The Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) is a consortium of

research libraries A research library is a library that contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects.(Young, 1983; p. 188) A research library will generally include an in-depth selection of materials on a particular topic or set of top ...

, primarily in Europe, that facilitates access to historians with an interest in the history of the book by providing online resources. The organisation also makes grants to librarians, holds seminars and workshops, and since 1998 has published a periodical called ''CERL Papers''. It was founded in 1992 and since 2021 has been registered in the Republic of Ireland as a

company limited by guarantee A company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of company where the liability of members in the event the company is wound up is limited to a (typically very small) amount listed in the company's articles or constitution. Most have no share ca ...

, based in Dublin.

Organisation

The Consortium of European Research Libraries is governed by a

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

and a

management team Senior management, executive management, or upper management is an occupation at the highest level of management of an organization, performed by individuals who have the day-to-day tasks of managing the organization, sometimes a company or a cor ...

. The chair is Claudia Fabian, formerly of the

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

, who was appointed in 2023 to succeed Kristian Jensen, former head of collections at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

. Its annual general meeting is usually held in October or November.

Member institutions

the consortium has 267 members, primarily in Europe, but also in the US and in Central and South America. Of these, single members (full fee) and special members (who pay a reduced fee) have one vote at the annual general meeting; groups of not more than 16 libraries share one vote; and cluster members associated with a single member may not vote.

Online resources

Heritage of the Printed Book Database

The Heritage of the Printed Book Database, formerly the Hand Press Book Database, contained over 6 million entries for books printed during the hand press era, from the introduction of printing technology to Europe in around 1455 to around 1830, with descriptions facilitating comparison of variant versions. Over 22 institutions have contributed entries, which are primarily based on examination of the item rather than on retroconversion of earlier bibliographic entries. The database is continuously updated, primarily by member institutions. Access to the HPB database is free.

Material Evidence in Incunabula

Material Evidence in Incunabula is a database of 15th-century printed works (

incunabula An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside (printing), broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentiall ...

) that draws on the

Incunabula Short Title Catalogue The Incunabula Short Title Catalogue (ISTC) is an electronic bibliographic database maintained by the British Library which seeks to catalogue all known incunabula. The database lists books by individual editions, recording standard bibliograp ...

of the

and combines them with data about individual copies. Its development was initially funded by the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

. Access to the MEI database is free.

CERL Thesaurus

The CERL Thesaurus, managed by the Data Conversion Group in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

, indexes locations, printers, publishers and authors for works printed between c. 1450 and 1850, and thus serves in association with the

Integrated Authority File The (translated as ''Integrated Authority File'') or GND is an international authority file for the organisation of personal names, subject headings and corporate bodies from catalogues. It is used mainly for documentation in libraries and ...

to cross-reference variant names in printings and catalogues. It is automatically updated with the Material Evidence in Incunabula database and offers links to information on provenance provided by CERL member institutions, reflecting now dispersed collections, and also includes digitised material such as images of

printer's mark A printer's mark, Heraldic badge, device, emblem or insignia is a symbol that was used as a trademark by early Printer (publishing), printers starting in the 15th century. The first printer's mark is found in the 1457 Mainz Psalter by Johann Fust ...

s collected by Vindel, Ronald McKerrow and Philippe Renouard and of

watermark A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations i ...

s. Access to the thesaurus is free.

CERL Portal

The CERL Portal was developed by the Electronic Publishing Centre of the

Uppsala University Library The Uppsala University Library () at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, consists of 11 subject libraries, one of which is housed in the old main library building, Carolina Rediviva. The library holds books and periodicals, manuscripts, music ...

after the completion of the CERL Manuscripts Project. It permitted combined searches of both

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s and printed books, in manuscript databases, the HPB and additional relevant online databases such as the

English Short-Title Catalogue The English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) is a union short-title catalogue of works published between 1473 and 1800, in Britain and its former colonies, notably those in North America, and primarily in English, drawing on the collections of t ...

and photograph databases. It was discontinued in 2020.

References

Sources

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External links

Official website

HPB database

CERL Thesaurus

Material Evidence in Incunabula
{{authority control Bibliographic database providers College and university associations and consortia in Europe Education in the London Borough of Islington International organisations based in London Libraries in Europe Organisations based in the London Borough of Islington Organizations established in 1992