Update (Friday, October 16, 2009)
We’ve been told by an EU spokesperson that new content has now been loaded into the database. The search interface remains the same. More about “what” and “how much” has been added to the database in the articles linked below.
Database Overview:
You can access the database here (left column). Once, you get a feel for what’s available you can created direct links to various interfaces. For example, this link goes directly to the advanced search interface.
Three searching options:
+ By Words
+ Using Identifiers
+ Advanced Search
+ Advanced Search Options
+++ Select Fields to Search
+++ Theme
+++ Language
+++ Format
+++ Publication Year Range
+++ Target Audience
+++ Digital Archive (3 options)
+++ Price
+++ Select only Key Publications
You can also browse content several ways:
+ Just Published
+ Key Publications
+ By Theme
+ By Author
On both the regular and advanced interface make sure to select the “Digital Library” (Archive) box if you want to search the entire range of EU publications.
Also, the database does not allow for a full text search. You can search the publication title, abstract, and table of contents.
Finally, materials are often available in multiple formats. Printed documents are (fee-based) but all PDF’s are free.
While reviewing an article about the EU and digitisation, we came across a bit of info about a new database (free) going live this Friday. Their motto, “All the EU publications in one place.”
A new service is set to make the last sixty years of European history available free of charge in its digital EU bookshop. [Our emphasis] The European Commission’s Publications Office has scanned more than 110,000 EU publications including speeches, treaties and publications from the EU institutions, agencies and other bodies dating back to 1952. The initiative was borne out of a saturation of the Publications Office’s PDF-on-demand service wherein users could request publications to be retrieved from the archives and scanned as needed. Total PDF downloads jumped from just 65,000 in 2008 to an expected 230,000 per month for 2009.
More in this News Release from the Publications Office:
Scanning 12 million pages makes more than 110 000 EU publications available free of charge for download in the EU Bookshop Digital Library. It offers all publications ever edited by the Publications Office on behalf of the EU institutions, agencies and other bodies since 1952.
The EU Bookshop is a valuable information source for citizens, journalists, education professionals, students, librarians, publishers, and anybody interested in Europe, in 50 languages, including the possibility of ordering printed copies.
See Also: Official News Release (PDF)
See Also: Examples of what can be found in EU Bookshop (PDF)
See Also: Frequently Asked Questions about the Publications Office Digital Library and the EU Bookshop
Note: In the FAQ we learn that 5% of the documents are fee-based but that the PDF will always be free.
Access the EU Publications Office
Sources; EU Publications Office, EurActiv
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 and is filed under Government Documents and Political Information, History, Reference Tools, Resources, Search News.
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