐scale projects involving one department within an institution and no external funding, through medium‐scale national projects with public or private funding, to large‐scale collaborative projects involving partners from several European states, and funding at a European level. This paper describes some of current and recent research in this area, with a particular emphasis on pan‐European initiatives and future directions.