The Key Role of the DELOS Network of Excellence in Establishing Digital Libraries as a Research Field in Europe

It was only in the mid-1990s that Digital Libraries became a research topic in Europe. The European Union was then instrumental in supporting and promoting the subject. One key element of that support was the establishment of the DELOS Network of Excellence. Its central role in the development of digital libraries in the period 1997-2007 in Europe and its contributions areoutlined in this paper.