On Convergence and Open Data: Challenges for Libraries, Archives and Museums

This paper addresses some of the challenges libraries, archives and museums face in the digital age, with a focus on organisational and strategic challenges in Flanders, Belgium. As we look at how cultural institutions approach digital access in a networked landscape, the concepts collaboration, convergence and aggregation are key. We first revisit the results of two Flemish research projects from the period 2009-2011, Additionally, we look at more recent policy approaches and implications. Moreover, departing from the ongoing project Europeana Inside, we widen the scope beyond Flanders to address the increasing commitment to open cultural data expected in Europe. We argue that this can be seen as a more recent challenge in the convergence sphere and we look at institutions5 views with regards to open data in Flanders. In this way, the paper provides an update to the lessons learned from the projects. It indicates that, certainly in Flanders, high levels of cooperation, convergence and aggregation as well as commitment to open data are as yet still major challenges for many libraries, archives and museums.