IFLA defines National bibliographies (NBs) as “enduring records of a nation’s intellectual and cultural output, reflected in its published works.” They maintain the National Bibliographic Register. Early printed books, however, are often outside the scope of NBs. To address this, the RNB Working Group supplements the IFLA Register with a list of Retrospective National Bibliographies (RNBs), particularly those available online.
The RNB Working Group identifies and supports electronic resources describing print cultures up to 1850. In collaboration with RNB creators, it develops a standardised description model and template datasheet for recording and sharing information.
Within the Heritage of the Printed Book (HPB) database, records for library collections and retrospective bibliographies are currently intermingled. The Working Group collaborates with CERL member libraries to enrich catalogue records using permanent identifiers from RNBs, improving interoperability and discovery.
Ultimately, CERL aims to link catalogue and bibliographical records through RNBs, supporting a comprehensive overview of European printed works produced before 1850.
Early in 2022, CERL established a Working Group on Retrospective National Bibliographies (RNBs) in order to:
- Promote the role of RNBs in the world of linked open data and research infrastructures: Role of identifiers, of linking, of authority records
- Monitor and foster the role and impact of RNBs in the context of the Heritage of the Printed Book database and the CERL databases environment (AMPLE)
- Promote the role of RNBs in cooperation with IFLA: Register of national bibliographies
- Define the role and impact of CERL in respect to RB, also in relation to the USTC
- Claudia Fabian, CERL Chair
- Robert Betteridge, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh
- Flavia Bruni, University of Chieti-Pescara
- Marieke van Delft, formerly of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the National Library of the Netherlands, The Hague
- Maria Federbusch, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
- Esther van Gelder, KB National Library of the Netherlands, The Hague
- Andrea Jelínková and Vojtěch Šícha, Department of Historical Bibliography of the Library of the Czech Academy of Sciences
- Adelaida Caro Martín, Biblioteca Nacional de España
- Iris O’Brien, British Library
- Matthias Reif, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, München
- Peter Sjökvist, University Library Uppsala, Uppsala
- Olga Tkachuk, Ossolineum Library, Wroclaw
List of Retrospective Bibliographies in Europe
This list was created by Olga Tkachuk (Ossoliński National Institute, Wrocław) and Chana Algarvio (University of Toronto, Canada) and covers bibliographies (national, regional, language-specific) in Europe. It is not comprehensive and will gradually be expanded with more detailed information.
Featured Publication: Never Finish(ed). The Vitality and Dynamics of Retrospective ‘National’ Bibliographies for European Print Cultures to the Middle of the Nineteenth Century
Retrospective National Bibliographies remain essential tools for understanding Europe’s printed heritage. This importance is explored in Never Finish(ed). The Vitality and Dynamics of Retrospective ‘National’ Bibliographies for European Print Cultures to the Middle of the Nineteenth Century (CERL Papers XV, 2025), edited by Olga Tkachuk, Marian Lefferts, and Claudia Fabian. The proceedings of the 2023 RNB Conference showcase new research, international perspectives, and the ongoing transformation of RNBs within digital and bibliographical scholarship. The publication is available in paperback and as a freely accessible download.
DOI:10.13173/9783447123563
Contact information
For more information about the Working Group on Retrospective Bibliographies, please contact the Chair: Claudia Fabian, Consortium of European Research Libraries .