Consortium of European Research Libraries
The Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) is a consortium of research libraries, primarily in Europe, that facilitates access to historians with an interest in the history of the book by providing online resources including the Heritage of the Printed Book Database (HPB), the CERL Thesaurus and the CERL Portal. The organisation also holds seminars and workshops and since 1998 has published a periodical called CERL Papers. It was founded in 1992 and since 1994 has been registered in the United Kingdom as a company limited by guarantee, based in London.[1] Its annual general meeting is usually held in November. It is governed by a board of directors and a management team.[2] The chairman was Elmar Mittler, a German emeritus professor of library science, until November 2011 when he was succeeded by Ulf Göranson, former chief librarian at the University of Uppsala.
Heritage of the Printed Book Database
The Heritage of the Printed Book Database, formerly the Hand Press Book Database, as of February 2014 contained almost 5 million entries for books printed during the hand press era, from the introduction of printing technology to Europe around 1450 to the mid-19th century, with descriptions facilitating comparison of variant versions. At that time 41 institutions had contributed entries, which are primarily based on examination of the item rather than on retroconversion of earlier bibliographic entries. The database is continuously updated, primarily by member institutions.[2][3]
The HPB database was hosted by the US-based OCLC from September 2007 until 2013, and uses OCLC's FirstSearch and Connexion software. Since September 2013 it has been hosted by the German Gemeinsamer Bibliotheksverbund. Access is limited to CERL member institutions and licencees.
CERL Thesaurus
The CERL Thesaurus, managed by the Data Conversion Group in Göttingen, indexes locations, printers, publishers and authors for works printed between c. 1450 and 1850, and thus serves in association with the Integrated Authority File to cross-reference variant names in printings and catalogues.[2] It is automatically updated with the Material Evidence in Incunabula database and offers links to information on provenance provided by CERL member institutions, reflecting now dispersed collections, and also includes digitised material such as images of printer's marks[4] collected by Vindel, Ronald McKerrow and Philippe Renouard and of watermarks.[2] Access to the thesaurus is free.
CERL Portal
The CERL Portal was developed by the Electronic Publishing Centre of the Uppsala University Library after the completion of the CERL Manuscripts Project. It permits combined searches of both manuscripts and printed books, in manuscript databases, the HPB and additional relevant online databases such as the English Short-Title Catalogue and photograph databases.[2][5] Access to the portal is free.
Material Evidence in Incunabula
Material Evidence in Incunabula is a database of 15th-century printed works (incunabula) that draws on the Incunabula Short Title Catalogue of the British Library and combines them with data about individual copies. Its development was initially funded by the British Academy.[2][6] Access to the database is free.
Member institutions
As of September 2016 the consortium has 272 members, primarily in Europe but also in Central and South America and the US.[7] Of these, single members (full fee) and special members (who pay a reduced fee) have one vote at the annual general meeting; groups of not more than 16 libraries share one vote; and cluster members associated with a single member may not vote.[2]
References
- ↑ "About CERL". Consortium of European Research Libraries. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Versprille, Ingeborg; Lefferts, Marian; Dondi, Cristina (2014). "The Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL): twenty years of promoting Europe's cultural heritage in print and manuscript". Zeitschrift für Bibliothekskultur. University of Basel. 2 (1: Konsortien & Konsorten): 30–40. doi:10.12685/027.7-2-1-50. ISSN 2296-0597.
- ↑ "Heritage of the Printed Book Database (HPB)". Consortium of European Research Libraries. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ↑ "CERL Thesaurus". Consortium of European Research Libraries. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ↑ "CERL Portal". Consortium of European Research Libraries. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ↑ "Material Evidence in Incunabula". Consortium of European Research Libraries. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ↑ "List of Members". Consortium of European Research Libraries. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
Sources
- Estermann, Monika (1997). "Auf dem Weg zu einem europäischen Gesamtkatalog: Zur Tagung des Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) in München". Buchhandelsgeschichte (in German). Historischee Kommission des Börsenvereins des Deutschen Buchhandels. 1997/4: 197–99.
- Fabian, Claudia (1991). "Altbestandskatalogisierung als Gemeinschaftsaufgabe Europas: Bericht über die International Conference on Retrospective Cataloguing in Europe, 15th to 19th century materials, vom 28. bis 30. November 1990 in München". Zeitschrift für Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographie (in German). 38: 227–35.
- Fabian, Claudia (1992). "Die Gründung der Eurodatenbank für Altbestandskatalogisierung in Europa: Bericht über die zweite International Conference on Retrospective Cataloguing in Europe, 15th to 19th century printed materials, vom 29. bis 30. Januar 1992 in München". Zeitschrift für Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographie (in German). 39: 207–16.
- Fabian, Claudia (1994). "Das Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) und die Gründung einer Datenbank für frühe europäische Drucke (1450–1830)". Zeitschrift für Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographie (in German). 41: 11–17.
- Fabian, Claudia (1997). "Die 'Hand Press Book Database' des Consortium of European Research Libraries". In Wefers, Sabine. Von Gutenberg zum Internet: 7. Deutscher Bibliothekskongress, 87. Deutscher Bibliothekartag in Dortmund 1997. Zeitschrift für Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographie Sonderhefte (in German). 68. Frankfurt: Klostermann. pp. 61–69. ISBN 9783465029618.