PROVENANCE RESEARCH AND THE CONSORTIUM OF EUROPEAN RESEARCH LIBRARIES

Abstract

The Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) is a membership organization which started in 1994 after the initiative of research libraries in many European countries. It is formed primarily by Library and Information professionals, which work to provide relevant data and offer meaning and context from their distributed collections. The focus of CERL is on manuscripts and printed books produced before the middle of the 19th century; it is committed on curating data sustainably, creating connections where possible and providing convenient access to data. Among its main resources are The Heritage of the Printed Book Database, the CERL Thesaurus, the Incunabula Short Title Catalogue, Material Evidence in Incunabula, the CERL Provenance Digital Archive, and much more. CERL creates digital resources of its own and offers a structured framework within which member institutions can deliver digital services, which they may not be able to deliver or sustain themselves. All these digital databases provide methods which can help the provenance research flourish, by bringing together collections, institutions, and other trivial information concerning early printed books and documents. Throughout this shared experience and collaboration, CERL can establish how collections reflect an illustration on how European history is inextricably interconnected intellectually, commercially, and politically.