CERL’s current aims are defined in its five-year Development Plan, which has been revised each year by CERL’s Executive Committee:
To develop and expand the Hand Press Book Database and the CERL Thesaurus as a unique online resource, and provide appropriate user support.
To provide users with integrated access to other related tools.
To develop associated tools with the object of enhancing access and assisting in the interpretation of European cultural heritage as brought down to the present in the form of books written or printed before the middle of the 19th century.
To develop services to assist CERL members and non-members in the study and interpretation of written culture produced before the middle of the 19th century and related cultural materials.
To promote the Consortium’s databases, services, and other associated activities.
To develop and consolidate the Consortium’s position in the European and international information landscape.