Shaping factors in the future of European documentation

Shaping factors in the future of European documentation:
BY NEVILLE KEERY
(Head of Libraries and European Documentation Centres, DGX, European Commission)

Events and new technologies shape organisations and societies. By 'events' I mean here unexpected happenings with widespread repercussions, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall or the current Asian economic crisis.

In reflecting on European information policy for the tenth anniversary of European Access I would pick the Danish people's initial rejection of the Maastricht Treaty and the impact of new information technology as central policy-shaping factors since 1991 and for the foreseeable future.

The difficulties experienced in a number of Member States in achieving the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty were accepted by governments and Community institutions as a signal that new information and communication priorities were essential if voter support for the future of the European Union was to be secured. Accepting its leadership role, the European Commission coming into office in 1993 set out a challenging policy and organisational agenda focused on information, communication and openness. The approach outlined then in a landmark collection of fourteen policy documents¹ has been built on steadily since.

Information, communication, openness:
Within the European Commission, a reorganisation in 1997 of the Directorate General (DGX) with special responsibility for Information, Communication, Culture and Audiovisual sought to promote further a citizen-oriented approach to policy and to improve the tools of co-ordination and partnership essential to the most effective use of available resources. A recognition that information, communication and openness must be the common concern of Member State Governments and the Community and Union institutions has become more and more apparent in events like the major seminar on information held on 27 March 1998 during the UK Presidency and the Resolution on Information and Communication Policy adopted by the European Parliament (A4-0115/98 of 14 May).

This pursuit of new information policy priorities has happily coincided with the priority Europe has been giving to the development of new technology, particularly in telematic applications. This technology is, of course, global. Thus, the access it offers to information is not just available to citizens of the European Union but to anyone interested anywhere in the world. The opening of the European Commission's webserver EUROPA in February 1995 - as a key element in the post-Maastricht campaign-brought with it a strengthening of worldwide awareness of Europe's political and technological advance. The importance of this cannot be underestimated. EUROPA has won recognition as one of the world's leading information sites at a time when the scheduled arrival of the euro is attracting global interest.

Buzz words:
I was asked particularly that this article should not just set the scene for a brief consideration of current developments in European documentation but should also provide a framework which might help librarians and documentalists situate themselves and their work in what has become an exciting end-of-century landscape. While events and technology shape the pace and context of charge, I believe we must also look to the constantly evolving philosophies and objectives which influence the leadership thinking of politics, business and administration. Many of these ideas are transmuted into the 'buzz words' of journalism and speech-writing. The tissue of critical discussion today inevitably encompasses such threads as 'market economy', 'Europeansocial model', 'level playing field', 'subsidiarity', 'knowledge management', 'virtual library', 'new book economy' and 'life-long learning'. Such concepts are not empty slogans, the relative weights we give them often account for our positions in difficult policy discussions. There are value judgements as well as technical assessments to be made in decisions facing the information world on things like free or paid for services, the balance between electronic and print publications, copyright, the handling of library opening hours and Internet access, and the identification of core priorities.

I believe that the European Commission is firmly set to pursue its post-Maastrichttra jectory and to privilege electronic communication as the medium of the future. The criteria being used to assess specific information initiatives are openness, user-friendliness, proximity, partnership and dialogue. Interpreting such criteria is not always easy and can lead in day to day terms to important and difficult budgetary and organisational questions.

Let me conclude with some purely personal predictions that I hope may be a correct reading of the balance of shaping factors and ideas rather than wishful thinking.

Information professionals:
The importance of the role of library and documentation services to the future effectiveness of openness and new technology will gradually win general recognition. Library and documentation skills will be required to organise and exploit the added value potentially available through networking. Electronic archiving will demand decisions and partnerships in which information professionals will be indispensable. Rapid change and the emergence of new career patterns will add to the importance of training and re-training.

Where European documentation is concerned, inter-institutional partnerships and networking between interested libraries and documentation centres will continue to develop both formally and informally. The strength and depth of such networking will develop even more quickly than in the last few years as library management systems and inter-connection become more sophisticated and new tools become available through successful electronic projects.

There have been positive results in terms of policy development and high-lighting the value of libraries on EUROPA, resulting from administrative decisions within the European Commission giving the Unit managing the Central Library responsibility for the co-ordination of European Documentation Centres and aimed at encouraging its participation in EUROLIB and the grouping of European institutional libraries, There is now a platform in place which can help towards ensuring that citizens in any region of the Community may have access to a comprehensive and well managed collection of European documentation. A more structured approach to networking can also promote added value and help to reduce unnecessarily duplicated effort and resources.

Openness and freedom of information will become more and more central to public administration in Europe. The trend towards easier access to more user friendly databases with no charge or password requirements will continue. Until the average use of personal computers in Member State households gets closer to Scandinavian figures there will be criticism that the importance of electronic information within the European Union is being exaggerated. The argument for more budget resources to bridge potential gaps between 'info-rich' and 'info-poor' will not be easy at a time when there is concern about economic growth and public expenditure. Library and documentation services must be able to defend themselves in cost benefit terms and accept regular evaluation.

Signposts:
I see, therefore, a continuing positive outlook for the information philosophy which European Access has espoused in its first decade. The fact that the Amsterdam Treaty, currently in the process of ratification, gives openness and the citizen a new centrality in European affairs creates an additional imperative for reinforcing the post-Maastricht approach to information. The launching of Europe Direct at the Cardiff European Council in June and the September contract involving seven Directorates-General within the European Commission in permanent dialogue with citizens and businesses are, I believe, significant signposts towards the information environment of the next decade.

Notes:
^1. European Commission, DGX
Information. Communication. Openness EC, 1994
ISBN: 92-826-7653-6
EC No. CC-82-94-852-EN-C

Contact:
Neville Keery
Head of Unit: Libraries and European Documentation Centres
DGX
European Commission Rue de la loi 200
B-1049 Brussels
Belgium

Tel: +32-2-299-9018
Fax: +32-2-296-1149
E-mail: neville.keery@dg10.cec.be