EBLIDA response to the European Commission’s Green Paper: Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries July 2010
EBLIDA welcomes the opportunity to comment on the European Commission’s Green Paper "Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries".
According to the definition in KEA’s 2006 report for the European Commission, “The Economy of Culture in Europe”, libraries form a sub-sector of the Core Arts Field of the cultural sector. They are a non-profit making part of the industry but valuable nonetheless and we believe that any consultation in the field of culture should not ignore them.
Libraries, ranging from public to academic to national libraries, are not only members of the cultural industry who create services and products in their own right, but also key customers of, and providers of support for the staff and activities of other cultural and creative industries. Libraries also provoke ideas and creativity in individuals, provide a stimulating and safe place to work and study, and professional staff support to provide training and guidance in using and exploiting IT and information services.
Libraries stand not only for information but also for inspiration. They form a Europe-wide, in fact global, network, providing the potential to inspire directly and to offer support for other cultural partners. Creative industries already benefit from this network, but it could do much more so if major obstacles were abolished.
The abolishment of these obstacles can be summarized as:
- Providing improved funding and financial stability for libraries.
- Regulating the internal market to support digital services and new business models.
- Making EU policy for libraries and library services.
NEWS
DSM Directive transposition guidelines for libraries and library associations
25 November 2019: The guidelines have been created jointly by EBLIDA, IFLA, LIBER and SPARC Europe, and cover 12 of the Articles in the Directive. Read more >EBLIDA Newsletter November 2019
14 November 2019: Find out about the EBLIDA SDG European House and how EU SDGs are relevant for libraries! Read more >EBLIDA Newsletter October 2019
10 October 2019: We are Committed to sustainable development and Libraries can play a significant role in advancing it. Read more >EBLIDA Newsletter September 2019
12 September 2019: Why Sustainable Development Goals are important for libraries and libraries are important for the European 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. Read more >AfLIA & EBLIDA - Memorandum of agreement
27 August 2019: AfLIA (African Library and Information Associations and Institutions) and EBLIDA signed a Memorandum of Agreement on 26th of August 2019 at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Athens, Greece. Read more >