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Digital Libraries Initiative Homepage :: High Level Expert Group :: Meetings
HLEG meetings
5th meeting - 4 June 2008
The HLEG adopted a Final Report on Digital Preservation, Orphan Works and Out-of-Print Works,
and a Final Report on Public Private Partnerships (PPP) which includes a set of recommendations
for PPPs. The HLEG also reviewed ongoing areas of cooperation on scientific information and
recent developments in Europe and the US on access to scientific publications.
• Read the full press release
• Final report on Digital Preservation, Orphan Works and Out-of-Print Works and annexes 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7
• Final report on Public Private Partnerships
A Memorandum of Understanding on orphan works was signed by representatives of libraries,
archives, audiovisual archives and right-holders in the presence of Commissioner Viviane Reding. It
will help cultural institutions to digitise books, films and music whose authors are unknown,
making them available to the public online.
• Memorandum of Understanding on orphan works
• Sector-specific guidelines on diligence search criteria for orphan works - Joint Report
• Appendix to the Joint Report - Sector Reports
Minutes of the 5th HLEG meeting
4th meeting - 27 November 2007
The members of the group and Commission officials discussed progress towards launching the
European digital library.
The Sub-group on PPP, chaired by Ms Lynne Brindley (Chief Executive of the British Library),
presented the draft report on Public Private Partnerships (PPP). The interim report represents a
first piece of advice on how best to promote and to make use of public-private cooperation and
private sponsorship for the digitisation of Europe's cultural heritage. The HLEG was asked to
identify the opportunities and conditions under which PPP become success stories for all involved
parties: private actors, public authorities and citizens.
Annexes to the draft report:
• Annex 2.1 - Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes
• Annex 2.2 - Bibliothèque nationale de France – French publishers partnership
• Annex 2.3 - British Library – Thomson Gale Partnership around Historical Newspapers
• Annex 2.44 - University of Michigan - Google
• Annex 2.5 - The case of Broadcast and Audiovisual Archives: Ina’s experience
• Annex 2.6 - The Canada Project: Library and Archives Canada
• Annex 2.7 - Open Content Alliance
The HLEG also endorsed a report on access and preservation of digital research data, presented by
the subgroup on the scientific information.
A European digital library foundation has been created which formalises the agreement of European
archives, museums, audiovisual archives and libraries to work together and to provide a common

2. access point to Europe's cultural heritage online. On the cocktail party after the meeting Ms
Elisabeth Niggemann, Director General of the German national library and chair of the Conference
of European National Librarians, handed over a Statute of the foundation to Mr Rudolf Strohmeier,
Head of Ms Reding's Cabinet.
• Full press release
• FAQ
Minutes of the 4th HLEG meeting
3rd meeting - 18 April 2007
The group endorsed and presented to the European Commission an advisory report on copyright
issues, prepared by its copyright subgroup. Furthermore, the group discussed how to ensure more
open access to scientific research and how to improve public-private collaboration in the digital
libraries' area.
• Full press release
• Report on Digital Preservation, Orphan Works and Out-of-Print Works, Selected
Implementation Issues (DE EN FR IT - translation by Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico
- ICCU Roma; published in "DigItalia - Rivista del digitale nei beni culturali, n. 1, June
2007, p. 145-156")
• Model agreement for a licence on digitisation of out of print works (DE EN ES FR IT NL
PL RO)
• Minutes: EN FR DE
Interim report - 17 October 2006
Interim report presented by the Copyright Subgroup to the High Level Expert Group on Digital
Libraries. The report covers three specific issues: orphan works, out of print works and digital
preservation.
The report proposes a series of concrete measures to be implemented by or with the direct
involvement of the stakeholders (mainly publishers, libraries, archives, collecting societies, Member
States). These measures constitute an important step forward for facilitating the digitisation, online
accessibility and digital preservation of cultural material, along the lines of the recently adopted
Commission Recommendation.
2nd meeting - 17 October 2006
Ms Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and Media, chaired the meeting. She
opened it by presenting a status report of the i2010 digital libraries initiative. Intellectual property
rights (copyright issues), scientific and scholarly information and technology issues were also on
the agenda of today's meeting.
• Minutes: EN FR DE
1st meeting - 27 March 2006
The High Level Expert Group met for the first time in Brussels.
• Minutes: EN DE FR
• Read a press release published on the Europa Website.

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