CERL Hand Press Book Database to be hosted by OCLC

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA,  24 January 2007 —The Consortium of European Research Libraries has announced that OCLC Online Computer Library Center will host the CERL Hand Press Book Database, a collection of more than 2 million catalog records from libraries representing items of European printing from the 15th century through the 1830s, the hand-press period, integrated into one database.

The CERL Hand Press Book Database is a unique and steadily growing catalog of European printing in the early modern era—from c. 1455 to c. 1830.  The resource integrates descriptive records for European national, university and research library holdings.  It is especially valuable for research in intellectual history, social history, and transmission of thought—as well as in the history of printing and the history of the book.

The CERL Hand Press Book database is integrated, making it possible for information to be retrieved in one single search across all files.  The database is of particular interest to librarians and any one else with academic pursuits across many fields of study that use early printed books as source material.  It may be accessed for information retrieval and downloading by CERL member institutions, their staff and users via OCLC in mid-2007.  In addition, OCLC will offer search facilities for subscribers outside Europe via the OCLC FirstSearch service.

The CERL Hand Press Book Database had been hosted by RLG since 1994.  In July 2006, RLG combined with OCLC.

"The members of the Consortium of European Research Libraries wish to express their warm appreciation of the long and positive relationship that CERL has enjoyed with RLG and its staff over more than a decade, and they look forward to similarly fruitful and positive cooperation with OCLC and its staff in the coming times," said Elmar Mittler, CERL Chairman, and former Director of the Goettingen State and University Library.

"OCLC is honored to host this prestigious resource for worldwide scholarship," said Phyllis B. Spies, Vice President, OCLC Collection Management Services.  "We share CERL's commitment to growing this valuable database, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen the cooperative relationship RLG began more than a decade ago."

More information about CERL and the Hand Press Book database can be found at: http://www.cerl.org/index.htm. 

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Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit organization that has provided computer-based cataloging, reference, resource sharing, eContent and preservation services to 57,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories.  For more information, visit www.oclc.org.

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