A European Documentation Centre (EDC) is a body designated by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

to collect and disseminate publications of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

for the purposes of research and education. There are 400 such centers in all member states of the EU.European Documentation Centers at the European Union
europa.eu
retrieved 28-May-2012 The mandate of an EDC is to receive all official EU publications, documents, contracts and electronic databases then make them available to researchers, educators, students, and interested members of the general public. The centers are also

legal deposit Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposi ...

ories of

Acquis communautaire The Community acquis or ''acquis communautaire'' (; ), sometimes called the EU acquis and often shortened to acquis, is the accumulated legislation, legal acts and court decisions that constitute the body of European Union law that came into b ...

(EU law).EuroVoc: Community acquis
retrieved 28-May-2012 Although primarily academic in nature, anyone can visit an EDC to consult official EU publications.

History and organisation

European Documentation Centres were founded in 1963 by the European Commission. They are predominantly located at

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

, university libraries, affiliated academic institutions, and non-university research institutes, both public and private. EU policy is that at least one EDC should be located in each region of a European Union member state. Candidate states and other countries can also have a designated EDC, supported jointly with local university libraries and the European Commission.Chulalongkorn University Bangkok
European Documentation Centre
EDC at Baptist University Hong Kong

/ref> EDCs are distinct from European Information Centers (EIC), which are geared more to the general public and consumer affairs. The official purpose of the centres is: *Assist

Universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

and

Institute An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

s in education and research *Contribute to the transparency of European decision-making *Promote active debate on European policy and European integration *Assist interested members of the public to learn about EU policies in more depth.

Function

The European Documentation Centres collect documents and publications that they receive from the various official institutions of the European Union. They also provide training and advice on the organisation and use of electronic information generated by EU institutions. EDCs also provide direct support to the academic staff and employees at universities and institutions in their research and teaching on European integration process. Official EU Publications:European Union Official Publications and Documentation
europa.eu
retrieved 28-May-2012 ** Proceedings of the

** ''

Official Journal of the European Union An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...

'' ** European Union Contracts ** Rulings of the European Court ** Statistical publications of the Publishing Department (OPOCE) ** Legislative Observatory of European Parliaments ** Other official documents Official EU Databases: * CORDIS: The EU Research Information Service * Curia: EU Jurisprudence *

EUR-Lex Eur-Lex (stylized EUR-Lex) is an official website of European Union law and other public documents of the European Union (EU), published in 24 official languages of the EU. The Official Journal (OJ) of the European Union is also published on EU ...

: EU legislation * PreLex: Inter-institutional procedures * Eurostat: European statistics * SCADplus
Scadplus
EU Legislation * Tenders Electronic Daily: EU contracts and procurement

References

External links

EU Information Centres and Networks

Curia

Eurostat

PreLex

TED

{{authority control Publications of the European Union establishments * Law libraries Libraries established in 1963 1963 in Europe European Union law

History and organisation

Function

See also

References

External links