Europeana, the EU's online library, museum and archive, requires content from a wider range of Member States, says the Culture and Education (CULT) Committee in a report that has been unanimously approved by the European Parliament. CULT also warns that whilst intellectual property rights must be respected, digitisation should not restrict access to Europe's public heritage.

Operational since November 2008, the Europeana project aims to make Europe's cultural and scientific heritage accessible to all. It currently offers 6 million digitised works online, including books, maps, film clips and photographs. It is hoped that this figure will rise to 15 million by 2015.

Although more than 1,000 cultural institutions already contribute to the archive, contributions from Member States are uneven. Almost half of all available digital books originate from France, whereas the UK and the Netherlands have each contributed only 8%. CULT is urging governments and cultural institutions to co-operate closely in speeding up digitisation, and to 'not restrict availability to certain territories'. CULT also urges them to provide more audiovisual content, 'paying special attention to those works which deteriorate easily'. 

The report recommends that Europeana should 'respect intellectual property rights', and endorses the Commission's intention to 'establish a simple and cost-efficient rights clearance system', working in close co-operation with all stakeholders involved. However, it is made clear that digitisation should not create new copyright, nor result in the privatisation or restriction of access to Europe's public heritage.

Finally, the report calls on the Commission to introduce a legislative proposal on the digitisation, preservation and dissemination of orphan works, so as to end uncertainty as to the laws regarding their online availability. 

This own-initiative report will be put to a plenary vote in April 2010.

For more information on this report, and Europeana, visit the website.