It has become customary, for quite some time now, to celebrate the annual book day on the day when world-renowned authors Cervantes, Shakespeare and the Peruvian Garcilaso de la Vega all died in the same year. Originally a Catalonian tradition, it was taken up by UNESCO, linking it with copyright issues, and adopted internationally.

Literature and language already provide an interesting and complex subject of study. The European Union’s multilingualism as a political bloc, with 23 official languages, presents a unique situation. All 27 member states bring with them a rich history recorded and stored, particularly within their national libraries. The effort to unite all the peoples of Europe has not gone amiss in this aspect.

Two years ago, the European Library was launched as an online service. Hosted by the National Library of The Netherlands and manned by a small complement of staff from various European countries, the project creates the possibility to access the resources of 23 national libraries, all of these coming from member states of the European Union. There are actually 47 different participants, which also include the Vatican City, Russia and other eastern countries.

The virtual collection holds quite a range of library material – book references, maps, audio-visual media and of course, books. Coins, along with other artefacts, are also on display. The system provides some interesting collections and a cursory look at the treasures held, now more readily available, should be an eye-opener to the casual browser.

The material present does not consist of showcase items only – more mundane items are also available. As would be expected of any other tangible collection, its virtual counterpart is constantly on the increase as each participant gathers more material and makes it available in digital format.

The researcher might still not be regaled with all the material being available online, given that this is an ongoing project – as is probably the case with most libraries, one must say. However, a simple search provides access to a number of collections at once and the possibility of identifying the physical location of a particular document even if this is not digitally present.

The National Library of Malta is one of the full partners in this project. Its participation was assisted by European funding from the sixth research framework programme (FP6), through a project called TEL-ME-MOR that sought to support the national libraries of the 10 member states that formed part of the “big bang” enlargement in 2004.

A manuscript completed in 1426 and held at the National Library is one of the more highlighted possessions found in this European collection. One may also view documents such as a royal letter disseminating the Magna Carta, manuscripts dating from the fourth century, parts of Galileo’s collection and much more.

Books and libraries are closely associated, even though the relationship is not exclusive. The European Library project, which is expected to also include museums, archives and other organisations possessing cultural material, may not be on the minds of those celebrating World Book Day. Yet, it is greatly contributing to preserving the rich heritage accumulated along the centuries in this part of the world, making it accessible to most and providing a platform to share the continuously increasing nationally-held resources. It may be accessed through www.theeuropeanlibrary.org.

Julian Micallef is a Consultation Coordinator at Forum Malta fl-Ewropa