ThinkMOTION: Digital Mechanism and Gear Library Goes Europeana

The most important aim of the IFToMM is “to promote research and development in the field of Machines and Mechanisms by theoretical and experimental methods, along with their practical application” (see article 2.1 of the statutes [12]). This is strongly connected with access to current knowledge, experience and skills in the field of mechanism and machine science (resp. motion science). However this content is characterized by a high diversity and heterogeneity, because it is mostly scattered, represented in different forms (physical model, drawings, textbooks etc.), languages and mediums. Therefore there is a need to establish an open access, multilingual digital library in this field of techno-cultural heritage. Against this background, members of three IFToMM-Commissions initiated a joint project called thinkMOTION. In this project, which promotes the idea of open access, the techno-cultural heritage and the current developments in motion science will be widely accessible via Europeana, which is the search platform for European digital libraries initiated by the European Commission. The content is useful for a wide range of user groups, such as interested laymen, engineers, scientists, lecturers, pupils, students all over the world, in that it opens new possibilities in multilingual searching, browsing and using of information sources.