German #library catalogs become freely available

Several German libraries announced at a conference in Leizig about libraries and information that their catalogues are now available for any purposes on the Internet. By making their information available under a CC0 license, over 5,4 million records become available for any use.

This is a big step forwards towards the global visibility of library collections on the Internet. It is a big departure from a system where catalogue information was only freely available to other libraries. The natural order is for libraries to provide free access to data and, in this way they reassess this primary goal.

The German Wikimedia chapter has been a partner in the process that led to this change, it is the intention that the library data will be used as a source in Wikipedia. In this way Wikipedia and the library world are the natural partners that make information freely available and accessible to everyone.
Thanks,
GerardM