*******apologies for cross-posting*******

PRESS RELEASE 

EARL Council Meeting - 7th June 2000 Geological Society, London
The Big Issue: Public Library Networking and the wider cultural domain.

New Library: The People's Network, A Netful of Jewels and Archives on-line (1)
have firmly established the importance of electronic networks within 
museums, archives and public libraries. Similarly, JANET, the Joint 
Academic Network is fundamental for higher education. With the recent 
launch of Resource: The Council for Archives, Museums and Libraries 
(http://www.resource.gov.uk/) there will now be an agency to tap into the 
potential for collaboration between the sectors.(2)  It is within this 
environment that EARL: The Consortium for Public Library Networking 
(http://www.earl.org.uk) presented their Council Event 2000 The Big Issue: 
Public Library Networking and the wider cultural domain.

Almost 80 people, from higher education, museums, archives and commercial 
organisations formed the cross-domain delegation. The speakers came from a 
wide variety of sectors: Lorcan Dempsey, recently appointed Programme 
Director for the Distributed National Electronic Resource (DNER) emphasised 
the importance of a strategic approach when developing networked services. 
Interoperability, preservation and sustainability were among the issues 
highlighted for consideration. Roland Jackson, Head of Education and 
Programmes at the Science Museum, presented the innovative digital 
resources that are available in museums around the globe, stressing the 
importance of interaction and participation in the learning environment. 
Nicholas Kingsley, Vice-Chairman of the National Council on Archives 
explained that due to the vast amount of archival content, the choice of 
which resources to digitise is a fundamental issue for archivists.

The afternoon programme was opened by Bernard Naylor, Librarian at the 
University of Southampton, who stressed the necessity of wider community 
access within academic libraries.  Although libraries are making a 
contribution to social inclusion there is more that could be done. Patrick 
Conway, Director of Arts, Libraries and Museums for Durham County Council, 
illustrated the strong regional identity of the North East emphasising the 
important role of regions in issues of cross-sectoral networking. Peter 
Waller, Director of Regional Networking (Surrey) examined the development 
of national networks from single connections to regional networks.  He 
suggested that it is important to understand why cross-sectoral 
collaboration is being considered.

Full presentations from this event are accessible by EARL Partners on the 
EARL website at: http://www.earl.org.uk/events/presentations/index.html  If 
you do not have a user name and password or are not an EARL Partner, please 
do not hesitate to contact Sally Chambers, EARL Liaison Officer for further 
details. (contact details below)

Notes to editors

EARL: The Consortium for Public Library Networking, was established in 1995 
to develop the role of public libraries in providing library and 
information services over the network. EARL has over 160 Local Authority 
Partners which equates to 75% of all Local Authorities in the UK, in 
addition to over 20 Strategic Partners in government, the information 
profession, higher education, and the commercial sector. Through 
collaboration, EARL aims to demonstrate and extend the ability of public 
libraries to deliver networked information and knowledge-based services. 
These are developed primarily through EARL's Task Groups working on new 
ways to deliver shared services over the network, and also EARL's programme 
of workshops and seminars.

If you would like to take find out more information about the EARL 
Consortium, or are considering in becoming a partner, please contact Sally 
Chambers, EARL Liaison Officer at:  EARL, 4th Floor, Gun Court, 70 Wapping 
Lane, London E1W 2RS; tel. (020) 7702 2020 or by e-mail at [log in to unmask]

 (1)Building the New Library Network http://www.lic.gov.uk/publications/policyreports/building/index.html 
A Netful of Jewels: New Museums in the Learning Age 
http://www.s-keene.dircon.co.uk/netful/netful.html.
Archives on-line: the establishment of a United Kingdom archival network http://nca.archives.org.uk/ONLINE01.HTM

(2) http://www.resource.gov.uk


Sally Chambers
EARL Liaison Officer 
4th Floor, Gun Court 
70 Wapping Lane 
London E1W 2RS 
Tel: 020 7702 2020 
Fax: 020 7702 2019 
[log in to unmask] 
http://www.earl.org.uk 


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