OSTERREICHISCHE NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK

Their core work

The Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is Austria's largest library and a major cultural heritage institution holding millions of historical documents, newspapers, and manuscripts. In the EU research context, they contribute their vast digitized collections as research infrastructure for digital humanities projects, enabling large-scale text mining, historical newspaper analysis, and computational approaches to cultural heritage. Their role bridges the gap between traditional archival holdings and modern computational research, providing both data and domain expertise to consortia working on Europe's written cultural memory.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ONB's H2020 participation began in 2017 with ExSIDE, an economics-focused training network where their role appears tangential. From 2018 onward, their profile sharpened dramatically toward digital humanities and computational heritage — NewsEye (2018) and Time Machine (2019) both center on transforming historical documents into machine-readable, analyzable data. This trajectory shows a clear shift from peripheral participation toward becoming an active research partner in AI-driven cultural heritage.

ONB is moving from passive data holder toward active research partner in AI and machine learning applied to historical text collections — expect future involvement in large-scale European digital heritage infrastructures.

How they like to work

ONB never coordinates — they join as a participant or third party, contributing their collections and domain expertise rather than leading research agendas. With 57 unique partners across just 3 projects, they operate exclusively in large consortia (averaging 19 partners per project), which is typical for cultural heritage institutions that serve as data and infrastructure providers. Working with ONB means gaining access to one of Europe's richest historical document collections, but don't expect them to drive the technical research agenda.

Despite only 3 projects, ONB has connected with 57 partners across 13 countries, reflecting the large-consortium nature of digital heritage initiatives. Their network is pan-European with no obvious geographic bias, consistent with major cultural infrastructure projects that span the continent.

What sets them apart

ONB holds one of Europe's most extensive historical newspaper and manuscript collections, making them an irreplaceable partner for any project requiring large-scale digitized text data from Central European history. Unlike university digital humanities labs that bring methods, ONB brings the primary sources themselves — a resource that cannot be replicated or substituted. For consortium builders in digital heritage, having ONB on board adds both credibility and direct access to centuries of Austrian and Habsburg-era documentation.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NewsEye
  Their largest funded project (€169K) and most aligned with their core mission — developing AI tools for investigating historical newspapers across multiple languages.
• Time Machine
  A high-profile CSA preparing a large-scale European initiative to digitize and compute Europe's historical records, positioning ONB within a flagship cultural heritage vision.