Project description
Digital libraries and technology-enhanced learning
IMPACT will push innovation in OCR and language technologies for historical document processing and retrieval and build digitisation capacity in Europe
Text that is not digital is virtually invisible. Today's readers search the internet for electronically accessible texts rather than visit the reading room of a library. Born-digital and digitised contemporary materials contain the richness that allows tools such as text mining and the semantic web to offer superior accessibility but the story is very different for historic documents. A vital part of the European heritage, encompassing more than four centuries of historic books and bound periodicals is becoming less and less visible to the public at large.
With the i2010 vision of a European Digital Library, the EU has launched an ambitious plan for large scale digitisation projects transforming Europe's printed heritage into digitally available resources. However, lack of institutional knowledge and expertise slows down the pace with which this vision can be realised. The state of the art in OCR performance and machine understanding of the original document is inadequate, especially for historically important material with archaic fonts and spellings, newspapers with complex layouts, bound volumes, microfilm or typescript.
The IMPACT project will remove many of these barriers. The project will push innovation in OCR technology and language technology for historical document processing and retrieval, and share expertise to build capacity in digitisation across Europe. During the project, a Centre of Competence will be set up in order to provide a central service entry point for all libraries, archives and museums involved in the digitisation of textual material.
The consortium brings together twenty-six national and regional libraries, research institutions and commercial suppliers who will share their know-how and best practices, develop innovative tools to enhance the capabilities of OCR engines and the accessibility of digitised text and lay down the foundations for the mass-digitisation programmes that will take place over the next decade.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
FP7-ICT-2007-1
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Funding Scheme
CP - Collaborative project (generic)Coordinator
2595 BE Den Haag
Netherlands
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Participants (29)
6020 Innsbruck
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1015 Wien
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1113 Sofia
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1037 Sofia
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Participation ended
1113 Sofia
116 36 Praha 1
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110 01 Praha 1
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80539 Muenchen
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37073 Gottingen
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60322 Frankfurt
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80539 Munchen
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28046 Madrid
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03690 Alicante
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28071 Madrid
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75794 Paris
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75013 Paris
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15341 Agia Paraskevi
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49527 Petach Tikva
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2311 GJ Leiden
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61 704 Poznan
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00 927 Warszawa
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109451 Moscow
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1000 Ljubljana
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1000 Ljubljana
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BA2 7AY Bath
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NW1 2DB London
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M5 4WT Salford
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Participation ended
54001 Nancy
54052 Nancy Cedex
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