European Documentation Centres Research Articles

The Changing Role of European Documentation Centres and How ‘Brexit’ Might Affect the Network

AbstractEuropean Documentation Centres (EDCs) are neutral collections of official publications of the European Union, open to the public and normally housed in academic institutions throughout the European Union (EU). EDC status entitles the host organisation to receive one copy of the most significant publications and documents of the EU. The EDC network goes back to 1963, and its primary purpose has always been the support of academic research into European integration. The decision to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union clearly raises questions about role of the EDCs in the United Kingdom after ‘Brexit’. This article is written by Margaret Watson.

Avrupa Dokümantasyon Merkezleri: İstanbul Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Avrupa Hukuku Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi Örneği

Ülkemizde yaklaşık 1970’li yıllardan beri var olan Avrupa Dokümantasyon Merkezleri (EUi)’nin önemini vurgulayan bu çalışmada, Avrupa Dokümantasyon Merkezleri’nden biri olan İstanbul Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Avrupa Hukuku Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi tanıtılmakta ve EUi statüsü gereği yapmakta olduğu faaliyetler ve Merkez Kütüphanesinin koleksiyonu ve kullanıcılara sunduğu hizmetler hakkında bilgiler verilmektedir.

Documentation of the European Union in 2001

In June the long-awaited publication of the Commission’s communication on information and communication strategy was published (Commission, 2001) and a regulation on access to documents (European Parliament and Council of the European Union, 2001) came into force. We noted last year that the Commission’s policy document on information and communication, which was to have been produced by President Prodi and Commissioner Reding by the end of 2000, had not yet appeared. The delay arose partly from the transfer of responsibilities for information policy from Reding’s Education and Culture DG to the Press and Communication DG. In March the European Parliament debated its own information and communication document, ‘noting with concern that the reallocation of responsibilities in the field of information policy is considerably delaying the adoption of decisions in this area’ and calling on the Commission to ‘adopt as rapidly as possible the communication on information strategy and to submit it to the Council and to the European Parliament’ (European Parliament, 2001). The resolution also called for better co-ordination between institutions in the field of information policy and proposed information campaigns targeted towards the general public and focused on key themes such as enlargement. Decentralization of EU information provision was another key theme of the Commission document. This would appear to be firmly in line with the trend in recent years, particularly in the UK where the Commission’s national representation has worked hard to establish a network of EU information providers. The role of the official networks, or ‘relays’, is acknowledged in the Commission communication, though European Documentation Centres (EDCs) are described in a separate section

The pattern of provision of European Union information in France and the United Kingdom: a comparative study of services

Compares the selective European information services in France and the UK, stating that whereas France gathers information from official documentation and its representations in the EC in Paris and Marseille, the UK got its European information from three surveys, including two degree surveys. Maintains that French academic librarians are Civil Servants employed by central government and have limited access to European Documentation Centres (EDC), unlike their British counterparts whose libraries, over hundreds of years, have evolved into a self‐governing institution, much better funded and able to provide information at local authority level where European responsibility has been significantly added to since the signing of the Single European Act in 1986.

European Documentation Centres: The development of a UK information relay

This paper traces the development of European Documentation Centres (EDCs) in the United Kingdom (UK). EDCs exist to serve the higher education sector with European Union information, and date back about a quarter of a century. Yet, until 1995 a basic document outlining what services EDCs were to provide, and to whom they were to provide it was unavailable. As the European information world streamlines itself for the challenges of the millenium, the UK EDCs take their place alongside other EU information providers as part of the rapidly evolving network of information relays.

Business information in Western Europe and the EU

Gives an overview of the European Commission and its directives, including its production of services designed to meet the needs of managers in information retrieval. Assesses its online and hard copy services, the network of European Information Centres and European Documentation Centres. Details sources of European information including business practices, trade associations, company information, legislation, market information.

LIBRARIES AND 1992

The implications of the Single European Market for libraries and information services are considered with some examples of what is being done. After a general introduction to 1992, the Plan of Action for Libraries in the EC is considered and the library implications of the five Action Lines. The roles of European Documentation Centres, EC Depository Libraries, European Reference Centres; Euro Information Centres and online databases are considered, together with developments in co‐operation and also the human implications.

European Documentation Centres: Their role in EC information provision, with particular reference to the United Kingdom

European Documentation Centres (EDCs) were set up by the European Communities (EC) to facilitate the study of the EC and the European integration process in institutions of higher education. The use made of these large and rapidly expanding collections has been variable, but many EDC librarians have built up an expertise in EC documentation and have made considerable efforts to facilitate the use of these valuable centres of information by users. In the United Kingdom (U.K.) EDC librarians came together to form the Association of EDC Librarians in 1981. The Association has been active in promoting knowledge about EC documentation to its members and others interested in EC information. The association has also been instrumental in some of the improvements in the organisation of the EDC network and in EC documentation generally that has taken place in the 1980s. There has recently been considerable uncertainty amongst EDC librarians in the United Kingdom and other countries about their role in overall EC information provision. The European Commission has attempted to rationalise the EDC network by introducing a new selective distribution system in order to cut costs. This will seriously undermine efforts by EDC librarians to fully exploit their collections and to promote EC information services to a wider community than those in the academic institutions in which they are based. Can, or should, EDCs be seen as an integral part of EC information policy working in close cooperation with the institutions and the Press and Information Offices to promote Europe? If all, or some, EDCs are to carry out this function, there are implications in terms of finance (staffing, additional resources in equipment, and material) and attitudes (the Commission has to clarify its position towards EDCs, and librarians/documentalists have to move beyond being custodians of EC documentation to becoming experts in the information contained within the documentation). The involvement of EDCs in the Euro Info Centre (EIC) initiative provides one way forward.

The European community depository library system in North America

This article describes the history and nature of the European Community's (EC) system of depository libraries after first briefly outlining the structure of the EC itself and the character of its publications and documents. The focus of the article is the EC's Depository Libraries, European Documentation Centres and European Reference Centres in North America. In order to develop a group picture of these depositories, the author sent to each European Community depository in the United States and Canada a 24-question survey in March of 1985. The questions were designed to allow the depositories to present as much information as they desired about the way in which they handle EC publications, about their problems and about changes they would like to have instituted in the EC depository system. Among the most important of the findings is that most depositories in North America believe they need more information about EC publications and their roles and that they would like to participate in conferences and associations designed to assist them. A suggestion is made regarding the most effective way in which EC depositories in North America could organize for self-help.

Information retrieval from European documentation centres: Report of a seminar held at the Centre for European Agricultural Studies, Wye College, University of London, 2–4 July 1980.

Information retrieval from European documentation centres: Report of a seminar held at the Centre for European Agricultural Studies, Wye College, University of London, 2–4 July 1980.

European documentation centres in the United Kingdom

The article assesses the attitude of the Commission of the European Economic Community to the European Documentation Centres. It also highlights factors relating to the Centres' acquisition and organization of materials.

The Legislative Documentation of the European Communities

The entry of the United Kingdom into the European Communities has introduced to this country a novel method of making law, centred not upon Parliament but upon those Com munity institutions invested with legislative powers by the founding treaties. Despite the fact that the United Kingdom has now been a member of the European Communities for over a year, few people are familiar with this law-making process and with the considerable amount of associated documentation. This paper seeks to describe the various stages through which legislative proposals proceed before they acquire the force of Community law, and gives particular attention to the categories of documentation which emanate from this pro cedure. Many of the titles mentioned may be consulted in those academic libraries designated as European Documentation Centres by the European Communities.1