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. 

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