Conference Convenors:
Dr Paolo D’Iorio
CNRS-ITEM

Dr Anne Simonin
CNRS-Maison Française d’Oxford

Dr Alexis Tadié
Maison Française d’Oxford

Introduction

A key element in the new research world has been the digitisation of library holdings, archives, research material, making it possible to access, search, and structure research material online.

However, while digitisation has become commonplace, and the research community enjoys its many benefits, there remains work to be done to ensure that it is done efficiently, in an internationally coordinated way. This is how it might most benefit scholarship and scholars.

This conference gathering international experts on digitisation plans to assess the achievements of the last 30 years, to examine successes alongside failures.

It also aims to look to the future by offering to issue a “Declaration from Oxford” — envisaged as the counterpart to the Berlin Declaration of 2003 (“Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities”). The new Declaration would focus on free access to primary sources, among other concerns.

The Europaeum, Maison Française d’Oxford, The Bodleian Library, and the Oxford Internet Institute has brought together librarians, technologists, academic researchers, archivists and policy makers, as well as representatives from partner universities in France, Germany, Italy, and the UK to discuss the following topics:

• Why should we digitalize the humanities?
  The aim of this session is to address the main aspects of the digital libraries and research infrastructures for the humanities. The nature of standards and techniques will be assessed as well as the variety of actors involved.

• What works? What doesn’t?
  The second day will be devoted to an analysis of a number of specific case studies. By focusing on precise experiences of digitization, a clearer picture of key questions will emerge. Contrasting successful, and less successful, attempts at digitization will provide fruitful ground for future plans.

• How to provide access?
  The last session should be devoted to the conditions of access of the digitized material. Such essential issues as the question of copyright, of funding of digitization projects, as well as national and transnational cooperation and harmonization should be addressed in this session.