ISI users tracking research evolution.

Byline: Tracey Caldwell

Tracey Caldwell

Significant gaps in the digitisation capabilities of new EU member states are threatening the European Commission's vision of a shared European heritage network, a study has found.

A report by Tel-Me-Mor, the body that set up the European Library portal, points to a range of factors hindering the digitisation of resources by new member states, with only four of the 10 libraries surveyed having significant amounts of digitised content.

Tel-Me-Mor has called on the European Commission to create the conditions needed for international collaborative information networks.

The report was presented to the Conference of European National Librarians (CENL), although when European commissioner Viviane Reding addressed the conference on the need for a European digital library she made only passing mention of the portal efforts of the European Library.

Adolf Knoll, director for science, research and international co-operation at the National Library of the Czech Republic, and co-author of the report, denied that the European Library had been overlooked in the rush towards EC digitisation. "I think it is being recognised slowly," he said.