FAQs
Here are answers to common questions about Europeana.
- Who decides if an item appears on Europeana?
- The institution that holds the material - individual libraries, audiovisual collections, archives and museums decides what to digitise, based on several criteria:
- What are the most beautiful, historic or highly regarded items that they are most keen to share with the world?
- What do users most often want to consult or view?
- Are there hidden treasures little-known items that could be enormously attractive to users once digitised?
- Are items too fragile for users to consult, or to be displayed? Digitisation can help both preserve material and make it accessible to users.
- Can I see items in a bigger size?
- In many cases, you can see bigger versions of items on Europeana simply by clicking on the thumbnail. The available size of the item is decided by the institutions that provide content to Europeana.
- Can I download files such as eBooks, music and films from Europeana?
- You cannot download items directly from Europeana.eu but we connect you to the original source of the item on the provider's website, where you may be able to download the object. The availability of an item for download depends on the facilities provided by each institution.
- An item has been incorrectly labelled. What should I do?
- Details of items in Europeana are provided by the institution holding the original content. Email us the details that you believe to be incorrect, and we will pass your information to the content provider.
- Why can't I find the material I'm looking for?
- Europeana is expanding all the time. If you are not able to find what you are looking for at the moment, please come back another time to see if it has been added to the database. There are many reasons why a work may not be listed in Europeana:
- The object has not been digitised
- The institution that holds the work is not a Europeana partner
- Copyright clearance is needed.
- Why isn't everything on Europeana translated into my language?
- We work continuously on issues surrounding multilingualism.
With the help of our partner institutions, Europeana's interface is translated into all the official languages of the European Union, and several other languages. Our virtual exhibitions are also available in different languages.
At the same time, we are also working on enabling cross-language searches. This means, for example, that when you search for "treaty", your search results will also include "traite", "trattato", "traktat" etc. Currently we have multilingual support for some search functions, but in the years to come, the application of semantic technologies will further advance multilingual search possibilities.
We have also enabled a translation function on the portal to help you translate item's details into your language. More information about the search and translation functions is available on our Help pages.
Although we are doing our best, there is still a need to have more content and information available in a wider range of languages. However, we have to balance our limited resources with other priorities, including adding more content to Europeana and improving the technical function of the site. - I am an individual. Can I contribute to Europeana?
- Europeana welcomes user participation. Currently, we are running a project "The First World War in everyday documents" that is building an online archive with private memorabilia and stories from the period of the Great War ((1914-1918) from Germany. If you have family photographs, letters, diaries, short films, audio recordings, objects or stories, please share them on the project site. Soon this initiative will extend to other countries in Europe.
- You can also contribute to Europeana by
- joining our Facebook page
- visiting our blog
- signing up for our newsletter
- sending us feedback on your experience with Europeana.
- Can I make a financial donation to Europeana?
- Europeana is currently funded by the European Union and member states. We are open to exploring corporate sponsorship opportunities and other funding models. Please contact us through our Feedback Form with your proposition and we will pass your message on to the correct contact person.
- Does Europeana use social media?
- You are welcome to follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group. Cultural heritage professionals may also join our LinkedIn group.
- How can I keep up to date on news from Europeana?
- Sign up to Europeana eNews for stories on the content and projects of Europeana. The newsletter is sent 6 times a year. Members of the press can also join our mailing list to learn about new features, milestones in Europeana's development and the publication of key policy documents.
- How can I use items on Europeana?
- Please consult our Terms of use for detailed information on use of content on Europeana.
- Can you supply a high-resolution or original version of an item on Europeana?
- Europeana.eu leads users to the cultural institutions digitising Europe's heritage, but it does not hold the original material. Members of the press can contact the Europeana team via our Press Room for advice on rights clearance. Otherwise, please contact the original provider of the item you are interested in. Below its thumbnail image, you can see who owns the object.
- Can I use the Europeana logo?
- You may use the Europeana logo for non-commercial and media purposes. High resolution versions of our logo, with taglines in several languages, are available in our Press Room.
- What is My Europeana?
- This is your personal space on Europeana. With My Europeana, you can save your favourite items and searches, and add tags to items to help separate them into different categories.
- How can I change my email address, username or password?
- There is currently no way to change these items. We are considering adding this functionality as part of future site upgrades.
- Can I see other people's saved searches or tags?
- This data is private to each user. It is a way for you to keep track of items you find interesting. If you want to share things with other people, you can use the 'Share Button' to email a page to a friend or post a link on various social media portals.
- An error message appeared while using Europeana. What should I do?
- We're sorry you encountered difficulties. Please let us know more through our Feedback Form. Our technical team will look into it.