European Association for Grey Literature Exploitation
Encyclopedia
The “European Association for Grey Literature Exploitation” (EAGLE) was created in 1985 by European scientific and technical information centres and libraries in order to produce the bibliographic database
“System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe” (SIGLE
).
The objective was to improve information transfer, ensure availability of research results and increase international awareness of European grey literature by making the bibliographic records as widely available as possible.
The role of the members was to identify and collect documents, to prepare associated bibliographic and subject descriptions, to provide information services and products to users, and to archive and deliver copies of the grey literature documents.
EAGLE was created as a non-profit making association registered in Luxembourg. In the beginning, membership was limited to the member countries of the European Union
(former European Community) but this limitation was abolished in 1995. In the end, 15 countries participated actively, and discussions on partnership were going on with other potential members, especially in East European and North African countries.
The economic model of the association was based on initial funding by the European Commission and from 1985 onwards was based on membership fees and royalties from servers and products (CD-ROM, records). The SIGLE database was distributed by BLAISE, STN, EI and Ovid Technologies
(Silverplatter) and in the early nineties by SUNIST in France. Records were also sold to vendor organizations like NERAC
for specific use.
Costs were generated by the management of the association and mainly by the operating agent, whose task was to merge the national files into a unique server file every month.
EAGLE members were aware of these challenges and discussed possible options and solutions from 2002 on. Nevertheless, the organisational structure and the non-sustainable business model of the non-profit making and low budget association did not allow necessary strategy decisions. It also became obvious then that no institutional member would invest more than its membership fee and that another funding from the EU would be unlikely.
After satisfaction of claims the remaining funds were distributed on equal parts amongst the members, taking into account the current memberships and the payment of the membership fees during the last years.
The contracts with STN, EI, NERAC and Ovid (SilverPlatter) were cancelled. The EAGLE website hosted by the Dutch Royal Library was deleted.
All usage rights of the SIGLE database lapsed upon complete liquidation of the association while the copyright on input remained with each member who supplied the records. Nevertheless, the General Assembly asked the operating agent, the FIZ Karlsruhe, for interim conservation of the SIGLE records in XML format beyond the liquidation of SIGLE, for the purpose of archiving and integration into a new open access European non-profit project (OpenSIGLE
). Nearly all of the former EAGLE members signed a declaration of intention regarding this future use of their existing input of the SIGLE database.
The complete liquidation of EAGLE was published by the Luxemburg Register of Commerce and Societies at August 23, 2006.
Bibliographic database
A bibliographic database is a database of bibliographic records, an organized digital collection of references to published literature, including journal and newspaper articles, conference proceedings, reports, government and legal publications, patents, books, etc...
“System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe” (SIGLE
Siglé
Siglé is a town in the Siglé Department of Boulkiemdé Province in central western Burkina Faso. It is the capital of Siglé Department and has a population of 2224.-External links:*...
).
The objective was to improve information transfer, ensure availability of research results and increase international awareness of European grey literature by making the bibliographic records as widely available as possible.
The role of the members was to identify and collect documents, to prepare associated bibliographic and subject descriptions, to provide information services and products to users, and to archive and deliver copies of the grey literature documents.
EAGLE history and economic model
From 1980 to 1985, SIGLE was funded by the Commission of the European Communities (CEC). When CEC financial support ended in 1985, the national centres formed a network for the acquisition, identification and dissemination of grey literature called EAGLE, who became the producer of the SIGLE database.EAGLE was created as a non-profit making association registered in Luxembourg. In the beginning, membership was limited to the member countries of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(former European Community) but this limitation was abolished in 1995. In the end, 15 countries participated actively, and discussions on partnership were going on with other potential members, especially in East European and North African countries.
The economic model of the association was based on initial funding by the European Commission and from 1985 onwards was based on membership fees and royalties from servers and products (CD-ROM, records). The SIGLE database was distributed by BLAISE, STN, EI and Ovid Technologies
Ovid Technologies
Ovid Technologies, Inc. , part of the Wolters Kluwer group of companies, provides access to online bibliographic databases, journals and other products, chiefly in the area of health sciences...
(Silverplatter) and in the early nineties by SUNIST in France. Records were also sold to vendor organizations like NERAC
NERAC
Nerac, Inc. is a research and advisory firm for companies developing innovative products and technologies. Nerac is located in Tolland, Connecticut, USA....
for specific use.
Costs were generated by the management of the association and mainly by the operating agent, whose task was to merge the national files into a unique server file every month.
EAGLE members
- CEC (European CommissionEuropean CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
) - Belgium (Leuven University Library)
- Czech Republic (National Technical Library NTK)
- Denmark (Royal Danish Library)
- France (INISTINISTThe INIST is the CNRS centre of documentation. It has as mission to collect, treat and diffuse results of scientific and technical research. The INIST produces three bibliographic multilingual and multidisciplinary databases: PASCAL, FRANCIS, and DOGE. It is based at Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, in a...
-CNRS) - Germany (TIB Hannover)
- Hungary (Central Library of the Budapest Technical UniversityBudapest University of Technology and EconomicsThe Budapest University of Technology and Economics , in hungarian abbreviated as BME, English official abbreviation BUTE, is the most significant University of Technology in Hungary and is also one of the oldest Institutes of Technology in the world, having been founded in 1782.-History:BME is...
) - Italy (Consiglio Nazionale delle RicercheConsiglio Nazionale delle RicercheThe Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche or National Research Council, is an Italian public organization set up to support scientific and technological research. Its headquarters are in Rome.-History:The institution was founded in 1923...
Biblioteca Centrale) - Latvia (Latvian Academic Library)
- Luxemburg (Bibliothèque Nationale)
- Netherlands (National Library of the Netherlands)
- Portugal (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia)
- Russian Federation (VNTIC)
- Slovakia (Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information)
- Spain (Centro de Informacion y Documentacion Cientifica)
- United Kingdom (The British Library)
The EAGLE management
- General Assembly: Composed of the CEC and all participating countries.
- Executive Board: Composed of president, executive director, two vice-presidents and the TC chair.
- Technical Committee (TC): Composed of member delegates, TC chair, DPC.
- Executive Director
- Auditor
- Treasurer
- EAGLE Secretariat
- Data Processing Centre (DPC)
EAGLE presidents
- David Wood (United Kingdom)
- Andrew Smith (United Kingdom)
- Joachim Schöpfel (France) 2005-2006
- Rob Wessels (Netherlands) - Executive Director
Data processing centres
- Informalux (Luxembourg) -1992
- Italsiel/Finsiel (Italy) 1992-1996
- FIZ Karlsruhe (Germany) 1997-2005
Decline and liquidation of EAGLE
The decline of the EAGLE concept twenty years after its creation had four reasons:- InternetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
: The 1985 concept of the SIGLESigléSiglé is a town in the Siglé Department of Boulkiemdé Province in central western Burkina Faso. It is the capital of Siglé Department and has a population of 2224.-External links:*...
database has not been able to keep up with the rapid development with the Internet and the online resources. Even if FIZ Karlsruhe developed a web-version of SIGLE, the database production didn’t adjust to the possibilities offered by the new technologies of information:- No direct online cataloguing in a shared bibliographic databaseBibliographic databaseA bibliographic database is a database of bibliographic records, an organized digital collection of references to published literature, including journal and newspaper articles, conference proceedings, reports, government and legal publications, patents, books, etc...
. - No metadataMetadataThe term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
harvesting. - Very few records of e-documents.
- Few direct access to full text.
- Few links to other resources.
- No direct online cataloguing in a shared bibliographic database
- Organisational structure: The EAGLE structure (national input centres, a central operating agent) was unable to open the network easily to new and/or important producers of grey literature. Furthermore, it was not adapted to the need of flexible and rapid decision taking and marketing.
- Coverage: For most of the EAGLE countries, the national input became less and less representative. Often, even for the national input centres input criteria and workload excluded a significant part of their grey collections (dissertations, reports, conference proceedings).
- Economic model: The EAGLE model was based on flat membership fees and revenues from servers. Access to the database remained “traditional” with an annual subscription to the host or else a pay-per-view for each record with a credit card. This business model was not sustainable. With important members retiring from input and membership and the success of open access based initiatives, the economic model came to an end and needed revision. Investment for the development of the database was not provided.
EAGLE members were aware of these challenges and discussed possible options and solutions from 2002 on. Nevertheless, the organisational structure and the non-sustainable business model of the non-profit making and low budget association did not allow necessary strategy decisions. It also became obvious then that no institutional member would invest more than its membership fee and that another funding from the EU would be unlikely.
Liquidation of EAGLE
In the face of this situation, the 2005 General Assembly from March 14, 2005, held at Karlsruhe, Germany, resolved unanimously to liquidate the association. The President (Joachim Schöpfel, INIST-CNRS) and the Vice-President (Silke Rehme, FIZ Karlsruhe) were appointed as liquidators.After satisfaction of claims the remaining funds were distributed on equal parts amongst the members, taking into account the current memberships and the payment of the membership fees during the last years.
The contracts with STN, EI, NERAC and Ovid (SilverPlatter) were cancelled. The EAGLE website hosted by the Dutch Royal Library was deleted.
All usage rights of the SIGLE database lapsed upon complete liquidation of the association while the copyright on input remained with each member who supplied the records. Nevertheless, the General Assembly asked the operating agent, the FIZ Karlsruhe, for interim conservation of the SIGLE records in XML format beyond the liquidation of SIGLE, for the purpose of archiving and integration into a new open access European non-profit project (OpenSIGLE
OpenSIGLE
The OpenSIGLE repository provides open access to the bibliographic records of the former SIGLE database. The creation of the OpenSIGLE archive was decided by some major European STI centres, members of the former European network EAGLE for the collection and dissemination of grey literature...
). Nearly all of the former EAGLE members signed a declaration of intention regarding this future use of their existing input of the SIGLE database.
The complete liquidation of EAGLE was published by the Luxemburg Register of Commerce and Societies at August 23, 2006.
See also
- SIGLESigléSiglé is a town in the Siglé Department of Boulkiemdé Province in central western Burkina Faso. It is the capital of Siglé Department and has a population of 2224.-External links:*...
- OpenSIGLEOpenSIGLEThe OpenSIGLE repository provides open access to the bibliographic records of the former SIGLE database. The creation of the OpenSIGLE archive was decided by some major European STI centres, members of the former European network EAGLE for the collection and dissemination of grey literature...
- Scientific literatureScientific literatureScientific literature comprises scientific publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in the natural and social sciences, and within a scientific field is often abbreviated as the literature. Academic publishing is the process of placing the results of one's research into the...
- Document delivery
- Grey Literature Network ServiceGrey Literature Network ServiceThe Grey Literature Network Service is a service to facilitate the production, distribution and access to grey literature. Grey literature is "information produced and distributed on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in electronic and print formats not controlled by...
- GLISC
External links
- INIST-CNRS http://www.inist.fr